Halal cart
A halal cart is a food cart which serves halal Mediterranean cuisine, particularly in the United States. A halal cart platter consists of chicken or lamb gyro, yellow rice, and salad, with optional red or white sauce on top.[1] The red sauce is believed to derive from harissa, while the white sauce may come from zabadi (similar to tzatziki).[2]
The origin of the halal cart is disputed, but The Halal Guys was one of the first, starting off as a hot dog cart in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, before switching to halal food in the 1990s.[3] As early as 2007, halal carts had already begun displacing hot dog carts as the city's dominant form of street food. A Queens College study showed that there were 306 street vendors who immigrated from Germany and Italy to New York City in 1990, and none in 2005; over the same period, those from Egypt, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan had risen from 69 to 563.[4] The ubiquity of halal carts in New York City has been compared to that of taco trucks in Los Angeles.[2]
References
- Krishna, Priya. "How Street Meat Conquered New York". Grub Street. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- Danovich, Tove (10 July 2015). "Street Meat: The Rise of NYC's Halal Cart Culture". Eater. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- Gelsomini, Brianna (8 May 2017). "The History of the Halal Cart". Halal Carts: Behind the Scenes of a New Yorker's Lunch. CUNY. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
- Knafo, Saki (29 July 2007). "Decline of the Dog". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 March 2019.