Mediterranean Halal Food Cart in Baltimore, Maryland

On my visit to Baltimore, I discovered the Mediterranean Halal Food Cart, a small halal food stand selling wraps, rice, and salads topped with chicken and lamb. The only reason I stumbled upon this hidden gem was because of its location on the corner of Baltimore Street and Hopkins Plaza, directly across the street from my hotel

There were a few things that stood out about this food cart. First, everyone who was ordering food from the cart appeared to be local, including students and workers from downtown businesses. Second, Mediterranean Halal Food Cart had to the most affordable restaurant in Baltimore. The price, the quality of the food, and the amount of food was second to none.

Mediterranean Halal Food Menu

The menu at the Mediterranean Halal Food Cart, which was posted on the side of the cart, was quite simple as expected. You had three main options: rice, wrap, or salad. For each option you could choose chicken, lamb, or a mix of chicken or lamb. There was also one more option, a hot dog.

I found the prices somewhat hard to read. Instead of updating the menu prices, hastily written stickers were placed over the existing prices. Whoever did it didn’t have the best handwriting, making some of the prices confusing and hard to read. I believe the rice plates were $6.99, the wraps were $4.99, the salads were $5.99-6.99, and the hot dog was $2.00.

Mediterranean Halal Food Cart was without a doubt the most budget-friendly restaurant I visited on my trip to Baltimore.

Combo Rice Platter

I wish I had a scale on me so I could see how much the Combo Rice Platter ($6.99) weighed. It was large enough to feed two people.

If you order this platter, you will be rewarded with a messy yet beautiful plate of rice topped with chicken, lamb, lettuce, and tomatoes. Drizzled on top was a creamy white sauce and spicy red sauce. If you aren’t a fan of spicy foods, you can ask for no red sauce, but you’ll be missing out on so much flavor.

At the base of the platter was a generous portion of long grain rice. While simple, the rice was cooked perfectly and well seasoned, acting as the ideal base for the all the toppings.

The chicken was so fork tender that I could literally tear it apart with a plastic fork. I was expecting the cart to use chicken thighs, but instead they used chicken breasts. This was surprising as chicken breasts are easy to overcook. Being a food cart, I was expecting the chicken to be dry but this was not the case. The chicken, marinated in a spicy red sauce, was cooked perfectly. It was juicy and moist with just the right texture and spicy flavor.

The lamb was just as great as the chicken, maybe even better. Each piece of the lamb had this salty, smoky flavor that I couldn’t get enough of. It was rich but not so rich that it overpowered the dish. I couldn’t believe how tender the lamb was with each piece having just the right melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Topping off this massive plate of food was fresh and crunchy sliced lettuce, red pepper sauce, and white sauce. The red sauce, which was like a paste, added the perfect amount of heat. Each bite of the peppery, smoky red sauce added this perfect slow burn. As I love spicy foods, I wanted more of the sauce. Complimenting the red sauce was a refreshing, creamy white sauce which was made from yogurt. If you aren’t a fan of spicy foods, you’ll be happy to know that the white sauce helped tone down the spiciness of the red sauce.

Mix Wrap

If I wasn’t already full enough, I decided to also order a Mix Wrap ($4.99). Just as with the Combo Rice Platter, this wrap was stuffed with chicken and lamb.

And as for the photo, I know it might not look appetizing, but it tasted a lot better than it looked. I try to take decent photos of food whenever I can, but no matter how I try, I can never take a photo of a wrap that looks appetizing.

The ingredients in this wrap were the same as the combo platter except for the addition of the pita bread and the absence of the rice. The mix wrap was heavy, packed to the brim with chicken and lamb. Just as before, the chicken and lamb were cooked to perfection. The chicken was spicy and moist while the lamb was tender and rich. The lettuce and onions added a much needed crunchy texture to the otherwise soft pita bread and tender pieces of chicken and lamb.

I enjoyed how fresh the pita bread was. While they didn’t make them themselves, I appreciated how soft and chewy the bread was. I could tell it was fresh as possible. Old pita bread is never a good thing. It’s tough to bite and chew through and this was not the case with the pita at Mediterranean Halal Food Cart.

Finishing off this wrap was more of that same creamy white sauce and red sauce. As before, I would have liked more of the spicy red sauce for an added kick of heat.

Service

Literally, a minute after ordering the combo plate and wrap, I was handed my food. And the food was not only hot, but delicious. I don’t know how they do it so quickly while serving a quality product.

While interaction with the workers inside the tiny cart was brief, they seemed friendly during the entire process.

Conclusion

If I was a college student or a worker in the downtown Baltimore area, I would probably stop by Mediterranean Halal Food Cart multiple times a week for the delicious chicken and lamb along with the spicy red sauce and creamy white sauce.

While Baltimore isn’t the most expensive city I have been to, I would be hard pressed to find a better value in the city than found at Mediterranean Halal Food Cart. The prices were fair, the portions were huge, and the food tasted great. And, there was just something special about eating delicious food at a food cart.

Pros

• Huge portions
• Delicious chicken and lamb
• Could not get enough of the creamy white sauce and spicy, pepper red sauce
• Fast and efficient service
• Credit cards were accepted

Cons

• Limited menu
• As this is a cart only, you will have to find a place to eat

Hours

Monday-Friday: 10:00AM-6:00PM
Saturday-Sunday: 10:00AM-5:00PM

Address

2 Hopkins Place, Baltimore, MD 21201
GPS Coordinates: 39.289204,-76.617664

Map