Cuisine of Pakistan on 37th and 9th Ave

[echoparkdirt]

Tremendous little taxi stand. Huge amount of food -- veggie and meat dishes. Lamb was fantastic as was the chickpeas. Very cheap -- 9bucks with diet coke! Def'ly a great cheap eat.

[ipsedixit]

Chicken tikka masala and the goat biryani were both excellent.

Go with the right cabbie and you get a free drink.

[Lau]

haha u came to NY from LA and that's where u ate?

[ipsedixit]

Well it's not like I was going to get Chinese ...

:-)

[Lau]

haha fair point

[ipsedixit]

Actually, I also hit up Koi (because I was staying at the Grant) and actually had quite a really enjoyable and good meal at Wolfgang's.

[Lau]

ive liked ben & jack's better, but i do like the whole peter luger (and spin-off) porterhouse and bacon thing. Definitely very NY and while not something i eat very often, it is very tasty

[ipsedixit]

Y'know, I have yet to make it to B&J.

Who do you think makes the better bacon? Luger's, B&J or Wolfgang's?

[Lau]

hmmm B&J and Luger's bacon and steak taste exactly the same, i dont think id be able to tell the difference if you taste tested me. I think Wolfgang's is a little bit worse than them in both areas. However, the ambiance sucks at B&J, its wahtever at luger's and its the best at Wolfgang's (if you care about that)

[foodwhisperer]

I didn't like the steak I had at Ben and Jack's. I do like Wolfgangs and Lugers. Also , isn't it a bit odd to be discussing bacon on a Pakistani thread. LOL or beef for the Hindi crowd.

[Lau]

haha yah this thread totally got hijacked

i dont know, i cant really tell the difference between the food at luger's and B&J (i've eaten at B&Js alot), but i can tell the diff between Luger's and Wolfgang's. Although i did have one experience at the newer B&Js where i did think it was worse than my experiences at the original branch (which is now shut for like a year or something weird like that)

[ipsedixit]

I wish Luger's (or anyone of the steakhouses that has thick cut bacon) would offer a BLT during lunch using that thick cut bacon.

They would make a killing.

If I'm there for lunch, alone, there's no way I can finish a steak and an order of thick cut bacon. But I really like the bacon, but it alone will not be enough for a meal, however. Choices, choices ... #FirstWorldProblems.

[Lau]

haha yah that is alot of food for one person. But i mean if you're here (i doubt you're in NY that often) i think you can afford to be a little wasteful

[ipsedixit]

Actually I'm in NYC about 2 times a month.

Plus I can get Wolfgang's bacon in LA.

[Lau]

oh really? never realized that bc you dont post here that often

so then if you are then i guess that is kind of an absurd amt of food....maybe go luger's lunch with burger and 1 piece of bacon, thats manageable haha

[ipsedixit]

Just started going to NYC recently.

[squid kun]

If I'm in the area I'll sometimes grab a fresh naan and some of the premade stuff to go. I've picked up pretty good chapli kabab. Also veg dishes - okra, spinach with potato, chickpeas - that were fresher and more vibrant than other steam table stuff I've had around town.

[west34]

Agree. I get takeout here regularly. My notes:

- The boneless chicken thigh and green peppers dish at the far end of the glass case is available daily and is wonderful. Nice and spicy and moderately complex.
- Most mondays and tuesdays they make a couple fantastic boneless white meat chicken dishes -- one is a version of chicken tikka masala (makhani?) that's really spicy, the other is a paler yellowish korma type dish that packs an even more serious spice. These two are my absolute faves mostly because they're NOT sweet like so many comparable dishes at expensive indian/pak places.
- There's a chicken meatball and hardboiled egg dish in a pale spicy cream sauce once in a while that's pretty darn tasty if a bit odd looking.
- Most of the cabbies order the lamb dishes but I've always found them a bit one-dimensional
- the breads are serviceable
- Rice pudding at $2 is fresh every day and generally awesome -- skip the other sweets

PS: I just ate at Dawat and was shocked at the level of overall blandness and sweetness (and the huge check!). It made me think even more highly of C.o.P!!!

[Alan Henderson]

I love that Tuesday special with the ground chicken and lentils that is really spicy, an excellent dish to be sure.

[echoparkdirt]

Punjab Cafe on 10th Ave.
at 28th street

[echoparkdirt]

I've heard rumors of a tremendous indian place/taxistand buffet on 26th and 10th???

[Lau]

Try Pakistan Teahouse downtown on Church. It's excellent and very cheap; true taxistand, if you go there very late, the entire block has cabs parked on it and they're all eating. Get the chicken or lamb kebabs, they are amazing. The naan is great as they bake it fresh as you order. Vegetable dishes a generally very good as well. Less of a fan of their curries, but they are decent.

[foodwhisperer]

Pakistan Tea House is a great bargain. I like the place. Its right next door to Nish Nush falafel.

[echoparkdirt]

I believe these guys are not a true taxistand then -- they close at 11pm

[mathew]

What times are these carts open? Late night only?

[david sprague]

not carts -- just holes in the wall that you could easily miss when walking by (well, cuisine of pakistan is slightly larger, but still doesn't have a huge storefront profile). i've had lunch at both, as well as late late night sustenance -- kind of prefer C.O.P to Punjab, but both are definitely among the city's best bang-for-your-buck places.

[Pan]

"Taxi stands" are almost by definition open 24 hours, I would think. They have to serve the night shift, too.

[Pan]

I think I've been there before and liked it. Have you been to similar places like Punjab on East 1 between 1st and A? I'm wondering how you feel it compares. I think it was better, but I haven't been to Cuisine of Pakistan for a few years, I guess (assuming it's the place I did go to in that vicinity).

[howdini]

Punjab is good, but SOOO salty!

[Pan]

Yes, I agree with you.

[howdini]

l do love the cashier, tho: "So nice!" And, after you wish him a good evening, "Same teeng!"