he gets the ultimate smackdown

ok, so I'm not a fan of wrasslin' but maybe now I will be, now that I have a contender that looks like me (although he may not sound, or think, like me). asians and asian-americans alike can now empathize with the newest contender in the WWE and I'm happy that me and Jimmy Wang Yang share a common heritage. great job, vince, for trying to expand the market for the WWE in this here yoonited states.

sammy, of sammy's halal

so yesterday I managed to snag an exclusive interview with Sammy, proprietor of four halal "street meat" food carts around nyc. I had the combo meal about a week ago and had just recommended it to my sister yesterday so it was on my mind. On the way home, I stopped off at the Jackson Heights location (the original, apparently) for the lamb and chicken combo and spoke with the 2006 Vendy award winner. The complete transcript follows:

Me: So, uh, lemme get a combo.
Sammy: You want the chicken and lamb together?
Me: Yeah.
Sammy: Hot sauce, white sauce?
Me: Yeah, extra hot sauce.
Sammy: You sure?
Me: Yeah.
Sammy: Okay my friend, five dollars.
Me: Thanks a lot.

I gave him my money and was back on the subway in less than five minutes. Okay, so it wasn't really an interview and if anything, it was him asking me the questions. But regardless, a pleasant interaction. I suggest you all "interview" him yourselves; his cart is located at 73rd Street and Broadway, less than a block away from the Roosevelt Avenue-74th Street subway station (E, F, V, R, G and 7 trains).

new directions

so we're going to take this somewhere else. maybe. somewhere that I've been for the last few weeks (months), someplace that I've not been welcoming anyone into except myself. I'm on the cusp of an era and not really sure how to deal with it, and all the random shit that is happening in my life has taken a toll, in the sense that it's shutting me down in many ways. by the way, random shit doesn't mean all negative things; in fact there are many positive things but its the random nature of it that has me jostled. so all I can do is try to re-orient myself to a flow and take it from there. that, and write a lot more often.

chicken vs lamb

after I finished the leftovers, I had my final report for the Vendys 2006 winner, the Halal joint in Jackson Heights that I always passed up in favor of Kabab King Diner, my usual late-night spot. it was a thursday and post-medicinal session so I got off at Roosevelt Ave on the way home and figured I'd finally hit this place up.

in fact, I had loitered near the entrance to the Vendys the week before but didn't want to fork down $50 for street meat although my friends did go inside; I got the full report the next day and of course that piqued my interest. This time when I approached Sammy's cart, it was plastered with large signs about the Vendys and looked almost gaudy. But, the choices were simple, chicken over rice, lamb over rice, or combo, at $3.99, $3.99 and $4.99 respectively. I heard it was the chicken that killed it, but being the non-partisan that I am, I knew I had to get the combo in order to judge fairly the two offerings. The two guys manning the cart (not Sammy) were discussing the new signs that they were applying, full-color digital photography with the menu and were asking me which one I thought was better, the one in front, or the one to the side. I originally thought they were referring to the other cart that was to the side, Khan's Halal Meat, which was completely patron-less. Tough break, man. So when he asked me which was better, I thought he was referring to his cart versus the other cart and I said, "Hey man, you guys are the award winners so I'm sticking with you;" they cracked up when they realized my mistake and were doubled over in laughter that the other guy's meat could even compare to theirs. In any case, I got the combo (white sauce and hot sauce please) to go, picked up a naan across the street at Kebab King and hopped back on the train.

yes, this food was the shiznit. rice was basmati and properly greased yet pleasantly clumpy, salad was fresh, the chicken was incredibly tender and almost sweetly spiced, a great counterpoint to the hot sauce. the lamb was incredible; it almost tasted like they bought an entire cylinder of gyro or shawarma meat and just diced it up, then cooked it with onions and peppers. Both meats were extremely tender yet with crisped edges, perfectly spiced, some definite heat, and tasted great even the next day, since I couldn't put down more than a third of it once I got home that first night.

winner
well, there is really no winner here, both meats are so good that I would just recommend getting the combo plate if you ever go there; it would be a very very difficult choice to make otherwise. get over there before they get all corporate and start to franchise. My previous streetmeat fave, in Manhattan at least, is on the southeast corner of Broadway and 39th street (I think) but this place kicks ass.