NYC Halal Carts Question
I'm just sort of wondering what the deal is with all of the halal carts/street food stands in NYC?
I've never eaten at a Halal cart before but I've noticed there's one -if not two- on pretty much every busy Midtown street corner. Candidly, a lot of them have a kind of scruffy appearance, which makes me anxious about food quality and general cleanliness. I also wonder how good of a business they are, given that fixed costs seem high (fuel, cart storage at night, cart transport, maintenance, etc.) and unit volume is obviously a small fraction of a Chipotle, Cava, etc.
Can anyone help me understand what the appeal is for Halal carts, and how they make money?
For context, I, like many people in the industry, am a white, upper class guy from a non-NYC metro area. My parents were big proponents of healthy, low carb diets, and we never traveled to Eastern countries where street food is more widespread.
They're not very clean at all and cater to a very specific religious demographic. Stay clear.
Correct go Israel!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed. Bring the hostages home!
Didn't you admit to defrauding your employer on this website?
Stfu nerd and just enjoy your goddamn chicken over rice
they sell a lot of food that tastes really good and doesn't take a ton of time or money to make, surely this can't be too hard to deduce for someone who works in finance
You never experienced the G.O.A.T. - 53rd and 6th cart 10-15 years ago. I used to drive 1+ hour plus some days from the suburbs to get that.
I’m just imagining you sitting down, back arched, putting the dots between the letters of goat
Halal carts at 4:15am are some of the best food I’ve ever had while wasted. I prefer a lamb doner kebab. If they don’t have lamb, then chicken is ok.
It’s cheap yet filling food for a low cost.
There are a lot of poor people in the city dealing with the high costs of living in nyc.
How do you not see how they are popular? It’s like asking why is McDonald’s so popular in poor white trash areas or why is Popeyes so popular in the hood. Poor people need to eat too.
Also, thanks for clarifying you’re from a rich white family.
Was super helpful background info.
Guaranteed he’s as mid as an “upper class” family can get, since the true rich people typically don’t ever refer to themselves in that way. It’s only the mediocre LARPers who feel a need to stress the kind of background they’re from.
OP here, just want to chime back in. Upper class means >$150k per year in income. For most people in that bracket, that’s not enough to stay at the four seasons, but enough to live comfortably in a HCOL metro area. Maybe some private school education, a few trips abroad, and european cars sprinkled in there.
And yeah, most people in finance, at elite universities, or in any “elite” enclave come from this background. Which doesn’t seem very fair, but that’s besides the point.
So in summary, I think most people read it as the >$150k thing, not me LARPing as one of the Rich Kids of Beverly Hills. Good riddance
Who says the food isn’t healthy? It’s no Sweetgreen but not like it’s McDonald’s level. You don’t have to get rice. Even if you do, there is long grain brown rice available. Arguably the least healthy part of the meal is the sauces, which are high in fat due to the heavy use of egg and milk-based products. Or if you are afraid that charred meats are too carcinogenic. Lean protein with some carbs and veggies at $12 a pop is a filling lunch. Sure your vegan and organic obsessed parents might disapprove, but that’s why they live in a tier 2-3 city and not a New York metropolis. Toughen up, boy
As far as street food goes, some of the best I've had was seasoned grilled chicken skewers outside of Wu Dao Kou (Beijing) at this club called Propaganda. Funnily enough I got food poisoning from my host family giving me an egg tomato dish and never had stomach problems with the street food.
I'm gonna give you the rundown on this only because I care about the halal carts as they are an integral part of nyc culture and I do not want to see their mainstream rep slowly ruined by clueless transplants and the like. Halal carts serve a proper amount of delicious food for a relatively cheap price. A good value overall. Not all of these are of the same quality though and any random cart on any random block won't hit the same as the good known spots, and are generally to be avoided. There are some good random local carts but it can be pretty hit or miss so these are overall high variability with respect to location. Halal Guys on 53rd and 6th was one of the OGs in the game but they peaked over a decade ago and these days serve very mid quality stuff. They still get long lines but it's just a known brand at this point, I wouldn't waste time on it. Real ones know some of the best halal cart food is in Queens consistently, but since we're sticking to the main island here, the current top contender is Adels Famous Halal on 49th and 6th. They only start serving at around 5pm and there's usually a very long line that people queue up for as early as 4. Very good though and worth it at least for the experience. Closing statements: no dont be anxious about food quality or cleanliness, the popular spots are fine. These are highly profitable and I had a friend leave his old job to run one of these. Good ones pull in 7 figures. Operating costs are very low for these and they sell a ton. Not to mention these used to be 4-6 bucks a platter back in the day, including drink, and now they're 10.
Any recs in Queens?
I used to think these food carts were overpriced. Now I'm gonna try one. Thanks WSO!
Even though the Arab is the one who start this, it is now Israeli food
the food is fine, probably not very healthy, but tastes good and never had a problem with food poisoning or anything
these carts need licenses and go through inspections like any other restaurant
It's healthy food. Not fried.
Most of the guys that run those places take pride in their operation. Anytime I go the veggies are almost always crazy fresh. Ive eaten at them countless times and haven't gotten sick. Get extra white sauce.
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