Okay VSalonistas of the Australian Persuasion

[j44ke]

Let's hear more about meat in a box.

Celebrating the Great Australian Tradition of Meat in a Box - The New York Times

[Colinmclelland]

Happy to help...never heard of it.

Although, i’m prepared to say there’s no Australian tradition involving halal anything.

Arrived here in 1983 to find football was called soccer when it wasn’t being called wogball, which it was most of the time.

1983! There might be an Australian tradition of thinking halal must be a typo...

[Mark Kelly]

It's a tradition in parts of Adelaide, where it's colloquially known as the "AB" if one is being polite.

I was introduced to it when I worked for TWE by some colleagues who had attended Adelaide Uni's oenology course, where it is known by its original name, the "abortion". This is turn is possibly a reference to SA being the first state to reform its abortion laws.

[BBB]

I spent four years of my time at university living in a university college in Nth Adelaide. There were two fast food shops, the Blue & White (colloquially known as Greasies) and the Red & White. They were open all hours, practically next to one another and with multiple pubs and multiple university colleges in Nth Adelaide, they did a roaring trade late in the evening. In any event the AB (or abortion as Mark notes) was a popular way of soaking up alcohol. Chips, yiros meat, tomato sauce (or chilli sauce if you were feeling daring) and tzatziki tasted wonderful at 1.00am. I know you can get it in other parts of Adelaide, but I've never seen other than from these two places in Nth Adelaide.

[NYCfixie]

I can't speak to the Australian version but I do remember eating quite a few during very late nights while at Syracuse (although it officially comes from Rochester, NY). It appears one place is now trying to upscale it into a farm-to-table option:

New Syracuse restaurant offering Rochester garbage plates with a farm-to-table twist

[j44ke]

I’m seeing a theme here in terms of ingredients.

[NYCfixie]

On a tangent but...

Syracuse (the city not the university) was a test food market so weird stuff would always show up in the supermarkets before being launched nationally.

Circa late 80s/early 90s:
- Best item IMHO: Raisin Bread
- Worst item IMHO: Microwavable Gyro


The best/worst on-campus test offering was Zima (of course for those 21 and over).

"Zima means "winter" in Slavic languages. David Placek, at Lexicon Branding, working with the company's Russian linguist came up with the name. It was launched nationally in the United States as Zima Clearmalt in 1993 after being test-marketed two years earlier in the cities of Nashville, Sacramento, and Syracuse." source = Wikipedia

[j44ke]

On a tangent but...

Syracuse (the city not the university) was a test food market so weird stuff would always show up in the supermarkets before being launched nationally.

Circa late 80s/early 90s:
- Best item IMHO: Raisin Bread
- Worst item IMHO: Microwavable Gyro


The best/worst on-campus test offering was Zima (of course for those 21 and over).

"Zima means "winter" in Slavic languages. David Placek, at Lexicon Branding, working with the company's Russian linguist came up with the name. It was launched nationally in the United States as Zima Clearmalt in 1993 after being test-marketed two years earlier in the cities of Nashville, Sacramento, and Syracuse." source = Wikipedia

Placek or pláček, which I'm pretty sure it was until it met English typewriters, means "cry" or "crying" in Czech. Actually "pláč" and the -ek is the declension or diminutive. One of te other.

[ides1056]

Meat in a box? Is that Australian for Spam?

[Trevor]

lol farm to table garbage plate. That's gold Jerry, gold!

[BBB]

Here's some more details...

The AB at Blue & White Cafe North Adelaide

[Too Tall]

Hmmm I read that article today and immediately thought of The Halal Guys NYC street cart. M'gawd that's good.

Same here >> Menu | The Halal Guys

[htwoopup]

Hmmm I read that article today and immediately thought of The Halal Guys NYC street cart. M'gawd that's good.

Same here >> Menu | The Halal Guys

Funny. So good it is now huge. Used to be a cart on Sixth Avenue with the white sauce. I noticed the other day that they were one of the "offers" of an extra 5 or 10% cash back on Chase credit cards. But it is good eats.

[NYCfixie]

Hmmm I read that article today and immediately thought of The Halal Guys NYC street cart. M'gawd that's good.

Same here >> Menu | The Halal Guys

Funny. So good it is now huge. Used to be a cart on Sixth Avenue with the white sauce. I noticed the other day that they were one of the "offers" of an extra 5 or 10% cash back on Chase credit cards. But it is good eats.

I will neither confirm or deny eating at one of the Halal Guys carts when I was in my early 20s and worked on 6th Avenue in the 40s.

Where the garbage plate reins supreme, is that if you asked nicely (and were sober enough to do it) you would get the special sauce which was a little grease scraped off the grill and added on top of the meat. Here too I will neither confirm or deny that I may have eaten this once or twice during my 4 year stay in Syracuse some 30 years ago.

[Too Tall]

We were on 6th at the cart about 10 years ago with one year old Sully the uber Standard Poodle in tow. People actually asked to take a picture with our dog!!!! Anywho, I asked for extra hot sauce and the nice man begged me NOT to do that. He was correct. Holy he!!!

Best street food ever.

[j44ke]

I learned through a Pakistani friend that the Halal Guys became one of the only places that teenage (and slightly older) Pakistani boys and girls from well-to-do/conservative families in NY & NJ could mix without getting in trouble. So that was evidently part of its popularity early on when it was just one cart on 6th.

[mnoble485]

I have lived a varied and full life but I have not experienced NYC street food. I need to plan a week visit. Would an old man survive a week of street food and if not would he die a happy man. (asked tongue in cheek). You guys can help me plan my days.

Mike

[NYCfixie]

I have lived a varied and full life but I have not experienced NYC street food. I need to plan a week visit. Would an old man survive a week of street food and if not would he die a happy man. (asked tongue in cheek). You guys can help me plan my days.

Mike

Unless you have built up years of tolerance, you are doomed. If you want to risk it, stock up on Pepto Bismol and Imodium and you "should" be fine.

[htwoopup]

I have lived a varied and full life but I have not experienced NYC street food. I need to plan a week visit. Would an old man survive a week of street food and if not would he die a happy man. (asked tongue in cheek). You guys can help me plan my days.

Mike

Who knows what the scene will be if we get through this mess. BC, there was a wide variety...from having a “tube steak in the Umbrella Room” aka “a dirty water hot dog” to finding a lobster roll from a truck parked, of course, on Park Avenue by a bank’s corporate HQ.

This one down on Park South in the 30’s by where a lot of hospital workers pass from the subway was great, not only for the food, but the ambiance and serving staff which is kinda unique having multiple servers for a food cart....

IMG_2145 by Jon Mandel, on Flickr