Several weeks ago, we reported the arrival of Sammy’s Halal, a chicken and rice cart from 73rd and Broadway in Queens, here in Morningside Heights. In a truly bizarre coincidence, the cart disappeared the day we reported its arrival. Several visits to the original Sammy’s Halal and a few phone calls to one of the partners involved in Sammy’s expansion plans later, we are sad to inform the Columbia community that the partners at Sammy’s are vacillating on the decision to return to Morningside Heights. They expressed concerns over the traffic they could get serving up their award winning Chicken & Rice around our campus.

As a result, we here at The Hungry Lion would like to attempt to mobilize the Columbia community to convince Sammy and his partners to bring back the delicious! Please read the following open letter and, if you feel as we do, leave your name and a comment. We’ll continue to stay in touch with Sammy and, hopefully, send along this letter with hundreds of signatures.

To the Partners of Sammy’s Halal,

As residents of the culinary wasteland that is Morningside Heights, we are reaching out to you to inform you that our little hamlet needs you and we want you to come back. We apologize for not having visited your cart earlier in the year when you quietly set up shop on 111th behind an oft-ignored fruit cart. The truth is, amidst the opening of Chipotle and rumors of a new juice bar and trendy frozen yogurt stand, your cart didn’t get the attention it deserved. But, we know better now. There’s no food here. To the hungry Columbian, this is a blighted culinary community and only a Sammy’s Halal cart can save us from day after day of gastronomic sadness.

If you return, your cart could most assuredly receive traffic beyond your wildest imaginations. Have you seen the lines at the aforementioned Chipotle? Their burritos pale in comparison to your chicken and rice. For those lucky few of us who had a chance, we still dream being slathered in white, red, and green sauce. The neighborhood already supports upwards of 6 “chicken and rice” carts, all of which serve up slop compared to your mouth-gasming platters of goodness. All of the patrons of these second-rate establishments will happily switch to your cart. Just give them a chance.

Columbians love Chicken and Rice. Believe us. We can’t count how many times we’ve stood in line at 53rd and 6th, shivering in the cold after a late night. 53rd and 6th might be good, but your chicken and rice is great. Come back to Morningside Heights and, if you choose, you can be the late night destination for each of us hungry Columbians. Closer to home and more delicious - the perfect cocktail for success beyond your wildest dreams.

No, we did not come out en masse during your brief stint in September. But, how long were you out there? A week? Two? No sooner than when we discovered your cart did you pack up and leave. Leaving a void in our hearts and empty stomachs all around. Since then, we’ve eagerly awaited your return. The story of Sammy’s Halal on 111th and Broadway reaching near mythical status. We’re ready now and we promise you that, if you serve it, we will come.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned (Check the comments… this is a blog…)

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This entry was posted by Hungry Lion on Monday, October 15th, 2007 at 2:10 pm and is filed under food@columbia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.