Street Meat: 2010

I got an early-morning call last week, asking me to come to work a few hours earlier and fill in for a sick coworker. I live in Brooklyn, which means I'm about an hour from where our studio is, and that meant I had to get my butt out of bed IMMEDIATELY, take a 2-minute shower, and hit the bricks. I hadn't prepared my lunch the night before, so I found myself walking back to the office (at a different location than the studio) and hearing my stomach grumble like crazy.

At first I tried to tell myself I'd just finish work early and go home to eat, but even I knew I was kidding myself. An hour or two always turns into 4 or 5, and considering I'd skipped breakfast, too, that was too darn long to go without eating. The cab let me out at the corner of 49th and 6th, and I managed to walk past the first 2 food carts before the 3rd finally won me over. If you've ever walked past these in NYC, you know how good they smell. Yum.

The cart owner was quite friendly and asked what I wanted, then made some friendly small talk. I appreciate a cheerful food vendor! I opted for the curried (I think?) chicken platter. It came over rice and salad, and I opted for both the white (creamy) and red (FIERY HOT!) sauces. Yum. It cost me a grand total of 5 bucks, too, so I'm marking this under Cheap Eats.

I hustled up to my floor and flipped open the container, inhaling the myriad spices and steam. Sooo delicious, and I hadn't taken my first bite! Then I did , and then I took another, and another, and another. I couldn't believe how good this was. No stringy, fatty pieces, and that red sauce was freaking HOT. YIPES. Thankfully, the lettuce and cabbage mix was there to cool off the tastebuds. Next time I'll have to ask what they guy calls his stand, so I can refer to it as something other than "that cart with the green sandwich boards." Either way, you should give it a try next time you're in the area!