I was in the mood for some seafood for lunch, and had heard good things about the salmon filet at the original Kwik Meal cart on the SW corner of West 46th St and 6th Ave. Kwik Meal was a Vendy Award finalist in 2008 and the People’s Choice winner in 2007, and I previously had the lamb pita sandwich there, which was pretty good, so I was optimistic for Today’s Lunch.
The regular lunch menu does not have salmon filet, but there’s another sign on the front of the cart offering either salmon or tilapia fillet over rice for $8.50.
When I ordered the salmon, they took a container out of the refrigerator, took out a raw, slightly marinated salmon fillet and cooked it from scratch in a saute pan on the grill. It took about 7-8 minutes to cook, and they regularly turned the fillet so it cooked evenly on all sides, not just the top and bottom. They even asked me if I wanted it rare, medium or well done. I said medium.
When I got back to the office, there was a large, thick salmon fillet with green chili sauce over rice and vegetables. There was also a salad with dressing on the side. It smelled wonderful, and I dug right in.
The salmon fillet was a very thick piece and perfectly done. It flaked just right, and was excellent. The green chili sauce was hot, but clean tasting. The sauce was a nice complement to the salmon, spicy but not heavy at all. There were a lot of bites of salmon in this fillet, and ended up being a pretty big lunch.
The basmati rice was nice and fragrant with a bunch of veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, carrots, green pepper and onions. Mixed with the salmon juices, it was very tasty. The salad was mainly lettuce and a few red onions, but the dressing was a ranch-type dressing, creamy with a bunch of herbs. Much better than the “white sauce” salad dressings at many carts.
Today’s Lunch was one of the best lunches I’ve had yet. The salmon fillet was large, perfectly cooked and amazing with the green chili sauce on top and basmati rice underneath. This was definitely a cut above most street food, and I have to give it a rare 10 out of 10.
