I was just below the Times Square area today, and saw a cart I was not familiar with on the NW corner of 39th St & Broadway – Baked Potato King. Guess I don’t get to this area too often, because when I spoke with Eddie in the cart, he said they have been there for 18 years (!), and a woman behind me ordering lunch said it was true.
I’m not usually one for stuffed baked potatoes, but wanted to give it a try. They had a nice menu of about 10 different varieties of stuffed baked potatoes and about 8 different soups. You can see the menu at the end of the article.
When I go to a vendor for the first time, I usually ask what they recommend, and Eddie suggested a chili, cheese and broccoli potato ($4), which became Today’s Lunch.
Eddie took out a big baked potato, cut it open, and lots of hot steam came out. He then put in the toppings, closed the container, and I headed back to the office with Today’s Lunch.
When I opened the container, it looked and smelled pretty good. The chili was more of a cumin-style chili with lots of beans and a little meat, as opposed to a sweeter bbq-style chili with mostly meat and a few beans. The chili was tasty though.
Under the chili was a nice amount of melted American cheese, and there was plenty of broccoli in there too. The broccoli was cooked right because it still had some body to it.
Once I got past most of the chili and broccoli, the baked potato and cheese were also good. The potato was hot and soft, with some chili and cheese included in most of the bites.
After eating most of the fillings, I picked up the potato halves and ate them too. The baked potato skins were nice and crunchy, and there was some chili sauce on the outside of the skin on half the potato. Nice.
Today’s Lunch was quite different from my normal lunch, but it was definitely enjoyable. Spending $4 for lunch is also enjoyable.
Eddie told me they are getting a 2nd cart in April and were thinking of parking it around 53rd St & 6th Ave. That’s already a busy area for carts, but the Baked Potato King is different enough from the other carts that it should be fine. If you see a Baked Potato King on 6th Ave in the 50’s, it’s the same people as this one, and is a worthwhile lunch.
