Hungry Muslim » Street http://www.hungrymuslim.com Your halal food review blog always feeding you what you can eat! Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:35:30 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 The Godfather – Pay Your Respects http://www.hungrymuslim.com/2009/10/godfather/ http://www.hungrymuslim.com/2009/10/godfather/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:16:32 +0000 thesubman http://www.hungrymuslim.com/?p=418 If you live in New York City, or even visited it, you should have at one time or another had some food from a street cart. And anybody who is anybody has heard of “The Godfather”. It goes by many names; “chicken and rice”, “chicken guy”, “53rd & 6th” and even “halal cart” if you want to believe it; but the mastermind behind it all can be referred to by only one name, “The Godfather”. Why the name Godfather you may ask? Its a simple answer that any “real” New Yorker knows. The answer can be found all over New York city. Basically, you can walk any where in the city and see a cart that’s selling grilled chicken & lamb meat over rice with salad topped with some type of white sauce and it’s primarily because of these guys on 53rd street and 6th ave in the city, which were the ones that really popularized chicken and rice. Simply put, it’s because of this 10+ year street vendor that many of these other vendors have a living. That’s why he is truly known as The Godfather.

Its not just the historical value either: it’s on every ones mind. Whether it’s celebrities, heads of state or even the average joe; everyone loves this food and many will stand on line for up to an hour to get a plate. The original gyro spot in NYC has become an iconic place. Everyone who is in town always wants to go, but I have a different take on the infamous Godfather. The lamb is the best out of any of the carts in NYC and will definitely fill you up. The generous serving sizes means you probably won’t be able to finish a plate by yourself. Though the chicken is good as well, it just doesn’t stack up to the lamb.  The chicken can be bland at times and dry at other times; whereas the lamb is always the safest bet! I would recommend someone new to get a mix and try it out for themselves. So for six bucks of your hard earned money, you can get a mix platter of chicken, lamb, rice & salad which will feed you for a couple of meals.

Now don’t be fooled, the cart opens up at 7pm and is open until 5 AM only; which means you can make the late night trip. Trust me, when I say it’s worth the trip. For example, during college days we used to make trips down from the University of Massachusetts (some 165 miles away) just for The Godfather. This has become a staple in late night munchies in New York, so definitely do yourself the favor and check it out (if you have been under a rock!).

Pictures

the yellow bag long lines intherain halalguys Hot Serving platter Gryo meat chicken platter Godfather platter with sauce

Recommendations

  • Lamb and Rice with a lot of white sauce and hot sauce
  • Chicken on pita isn’t bad if you don’t want rice
  • Be careful of the hot sauce; use with caution!

Rating

  • Food: 3.5 – Delicious food, amazing white sauce,  tastes especially great when all is mixed up. The taste of the food has become sub-par at times due to the demand; if you haven’t ever had it is definitely worth the wait!
  • Value: 4.5 – Only $6 for a platter that most wont finish in one sitting; you just can’t beat the amount of food. Always has a line, so your time maybe more valuable.
  • Service: 1.5 – Time is valuable for these guys, so that smile with the service might take a little while!
  • Lota-Pani: 4.0 - The workers do keep the place clean as can be
  • Decor: N/A – Street

Overall

Safavid-starSafavid-starSafavid-star

Halal Rating

moon moon moon

  • No debating the Halal food

Location

Corner of 53rd & 6th Ave

Contact

Website: http://www.53rdand6th.com (currently down)

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