Halal Stand on 53rd and 6th Appreciation

[incredibleev]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by IncredibleEv

chicken over rice ftw but why u blowing up the spot though

dudes have a damn website -- http://www.53rdand6th.com/
no one's blowing up anything.

no doubt i was looking out for others, i dont really go since i got my own spots around the city and queens anyway but i dont share

 

[superantigen]

Curious--

How does one go about becoming a vendor of Halal food. I mean, first, you clearly need to know how to make the food and all. What I am interested in knowing iswhether there are rules on who can become a vendor. Do you need a license, is it some kind council and/or society of vendors. I ask because it looks like avery lucrative business venture and I would think more people would try to exploit, or rather--invest, in the opportunity/business.

...

 

[antonlavey]

Originally Posted by Dirtylicious

Originally Posted by IncredibleEv

chicken over rice ftw but why u blowing up the spot though

dudes have a damn website -- http://www.53rdand6th.com/
no one's blowing up anything.

What part of they have a line for 3 blocks did he not understand. We're not giving them any publicity they don't already have.

 

[Bonafide]

What street in Jackson heights is Sammy on? Cause I tried a spot on 74th then another one on 82nd. To me they weren't that good. The taste of the chickenjust wasn't on par.

 

[teamjordan79]

here in bk we call that joint the "taliban"

 

[crumbs]

last time i passed around 2:30 line was well on its way to 7th ave

 

[urbenyouth]

Originally Posted by SuperAntigen

Curious--

How does one go about becoming a vendor of Halal food. I mean, first, you clearly need to know how to make the food and all. What I am interested in knowing is whether there are rules on who can become a vendor. Do you need a license, is it some kind council and/or society of vendors. I ask because it looks like a very lucrative business venture and I would think more people would try to exploit, or rather--invest, in the opportunity/business.

...

I was reading that they need to pay rent on their locations and popular locations have a very expensive rent. The hot dog stand in front of the Museum ofNatural History, for instance, pays almost $600,000 a year to have that spot. It's crazy. Yeah and I'm pretty sure you need a license.

 

[chisoxdavid]

You guys need to take this nasty sh... to the regionals.

 

[datnggag]

This is so appreciated, the people around my job call it Donkey....You can eat on a budget for 5 bucks and a Snapple is something like $1.50..But yea there wasNew York Times article and the dude on 53rd & 6th is a popular spot for after the club, and people come all the way from NJ just for a bite..


LINK

They make their approach from the south - a steady stream of yellow taxicabs, black town cars and vehicles distinguished only by their New Jersey license plates, weaving their way past the lights of Times Square and into the relative dark of an emptier Midtown. Their destination is a floodlit corner of Avenue of the Americas, where a line of glittering short skirts and dark designer jeans trails down 53rd Street under a fog of smoke. It's 4 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and if their parties are no longer quite in full swing, they are at least ending on a satisfying note.

"Chicken on rice, lotta hot, lotta white," people call out in succession, almost yelling over the sizzle of oily chunks of meat on the grill, holding out their fingers to indicate how many platters they want. The instructions are for chicken piled onto rice, then doused with hot sauce and a mysterious white sauce.

It was called "crack sauce" by Shirley Wong, 22, from Boston, who was visiting the food cart for the first time, on the advice of friends who told of the platter's famous qualities. The phrase has been chanted here for the better part of two decades, and it doesn't vary much - chiefly by those who want to add a little lamb and those who can't handle a "lotta hot."

The late-night food cart at 53rd and Sixth was started by Mohamed Abouelenein in 1992, but not with any intention of reinventing the after-party in New York City. He just wanted to serve his usual customers better: taxicab and limousine drivers who worked late through the night and were tired of hot dogs.

"They asked for big meals," Mr. Abouelenein, 55, said. His regular customers, many of whom are from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, also asked for food prepared in accordance with Koranic law. "They were looking for halal food. That was the main idea."

And so Mr. Abouelenein, an Egyptian, scrapped his own hot dog stand and began serving falafel, kufta kebab and chicken with rice. His customers, satisfied, began to bring their own customers with them.

Darius Amos remembers the time, in the fall of 2000, when he and his friends were starving after a night "out clubbing." They discussed getting pizza, hot dogs, even a refrigerated burrito from a nearby bodega. One of his friends said he had heard of a vendor in Midtown who served "really good food" at that hour, but he didn't know what kind, or where the vendor was. They hailed a cab anyway and said, "Take us where the good food is," recalled Mr. Amos, 31. The good food, as far as their driver was concerned, was at 53rd and Sixth.

Mr. Abouelenein believes his was the first food cart to offer halal food, but an unofficial visual survey shows that clearly he was not the last. There are daytime halal carts now outside office buildings and nighttime vendors close to nightclubs, theaters and hotels.

Some of those drawing crowds these days are at 28th and Madison Avenue, 40th and Seventh Avenue, 45th and Sixth Avenue and 52nd between Ninth and Tenth Avenues. There are carts on Wall Street and in Washington Heights, and since all these kitchens are on wheels, if one locale doesn't work, it's easy to move.

Today, Mr. Amos swears by a cart at 52nd and Sixth (officially known as Shendy's, with a devoted following in line and online through Web sites like www.yelp.com). It's a block away from Mr. Abouelenein's cart, and in between them is a peddler selling beverages like soda and water, presumably trying to get in on the late-night vending.

"I've tried both carts; 53rd is really the touristy spot," Mr. Amos said. "52nd is the spot for the people who just couldn't wait, the starving guy. I'm usually starving."

Mr. Amos still travels an hour from Nanuet, N.Y., to Midtown and pays $8 to cross the George Washington Bridge and then orders a "mix, white, heavy hot" (chicken and lamb, extra spicy), but he swears the food is equally good at 52nd and 53rd Streets. But there's no denying that Mr. Abouelenein's cart has a cult-like following.

"We're having some chicken and rice," said Nestor Melendez, the assistant dean of students at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., rubbing his palms together excitedly. He and one of his co-workers began their evening at Hiro, followed by Cain nightclub. "At the end of a good night, you want a good meal," Mr. Melendez, 35, said. "Here, you get a bang for your buck. Our students come here all the time."

Wilther Merchan, 23, agreed: "When you find some really good quality food in these hours, it's a no-brainer. You don't find this in Hoboken." Mr. Merchan said he made the trip from Jersey City into the city "every opportunity I get."

Others, like Ms. Wong and her friend, Joty Kaura, 22, also from Boston, travel even farther. "If you come to New York, you have to get the chicken and rice," Ms. Kaura said. It was her third time eating at 53rd and Sixth; she was introducing Ms. Wong to the pleasures of the platter.

The line of longtime fans and newcomers starts early and swells late, creating waiting times of up to an hour and keeping Mr. Aboulenein's workers, in matching yellow T-shirts, out on the corner well into the morning. Business hours are only suggested at 53rd and Sixth.

"The food's good," said Hanny Hillal, 28, who makes a weekly trek with his friends from Monroe, N.J., and spends more on tolls than on the $6 platter. "But it's more than just the food itself." He paused to think. "You get to see hot girls."

Mr. Hillal gestured around him with a sauce-stained fork. It was 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. There were still 50 or so people in line at 53rd Street, about half as many at 52nd Street, and more than 100 people sitting on benches, against fountains, in double-parked cars and on the ground along this stretch of Avenue of the Americas, which for a few hours each Friday and Saturday night turns into a makeshift dining room with a fashion catwalk.

A young woman in a short, tight, strapless black dress and high heels nearly walked into one of Mr. Hillal's friends as she hobbled across the plaza. "We come here just for this," he said.

Sean Basinski, the founder and director of the Street Vendor Project, an advocacy group, characterized the 53rd and Sixth phenomenon as an extension of the club scene that feeds it, profiting from the same method that the city's hottest nightspots use.
"People come by, see the line and say, 'There must be something good here,' " Mr. Basinski said. The business was started with one type of client in mind - cab and limo drivers - and "now there are all these club kids from New Jersey," he said with a laugh. "And they wait. God bless them for waiting."

 

[Bonafide]

By the way I read a few days ago that they are opening a day spot on 53rd and 7th. I think they are open from 1130-7.

 

[kn0wledgeable]

it looks disgusting

 

[teamjordan79]

funny thing is that there is the same cart across the street from the same dudes but no1 goes there (tastes exactly the same)

people are caught up in the hype

 

[size tens]

Originally Posted by bonafide125

What street in Jackson heights is Sammy on? Cause I tried a spot on 74th then another one on 82nd. To me they weren't that good. The taste of the chicken just wasn't on par.

73rd and Broadway.

Look for the Vendy Award Winner sign.

 

[ptrakarn23]

Originally Posted by Nako XL

"ok $6."

"$6?? son, you ain't even give me double meat or nothing!"

"$6."

"i'll give you 5..."

"$6!!"

"Look man, derka derka $5."

"what?? derka derka what??"

"derka derka, muhammed, jihad...?"

"ohhhhh, derka derka derka. $5!"

oh %*++.....

 

[veryanalytical85]

I heard that particular stand in NYC, is the go to spot.

My friend raved about it, when she got back from there.

 

[nicefro]

Durum in Belgium.

 

[denni5themenace]

looking like the east coast version of carne asada fries

 

[forgot about jae]

Originally Posted by M16

Real heads know the 169 street one in Queens >>>>>>>>>>>

Ain't you say you work there ?

 

[blaz3n]

Originally Posted by bonafide125

Tell me this doesnt look %!%%%+% delicious

I am really craving for this right now.

same here.. i might go 2nite

 

[tubbbbbby]

I tried it once and bought 2 orders of chicken/lamb combo. They are actually 2 carts of the same guys. I went to the one opposite of the one Dirty posted.
BTW, that pic Dirty posted looks as if it were open during the afternoon or maybe the sun was setting. I thought they only opened at night.

-I arrived at like 8pm on like a Monday. My friends and I drove all the way from Queens to try some
-What I didn't like was that the white sauce tasted too much like mayo. Most places conceal it pretty well. Or maybe it wasn't made properly thatnight? Who knows
-That hot sauce was nothing to mess with. No wonder it came in such a small container
-No BBQ sauce

-They gave like 3 pieces of pita. Most places give you the whole damn thing or at least half.

All in all, it wasn't too bad but not worth a trip out of your way unless all the halal around you is garbage. 53rd does give you a lot more than mostplaces, money wise.

I recommend the guys outside of Queens College and the dude outside of Food Plus in Flushing. They're the same dudes and I think they're great.I've never tried the one at 169 St though.

 

[wawaweewa]

A figment of people's imagination.

 

[superantigen]

Originally Posted by UrbenYouth

Originally Posted by SuperAntigen

Curious--

How does one go about becoming a vendor of Halal food. I mean, first, you clearly need to know how to make the food and all. What I am interested in knowing is whether there are rules on who can become a vendor. Do you need a license, is it some kind council and/or society of vendors. I ask because it looks like a very lucrative business venture and I would think more people would try to exploit, or rather--invest, in the opportunity/business.

...

I was reading that they need to pay rent on their locations and popular locations have a very expensive rent. The hot dog stand in front of the Museum of Natural History, for instance, pays almost $600,000 a year to have that spot. It's crazy. Yeah and I'm pretty sure you need a license.

Wait...so that would mean that these guys are clearing minimum $600,000 a year...

And that's for the hot dog cart, which charges what--$2.50 for a dog. These figures make you wonder just how much these Halal vendors are clearing nowconsidering the majority charge anywhere from $5 to $8 a platter.

...

 

[thepointgod]

A piece of advice for those who are new to the cart--and for those who may not know:

The cart on the southeast corner of the 53rd and 6th is exactly the same as the famous one (SW corner) with the giant line. Same food, same owners, samesupplies, same sauces. They're not opened until 4AM but they are opened until pretty late, so if both are still open, save yourself the time of waiting inthe giant line.

However, the cart on the SW corner that operates during the day is NOT the same, despite what the people who run the cart say, so don't let them fool you.

 

[itsgettinhot]

That white sauce is makin' me think of sour cream, but I hate sour cream.

 

[wawaweewa]

Originally Posted by ItsGettinHot

That white sauce is makin' me think of sour cream, but I hate sour cream.

It's a yogurt/cucumber based sauce of Greek origin.