The New York diaries part two-"The Halal Guys"

You could very easily go to New York and enjoy great food without ever setting foot inside a restaurant. On every street corner there are carts selling chicken over rice, lamb over rice, chilli dogs, cheese dogs, pretzels, kebabs, and god knows what else. I had a couple of dabbles at it, and on both occasions was knocked out by the quality oif what was on offer. Not to mention the ingenuity and staying power of the blokes stood behind the heat for hours on end, an incredible effort.

The chilli dogs are lovely (and at around $3 a pop great value too), but I resolved to give "The Halal Guys" a proper mention after I'd tasted their food. They apparantly started off with one cart, and now they have three, all around 6th and 52nd in Midtown, New York. I only know their history as I was tipped off by a cab driver who told me it was his current favourite fast food in the city, I didn't need a tip on the quality as there is a queue (or line as they call it there) 24/7.

Having lined up I explained to the gadgie on the serve that I had little idea what to order from his menu, and having looked at me like I was talking another language (I probably was in truth) he decided for me for that "a mix is best". I got a circular aluminium foil dish with loads of orangey rice, some salad (iceberg) with some grilled lamb doner style, along with some grilled chicken and a grilled pitta bread. On top of this he squirted some garlicky white sauce and a splodge of "the hot stuff". When I whacked a bit more of the rocket fuel on, I drew a "hey go easy on it man, it's hot!" from the seemingly slightly disgruntled "halal guy" himself. What he didn't know of course was that I really like hot food. What I didn't know was that he wasn't joking, it was absolutely blistering and I did overdo it a bit as it turned out. Ah well, not the first time or the last.

We sat down on the wall of a fountain and got stuck in. I can still taste it now, the lamb had a crunch to it not unlike the bits you get round the bone on a lamb cutlet, while the chicken had an unusual flavour that I couldn't put my finger but which was lovely. The pitta bread had gone all soft like it had been in a microwave (it was still absolutely delicious) and the rice was top notch in an orangey kind of way. I'll be honest here and make no apologies for saying it, I flippin love a kebab which is basically what this was, and it was wonderful. I kept meaning to go back, but was either outvoted by my fellow travellers, or dissuaded by the never ending lines at the Halal Guys cart.

One day I'm going to go to New York and live off street food for a week see if I don't. Until then, the least I can do is point you in the direction of these guys. Go easy on the hot sauce though, it'll burn your arse.