Cheap Ass Lunch #2: Tasty Chicken and Variety at Cuisine K

Choosing a food cart is a no-brainer for most people—they know what they want, how much it will set them back, and how fast it will take for the steaming plates of meat, rice, and vegetables to come through the window. And yes, this is quite a great thing, considering how even Dunkin’ Donuts charges $5 for a small sandwich. But what about paying just $1 more for a decent raise in quality and price?

Cuisine K is a standard little metal-sided cart on the block down from Whole Foods, with a bright yellow sign adorned with spidery lettering sitting atop a crowded kitchen full of all their options. The sides display their nine options for mains, with convenient photographs for those who don’t know a thing about Korean food. While the prices go up to $10 for the calbee and beef dishes, the obvious choices are the $6 ones. For an extra dollar on chicken or lamb over rice, you have the option of spicy, barbecue, or teriyaki chicken, and much better choices of accompaniments.

The real standout of this cart isn’t the options or new flavors, but the bases. There are choices of standard white rice that can be cooked to a firm and hearty brown for no extra cost, glutinous and soft rice noodles, or shredded lettuce in a light carrot ginger-y dressing with a fluorescent orange hue. The only problem is that you can only choose two of these bases—a harder decision than you’d think. Atop these filling bases sits your choice of one of three options of meat (sorry vegetarians, you’ll have to make some sort of deal to get kimchi over rice, but I’m not sure how that will turn out). The teriyaki is probably the best, with WHOLE pieces of nicely-browned chicken loosely chopped in a slightly sweet and tangy but understated sauce. The barbecue chicken is also pretty good, with a mellow yet delicious flavor and little bits of carrot interspersed in the shredded mixture. The spicy chicken is also quite good; it’s very flavorful but also reasonably spicy and a bit heavy. If you have a thicker wallet, the firm barbecue porkchop is in whole pieces like the chicken teriyaki and does a similarly great job in bringing the meat’s natural flavor forward for an extra $2.

With a free soda or water for students and probably more than enough food to fill you up, this is certainly a good deal. While the vendor is a bit hard of hearing and the cart is another block over, it’s close to the benches of Asphalt Green and provides many more choices than other carts in the area.

Directions: On Greenwich Street between Barclay and Murray.

Head one block down from the bridge, turn right, and go for around two and a half blocks past Whole Foods.