Kwik Meal & The Treat Truck

If you've paid attention to the New York street cart lunch business, you know it's uber competitive, it's serious business, so much so that every year they hand out Vendy Awards for the "best of". I've been hearing about Kwik Meal for as long as I've worked in midtown but I haven't had the chance to try it out until recently. Why is the Kwik Meal cart so famous? For one, the Bangladesh-born chef used to be a sous-chef at Russian Tea Room so he wears a chef uniform & hat while he tends the cart. Secondly, instead of the lamb gyro you see on other carts, he uses marinated chunks of lamb meat. So what do I think?

I don't know about you, but the picture looks a bit sad right? Unfortunately the pictures sums up the experience - I was disappointed. The portion was tiny, it was more expensive than the standard midtown $5 plate (they charge $7.50 for lamb over rice), the lamb meat wasn't particularly tender or juicy, and when my coworker wanted barbeque sauce, he was passed the bottle and had to squeeze his own sauce. I've been reading about the famous "green sauce", but they gave me so little of it that I could barely tell what it was.

I also tried the Treat Truck across the street, and I ordered the adorable looking mint-chocolate-cupcake-cone. I am a bit of a cupcake fanatic, and this one didn't quite do it for it. The cone was a bit stale, and the cupcake was way too sweet. But I will definitely visit the Treat Truck again, the cookies & brownies look divine. As for the Kwik Meal cart, nah, I am going back to my new favorite - Shendy's on 6th & 52nd street.



Speaking of the Treat Truck, my favorite "truck" is still the Dessert Truck, and I will like to take a moment to mourn the fact that the Dessert Truck lost their permit and will be on indefinite hiatus. Damn you New York Department of Permit or whatchumacallit (if you do exist), why must you forsaken me my little dose of happiness??!

Address: Kwik Meal, SW corner of 45th St & Sixth Avenue.
Address: Treat Truck, they move around, but you can find out their schedule here.
Address: Shendy's, NW corner of 52nd St. & Sixth Avenue.