Adam's Halal - Mobile Fried Chicken (Old Slip and Water)

Mobile Fried Chicken. Isn't that the name of a band?

Halal fried chicken and fries in a patriotic box! Oh no, sadly these fries are cold, mealy and mushy. I saw some fresh ones being dipped in the fryer as I left, so maybe there are some good fries to be had and I just didn't have them. I had two pieces of chicken - the white piece was dry and stringy but the dark piece was pretty moist and tasty. At least there's a good amount of salt and pepper in the coating - the flavor of the skin is not half bad. I would recommend trying mobile fried chicken disco only if you can snag something coming right out of the fryer.

The Treats Truck!

Yay, the Treats Truck has arrived downtown! We could definitely use some treats down here. I've sampled some tasty goodies from the Treats Truck in Brooklyn so I'm happy to see it. I went for the oatmeal raisin cookie, my favorite old standby, and was not disappointed. It's small but thick, crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle, chock full of raisins, and tastes of rich butter, vanilla and brown sugar. I also took a sample of a pecan butterscotch bar and am in love with it. I'm definitely ordering that next time - it's so gooey and creamy, simultaneously salty and sweet. Wow.

Today was the Treats Truck's first visit to the financial district. She was parked between Pearl and Water on a tiny street called Coenties Slip, but she said she's scouting out different days and locations. She hopes to add the Wall Street area to her regular schedule, depending on business. I hope she does well enough to add us to her route!

Alan's Falafel (Water St. and Old Slip)

Another branch of Alan's - the first one was at cart central over on Broadway. I'm not sure how closely related they are but the signage is the same. The falafel sandwich at $3 is a huge lunch bargain. It's piled high with falafel, sauteed eggplant, hummus, babaghanoush, white sauce and red sauce. As a result, it's impossible to bite - I had to dig out the fillings with my fork. The falafel is really herbaceous, very green in color. It's a little dry, but the herbs give it a nice, sharp flavor. The falafel balls are crispy just like the other Alan's. This sandwich makes for a yummy quick cheap lunch...when you don't have time to make the trek west to Sam's Falafel on Broadway.

No name cart (Water and Hanover)

This cart has no sign but lots of food photographs in a strange 70s-looking palette. There's a sign proclaiming "Basmati Rice!" So, I'm hopeful that at least the rice will be better than average. I order the "curry chicken" thinking that maybe it will be different from the usual - most halal vendors just list "chicken" on their menus. Unfortunately the chicken and rice turns out to be the same dish available everywhere, and it doesn't have a lot of flavor - the chicken is kind of bland and fatty, and the basmati rice has only the palest hint of basmati aroma. The hot sauce is different though, very vinegary - the one nice surprise from the no-name cart.

Adel's Best Halal (Front Street at Maiden Lane)

I like the extra vegetables mixed in here, and the bonus piece of falafel (which was great). The chicken was minced, much smaller pieces than usual, and was of pretty high quality. The downside is that the chicken wasn't very spicy and didn't taste like it had been marinated very long. The hot sauce added some flavor, though. While not worth a detour, I would try Adel's again if it were closer to my office. Based on the bonus tasty falafel ball thrown in with my chicken, I would try the falafel sandwich next time.

(I think I freaked them out a little when I took a picture of the cart, sorry guys! There was all sorts of police activity, plainclothes guys with earpieces lurking around, and military helicopters flying and hovering about today. The President of the United States of Amurka, here for the UN general assembly, uses the heliport one block away from here. I think we saw Marine 1 and 2, with two scary-looking military chopper escorts, taking off while we ate our lunch.)

Jiannetto's Pizza Truck (Front and Wall)

The pizza crust was surprisingly crisp and tasty, but there was too much of the watery tomato sauce. The topping was just a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a few basil leaves, which didn't add much flavor but was a nice change from the gooey cheap mozzarella piled on at most slice counters in the city. We also got the Sicilian rice ball, expecting an order of three little balls like the ones at most Italian pork stores or delis (or like Bar Stuzzichini's rice balls, which are amazing, even though the restaurant looks like Mozzarelli's in the Green Hills Mall in Nashville, Tennessee...but I digress). This rice ball was huge, the size of my head, filled with meat, rice and frozen peas (they weren't frozen still, but there was a taste of freezer burn), topped with tons of tomato sauce and loads of cheese. Kind of bland but not terrible, but still a mediocre lunch.

Sam's Falafel (Cedar b/t Broadway and Trinity)

On a side street down from cart central on Broadway. I love this sign!
Sam's is definitely better than Alan's (the other falafel cart in this area). The sandwich ($3!) is topped with a generous pile of sauteed onions, a few pieces of sauteed eggplant, lettuce, tomato, hot sauce, and white sauce. The falafel tastes strongly of lemon and cumin and the texture is lovely - soft but not crumbly, with a slightly crisp exterior (not crunchy). This is such a mess - it's dripping everywhere, but it is quite delicious. This is one of the few carts down here that is worth a detour.

Halal Food, Broadway between Cedar and Liberty

Another one in the crowded cart district on Broadway. There's no name posted on the cart, but it's on the east side, middle of the block, separated from Alan's by a smoothie cart. The line looked long and promising. Though the menu was expansive, I ordered the chicken and rice, hot sauce white sauce standby.
I think the sauces are more flavorful than average, and the chicken is really spicy. The chunks are larger than most carts, with no bone or gristle but kind of fatty - and the spiced yellow rice has good flavor but is really clumpy. I liked the big slices of green and red pepper sauteed in with the chicken. A little better than average I think.

Alan's Falafel - Broadway between Cedar and Liberty

Alan's is one of the many carts located in the street food bonanza of this block. I decided to try it first because of the long line and limited menu, which I think are good signs with food carts. Of the two options, falafel sandwich and falafel plate, I opted for the plate which came with a dollop of hummus, babaghanoush, a stuffed grape leaf, some pieces of fried eggplant, a piece of pita, and lettuce and tomato. Everything was topped with a generous covering of hot sauce and white sauce. (I was impressed by the helping of hot sauce - most vendors seem to think I can't handle the hot sauce, being a girl and all, so they never give me quite enough. This guy gave me a man-sized portion, which I appreciated.) The falafel had a nice thick and crunchy coating, and the spiced chickpea filling was toothsome but not too dry or crumbly, like some lesser forms can be. The side dishes were passable - I especially liked all of the black pepper in the babaghanoush. The stuffed grape leaf had the vinegary tang that I look for and a nice creamy texture
with the grains of rice kind of melded together.
The falafel is the thing, though - and Alan's offers
a carefully made and delicious version. (A good bargain
too - the plate is $5, and the sandwich is only $3!)

Dominick's Italian Sausage - Whitehall and Bridge

On my first visit, I ordered a cheesesteak and was sent to wait on the sidelines with the other cheesesteak-eaters while the sausage sandwiches were prepared. I felt a little ghettoized, particularly when the cook said "sorry, guys - this is a sausage stand not a cheesesteak stand." Perhaps you should think about changing that sign, buddy. OK, I decide that maybe I'll order correctly on my next visit, if I'm allowed back. Aside from me, the clientele is 100% male, perhaps because, in addition to the meat-heavy menu, the line for the cart is situated over a particularly wide-meshed subway grate. My heels got stuck about 12 times before I made it to the front of the line. The colorful banter between the cook (who is NOT Dominic) and the customers is a little too manly for me too. My cheesesteak "with everything" was sprinkled with bright orange "cheddar" (not cheese whiz), bbq sauce, hot sauce, peppers, onions and mushrooms. For such a variety of ingredients it tasted surprisingly bland. A few bites in the center had a good sauce-cheese-veggie ratio and were pretty satisfying, but nothing too special. (Report from 3 hours later: my stomach is achy and rumbling and my fingers still smell like cheesesteaks, in spite of repeated washings.)

Ravioli King cart - Nassau and Cedar

Ugh. The fun of buying your lunch from a cart is watching its preparation. This cart is the equivalent of a vending machine, its metal slots stuffed with premade heros and pastas. I opted for the eggplant parmesan sandwich, which was ridiculously large and flavorless. The bread had the texture that you might expect bread from a vending machine to have, soft on the outside (the overmicrowaved kind of softness), stale and dry in the middle. Inside the bread was a little bit of tomato sauce, a tiny bit of tasteless cheese, and thin slices of overbreaded eggplant. I'm not allergic to carbs or anything but this is ridiculous. Only recommended for lunch if you move heavy objects or run marathons for a living. The only saving grace of my lunch was the setting - I found a nice shaded bench in the Trinity Church courtyard.

Mexican cart, Nassau and Cedar

Could this really be a Mexican street food cart in the Financial District? The limited menu of burrito, quesadilla, nachos or enchilada tamped down my excitement a bit... then I noticed that the signage looks a little too manufactured and standardized to be homemade...then I noticed the kicker - signs that say "no lard" and "no pork." No thanks! My "enchilada" was just shredded chicken scooped into a flour tortilla, topped with bright yellow liquid nacho cheese sauce! I ate it anyway, then I felt like I swallowed a brick. In my dreams a Red Hook vendor or a Sunset Park restaurant like Rico's or Tacos Matamoros will open a taco stand down here. But for now, if you want a burrito it might be worth waiting 3 hours at Chipotle.

Shela's Pot, St. John USVI

St. John is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but the food generally sucks. Everything - all of the vegetables and even alot of the fish - is flown to St. Thomas from far, far away, then shipped on a boat to this tiny island. Thank the stars for Shela's Pot, a little stand in the square right in front of the ferry dock in Cruz Bay. A lunch plate from Shela's is about $15, but for that you get a meat or fish and about 25 side items. I don't even know what all she piled in there, but some things, like the rice and peas, cabbage salad and cornbread stuffing, were delicious. (Other side dishes, like the canned veg-all, not so much.) The fried fish, served whole, was fresh and flaky. It had been covered in a cornmeal coating, then fried, then stewed in tomatoes, peppers and onions - definitely the best fish we had all week. Topped with a few squirts of her homemade hot pepper sauce, this yummy lunch fortified us for another tough day at the beach.

Red Hook Ballfields

What hasn't already been said about the Red Hook vendors? I want to swim in watermelon agua fresca, and I would die happy with a chorizo huarache in my hand...or hands - it actually takes two to hold one of those monsters. The huarache is a taste extravaganza, starting with a thick, spongy and greasy corn tortilla, filled with refried beans, chorizo (or pork or steak or chicken), piled with hot sauces, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro and probably some other things I couldn't see. The chalupas start with a corn tortilla, dipped in a big vat of oil, fried on a griddle, then topped with salsa verde, chicken, beef, and pork (3 chalupas in a an order), lettuce and tomato. Since Alex was the 400th person in line at the huarache stand, I traveled down the row of vendors and picked up a cool, refreshing ceviche appetizer for us to share. The mixto was full of shrimp, octopus, calamari, fish and red onions in a broth of coconut milk and lime juice. The perfect light snack when you're waiting for a 12,000 calorie huarache.

Veronica's on Front and Pine

I admit I'm not making any discovery here - Veronica's, which serves West Indian fare similar to Shirley's, was a finalist for a Vendy award. I can confirm that all honors are much deserved, and this is the best downtown cart I have tried so far. I made the mistake of going too late - while I was in line, they ran out of callaloo, mac and cheese, and curry chicken. I had the only things that were left - curry goat with rice and peas and pumpkin. The goat was meltingly tender and fatty without being greasy, with extremely well-balanced spices. The rice and peas were tender and seasoned, and the pumpkin had a sweet tangy flavor. The menu is similar to Shirley's, but with all the flavors are magnified and so much more complex. If this place were closer to my office, I just might eat here every day. I walked a block over to the river, sat on a wide comfy bench and ate while watching a parade of strange little US Navy boats speed down the river and listening to squawking seagulls blended with the whirr of helicopter traffic.
Each small entree comes with a choice of 1 starch and 1 vegetable - if only she had some of those homemade drinks like the ones at Shirley's cart!

Express Lunch Halal - Whitehall at Pearl

The chicken and rice was underspiced, and I came across a few too many pieces of bone and gristle. The white sauce/hot sauce combo didn't provide much of a kick. What is the connection is between all the Express Lunch carts? The menus are identical but the tastes vary dramatically.

Halal Food - Beaver and Broadway

No sign, no menu, just a string of blinking blue lights-in-a tube. The lady in front of me asked for hot sauce and white sauce - the chef doused her chicken, then honked a little bicycle horn right over the dish.. "and it's done!" he proclaimed. Then he military-marched over to his van, saluting his customers the whole time and kicking his legs straight out in front, grabbed a bag of sliced onions and marched back to his station. He has the usual spiced chicken and lamb, and offers a choice of spicy rice and plain yellow rice. I spotted two small pyrex bowls on a burner shelf and asked what was in them - one was lamb meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce and one held fava beans, also in a spicy tomato sauce (i think this is foul?). He recommended the meatballs which he said he made himself that morning, with spicy rice, white sauce and hot sauce. I didn't get a horn honked over mine- maybe that's only for the regulars? The pillowy, mild meatballs were definitely enhanced by the hot sauce - not too much flavor on their own, maybe owing to a lot of filler, but all in all a satisfying, tasty lunch. Later I tried the chicken and rice, and found it to be much better than all the competition. The chicken is marinated longer, with a stronger spice mix, the white sauce is tangier, the vegetables are fresher - and the chef sprinkles every dish with love, or a horn honk.

Express Halal - Maiden Lane at William Street

Chicken was flavored well, nice spice blend and a hint of cilantro in the sauce and a few chunks of green pepper. With extra hot sauce and "white" sauce, the chicken was tasty, but salad was a sad pile of wilted lettuce with a few pieces of tomato. I know this is obvious, but rice really is the only choice here. Also, he was out of lamb - not sure how often this happens. All the ice had melted in the drinks cooler, so I had to stick my hand deep into some yellowish water teeming with tiny bits of trash to pick up a beverage. I ate in the dirty little park outside Zeytuna. Not the most successful cart experience.

Continental Halal - Beaver Street near Broadway

My chicken and rice with white sauce and extra hot sauce had tons of spicy, peppery, curry flavor. One bit of chicken had a big bone in it and there were a few pieces of gristle but mostly it was juicy and delicious. The yellow rice was pretty well seasoned. My lunch buddy D. ordered a lamb gyro, and praised the juicy, spicy lamb. Also, there were bits of lamb stuck to one of the dollar bills I was handed in change for my ten. Bonus. We ate outside on a bench in Bowling Green Park, home to lots of Peregrine falcons. (Seriously, there's a plaque and everything.) I'm definitely going to try Continental again.

Shirley's - Whitehall b/t Pearl & Bridge

This cart, emblazoned with the flag of Trinidad, is right in front of the building where I work. There's always a line, so I thought I'd go on the late side for my first visit. Wrong move. By the time I got to the front of the sluggish line, the only choices left from the extensive menu were curry goat or vegetarian special. I was all excited for roti (available only on Mondays and Thursdays), but Shirley told me she usually runs out by about 12:45. She said to come at 12 on Thursday if I want roti. I opted for the vegetarian special and a homemade ginger beer. After I had the first bite of veggies, taken from right in the middle of the pile of hot sauce, I appreciated the sticky sweetness of the ginger beer. A little too sweet on its own, even with the strong ginger bite at the back of my throat, but a perfect foil for the hot hot sauce. The vegetarian special is a pile of chunky tofu, green beans, chickpeas, a little cabbage, and a few pieces of carrots over rice, with a lot of hot sauce on top. The veggies are quite cooked, not especially fresh (some are canned), but with all the hot sauce they were pretty tasty.

When I finally made it out early enough to snag a roti, I watched Shirley carefully lay the huge, slightly greasy, yellow pancake (perfectly browned and kept warm in a little red igloo cooler) down in the styrofoam container, top it with two pieces of curry chicken (on the bone - a leg and a thigh), a few potatoes and a handful chickpeas in a mild curry sauce (also a little greasy), and squirt a generous stream of hot pepper sauce on top. She folded the roti pancake over the juicy mountain of chicken, but there's no way you could pick up this thing. A knife and fork are required. My carefully balanced forkful of the bread, chicken, sauce and veg was spicy and full-flavored, with a little hot sauce kick. My lunch buddy from work, D (whose parents are from Trinidad and Grenada) says that he prefers a more mobile roti like his mom makes, one with boneless chicken, goat or shrimp so it can be picked up and eaten like a wrap. I'm sure I too would prefer his mom's roti, but no such luck today.

I copied D and ordered a sorrel to drink, even though I had no idea what I was going to get. I expected it to be green and vegetal and strange, but as it turns out sorrel is made not from sorrel but from hibiscus, and it is delicious! The sweet fruity taste is balanced by hints of cinnamon and maybe nutmeg? I love this stuff! It is a little too syrupy, but perfect after the particularly spicy bites of roti.


Next time I tried jerk chicken with rice and peas. The rice was doused in a dark brown gravy, topped with a couple of pieces of chicken, a small scoop of veggies (broccoli, cabbage, carrots) and a squirt of hot sauce. The chicken was well spiced and supertender, just falling off the bone. Gravy just tasted fatty and didn't add much flavor. My problem with jerk is that it's spicy, but it's a little one-note - nothing to round out the spice (other than my sweet sorrel), so no depth to the flavor. I prefer the curry chicken here.