Hail to the Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th

In the last post, I told you about the beau's brother ("BB," for short). In this post, I am going to tell you about the BB's wife ("BBW"), a New York Native, who introduced to an eatery I will never forget, the legendary Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th. But I should preface my post with a warning: there will always be a line of eager patrons excitedly entwined around the street vendor, but the lengthy wait is more than worth it.


Orders from the Halal Cart are packaged in a wrinkled/pleated aluminum takeout pan, and covered with a cardboard disc with a shiny heat-resistant backing. Inside, after your fingers pry open the aluminum ruching, you will find a bit of Halal heaven on earth.

As for my meal, BBW ordered for all of us. She ordered the "mix" combo, which came with spiced long grain rice, chunks of chicken meat, notable gyro meat, pillowy pita bread, and scrappy squares of iceberg lettuce. The two stellar standouts from the entire combo, were the rice and the lamb. The moist, succulent gyro-fied lamb came in delicious flakes, adeptly carved by knives that sweepingly crisscrossed against the grain of the lamb while it was suspended on the vertical spit. The lamb contained the ideal proportion of gyro spices. The rice was also well-cooked, with each distinct grain the perfect shade of red and perfect flavor of Middle Eastern spices.


My takeout tin of food also came with two plastic containers of sauce, (1) a mysteriously palatable "white sauce" that no one knows the ingredients for, nor ventures to guess at, and (2) an assasinating "hot sauce." The deliciously addictive "white sauce" tastes like a mild ranch dressing, with the same salad dressing consistency. The "white sauce" provides a classic cooling sensation to the meal (just as a yogurty tzatziki sauce would).


As for the "hot sauce". . . Well, that is another matter, entirely. While I love spicy foods, the Halal Cart's "hot sauce" tastes like hell. By "hell," I don't mean bad, I mean, eyeball-scorchingly evil, like Satan handmade that stuff with all of the sinister, fiery peppers he could get his hands on. One bite and your eyes will water furiously, like gushing waterfalls, and your frightened tongue will recoil so far into your head, you can feel it lodge into your neck. Basically, just imagine those old Looney Tunes cartoons, where Wiley Coyote would accidentally eat some hot peppers, and spew fire from his mouth while his bloodshot eyeballs bulged out several feet from his face. You will feel the sting from the hot sauce for several minutes, before the numbing, tingly pain abates. Legend has it, that the Halal Cart used to incorporate the hot sauce into the meal, but too many people complained (because they "couldn't handle the truth.")

If you are in the Theater District of Manhattan, and are looking for a bite to eat, I would definitely visit the Halal Cart on 53rd and 6th. It is worth the wait, and more.