Steak Freak

One of my favorite food trucks to hit up for lunch in Midtown. The food is consistently good and the service is always on point. There’s always a huge line, especially during peak hours (12 – 2 pm), but the guys working in the truck are always quick and polite.
I’ve had the Chicken Manchurian, Steak Basil, and Steak Chimichurri. My favorite is the Steak Basil. The steak is always well-​seasoned and very flavorful, never overcooked and always juicy. Each entrée is accompanied by white or brown rice and a side salad. For $ 8 or $ 9 in Midtown, you can’t go wrong.
Overall, this food truck is a great option for an affordable filling lunch in Midtown.

Wow. I haven’t even finished eating my Steak Basil but I had to pause to write this review. Can’t speak for any of the other dishes but this is delicious– flavorful and fresh! And SAUCE! It didn’t even need extra sauce, because it’s so flavorful, but they have me two little sauces which are also great! I’ll have to be back to try other dishes.

Line around lunch time moves pretty slow. Food is OK, I usually go for the chicken or beef basil.

I came for a short business trip to NY and as soon as I asked about food trucks, this was «the one». Now I understand why. The food is yummy! I didn’t give it 5 stars because it was a little bit of a wait, but nothing outrageous. I will come back to try other dishes next time that in town!

Amazing meal. First time there and for sure will be back. The sesame steak was fantastic. It was only 12:30 already sold out of fries will have to try those next time. But the flavor of the steak was unbelievable

I REAAAALLLLY want to like this place because the food is absolutely delicious and it is the best affordable food that I’ve had in Midtown but. I waited almost an hour and thirty minutes for my meal so. I would love to try this place again but the line has definitely scarred me.
This place was kind of difficult to find since the Unilocal address is misleading. It’s in front of a chase bank located on 50^th street between 6^th and 7^th avenue. There’s a whole row of food trucks here, and the line for Steak Freak is always the longest so. it’s difficult to miss. As I mentioned early, I was on this line for practically an hour and a half since they only take 3 orders at a time and when people begin ordering more than one plate for themselves the wait is extended even more. Their system of ordering really needs to be improved, the guy in the front memorizes them. when it would be much more efficient to write it down or as others have said, give out a number. It takes a little bit for the food to be prepared, probably 10 minutes after you’ve ordered. I guess it’s my fault because I got here around 1:15pm, just in time for the lunch rush.
The food itself is delicious and goes well with the spicy mayo and white sauce that they give you. The meat is a little rough and overcooked but not a dealbreaker. The salad is crunchy and tastes good mixed in with your meal. nothing bad I could really say about the food. But please! I can’t spend my entire lunch break waiting on line!
Oh. You also pay AFTER you receive your food so. if you don’t have cash you definitely have time to go to the bank to get it.

I find it hard to give 5 stars for a food truck– it has to be reallyyyy amazing, so consider this a 4.5 (because I didn’t get to try their steak frites, since they alwayssss run out of fries early).
I came here for lunch and ordered the sesame steak. The sauce was flavorful and the steak was just right (just the right amount of chewy and tender). You can choose between white or brown rice and it comes with some salad.
The guy handling the truck itself was SUPER NICE. Always smiles and always polite– excellent service.
I will definitely be stopping by again. Awesome food, decent prices, and excellent service.

Their steak basil is amazing! The first time I had it was slightly better than the second time, but at least they are preparing everything fresh in the cart. My friend loves the steak with kimchi. Another friend who I brought wasn’t too too crazy about the chimichurri steak but loved my steak basil. Long story short, I’d recommend this cart and highly recommend the steak basil.
When I’ve been there, there haven’t been long lines to order, most of the people standing around are just waiting for their food to be ready. Don’t know if they take card, I just order then cross the st to take cash out. you’ll have a few minutes to kill.

This is probably my favorite workday lunch food truck on «truck row» (on the north side of 50^th St. between 7^th Ave and Ave of the Americas — the Unilocal address currently listed is incorrect). I’ve been frequenting this truck since late 2014 and love it!
Line/​Wait Time/​CASH ONLY:
If you go before 12PM, the wait time is short (~5−10min max) with only a few people in line. But any time between 12−1PM, expect to wait for 15 – 25 min+ because they draw a large lunch crowd (and deserving!). I will say the guys working in the truck are pretty efficient, so don’t let the long lines dissuade you from waiting. Like other reviewers have mentioned, it’s CASH ONLY but that’s to be expected with a food truck. No gripes there.
Food:
I’ve had the Steak Basil Lime, Steak Chimichurri and Steak Frites; of the 3, my favorite and go-​to is the Steak Basil (which is also their most popular, and rightly so). Of course the spotlight of the dish is on the steak which is well-​marinated with a dark brown sauce that has the right amount of sweetness, and paired with the spicy mayo and white sauce that comes as a side it’s even better. Alongside the steak are roasted green/​red peppers that are perfect accompaniments. You also get a heaping mound of hot white rice with a side salad (lettuce and a sprinkle of purple cabbage). Sometimes I opt for extra rice instead of the salad if it’s «that kind of day» which the truck guys are happy to accommodate w/​o extra charge. It is a good amount of food for the price ($ 9). I wasn’t crazy about the other two dishes. The Steak Chimichurri wasn’t as flavorful as the steak basil and you basically just get two small plastic containers of Chimichurri sauce to pour on top. The steak in the Steak Frites is not marinated and I think is only seasoned with salt/​pepper; for the price ($ 10) you’re only getting 5 pieces of small steak strips and some fries — it wasn’t as filling nor did it taste as good as the Steak Basil.
Overall, I think this truck provides a super tasty, affordable lunch ($ 9 on avg per dish) in Midtown where the variety of lunch options is not the best. It’s a nice respite from my usual, boring options I frequent in the area (i.e. Bocca, Café Duke, etc).

Almost exactly a year since I’ve had it; the same dish I’ve had is now called «Steak Basil» and it comes with salad and rice. It is amazing. Long wait but worth it.
Nice guys there too.

It was difficult to find this truck because the location on the Unilocal page is inaccurate. I finally did find it and tried it out.
The lines were really LONG & they don’t accept card. I ordered basil steak with rice, it was delicious! The portions were decent sized and I enjoyed it. My coworkers had the chicken dish and they also gave a good review.
The service was great, the truck workers explained the difference between all the dishes and recommended their favorite. The pricing wasn’t as great as I’d expected. I paid $ 11 and that’s definitely more than I’m used to spending at a food truck. Not sure if I’d get it again because of the price as there are other trucks that sells similar items for much cheaper.
I would recommend that you try it. I’m told the sesame steak is also a great choice.

Affordable and tasty food in Midtown. Who doesn’t like food truck? Whenever I’m visiting my friend’s office, he always takes me here. Steak chimichurri is our fave. Generous portion for the price you pay. I also tried chicken basil, but. it’s not the kind of basil I used to have. It tasted more like … general sao to me. Nonetheless, it’s good.
The line can be long during lunch hours, but it moves pretty quickly.

Really great food for a really great price. So far I have tried the honey chicken and the steak basil. Both were fantastic and served with a side salad and two condiments. The truck has a different name on it. Tangey something. But if you look closely near the window, theres a sign that says Steak Freak. Try it out!

Only a year or so old, Steak Freak’s menu has evolved significantly in that short time, initially featuring steak frites with prominence and gradually adding and removing menu items to essentially become an indo-​Chinese food truck. In that same time, the truck has withheld shaky beginnings to develop a significant following, with lines stretching around the sidewalk as early as 11:30AM.
I haven’t had everything on the menu yet — despite being easily their most popular item, I haven’t tried the steak basil yet, for example — but of what I’ve had, I’d recommend the Chicken Manchurian. After trying this dish in several carts and restaurants in NYC, imagine my surprise to learn that such a good variant comes out of a little cart — and one with «steak» in its name to boot!
The line is long and moves slowly even when compared to the slowly-​moving queues standard of the NYC food truck experience, so I’d recommend arriving as early as possible.

Very solid food cart!
I was hoping to either get the Chimichurri steak over rice or Steak Frites however, they were not available. I ended up getting the basil steak over rice which was great! It was chopped up skirt steak that was marinated in some sore of basil sauce mixed with peppers. The steak itself was a little over cooked but it was very flavorful.
Given that they are operating out of a cart, I think their menu may be a bit too ambitious. Their menu shows 9+ options and they ran out of 2 of the steak dishes at 11:45 am. They do have other meat options such as chicken but I feel they would fare much better if they strictly stuck to steak.
The pricing is also fair, it was $ 8 for my dish.
I will definitely have to give this cart another try, but I might have to show up at 10 am for a chance to get their more popular dishes.
Edit: They just added an extra meat option for $ 1! I now feel like a true steak freak!

I guess good things do come in small packages! I usually don’t dine from food trucks but I was dying for something different. I came across this truck which is luckily a half block from my job. I’m a steak lover and I figured why not and there isn’t anything on this menu above $ 10 .
I decided to try the steak and frites ($ 10) and it was AMAZING! The steak was cooked a bit more well than I prefer but even with that it was still delicious. The steak is seasoned nicely and not dry at all. The Cajun fries are also tasty and crunchy. The meal even came with a handful of fresh mixed greens, which I really appreciated.
The portions of both the steak and fries were more than enough. The wait time was also pretty impressive. My food was ready in less than 10 mins with a smile. There is no question I will be back.
I almost forgot to mention the little sauces they have. The hot sauce and dill sauce are definitely worth trying.

Don’t Frite Out — Steak Frites er… Steak Freak is Here to Stay
Food: 4 Stars
Steak in the city? I had to check this out especially since the name is a play of the word Steak Frites (French word for Fries).
First thing I will say is that, no you do not get a whole steak. You do receive a sizable portion of strips of medium cooked steak. The pepper/​salt/​spices are well distributed on the steak, while not perfect the flavor is still very tasty. For a food cart I am rather impressed at the quality of steak that is served. They exceeded my expectations.
The best flavoring of steak (in my opinion) is the basil-​lime. The combination of flavors works very well together. The rice is a good companion to the dish as well.
If you want a classic go with the carts namesake Steak Frites. The overall dish is enjoyable. French fries compliment steak better than anything else.
The salad is standard, but the heat from the steak/​fries/​rice makes it warm, which turns me away from eating it.
My only «real» complaint is that the fries have a tendency to be over salted.
Service/​Speed: 3.75 Stars
The service is quick and mostly precise. The system they have in place hasn’t been perfected as of yet. They follow an honesty policy and rely on people remembering what they ordered and who ordered before them. Since some orders are more popular than others, they tend to repeat and people tend to jump the gun and grab it before they are supposed to.
I believe if they implemented a name or number system any fallout of orders being given to the wrong person would mostly disappear.
They have improved significantly from when I first tried them out over a month ago. They quickly ran out of food during the lunch rush because they were new and serving steak for great prices. I guess they grew quicker than they expected to.
The wait to get food depends on the time you arrive. If you arrive anywhere between 12:15pm and 1:30pm expect to wait a good 15 – 20 minutes at minimum to order your food and wait for it to be cooked. Any time before and after those hours the wait time typically ranges between 5 – 10 (maybe 15) minutes to order and receive your food.
The wait is worth it.
Overall 4 Stars
After a shaky start with lack of supplies and questionable service Steak Freak has become a force to be reckoned with when it comes to competing with other food cart and trucks out there.
The majority of their steak dishes that I have tried are cooked to medium temperature (approximately).
For a price range of $ 8 to $ 10, mostly being $ 8, you get one of the biggest bangs for your buck in midtown.
I highly recommend checking Steak Freak out if you are in the area, the lines tend to get longer during the lunch rush, but due to their improved service wait times have been cut significantly. However, I still recommend you show up a little before or after lunch rush to cut down on the time.

All day on this one! Delicious addition in Midtown West. This vendor is far too scrumptious. Most of the time you’re not sure how good vendor food is until AFTER you consume it. Ya know what I mean!
So out on a mission I went to find some good red meat and BOOM! Enter Steak Freak. I ordered the basil lime steak dish and the Cajun fries. The seasoning mix for the fries is simple yet is a perfect balance! And the beef. .. OH the beef.. . I can’t say enough about it honestly. Tender, favorable, no bad bites, no odd fat pieces! I LOVED IT!
And I will come back, over and over to see these guys!

I’ve tried the Chili Lime Beef ($ 8) and the Chimichuri Beef ($ 10). Both are good, but the Chili Lime has a better zing to it. It’s a decent portion and the salad tastes good too. The rice to meat could be better but only because there is so much beef that it needs more rice!
The only real negative thing is that the guy needs to stop taking cash with his gloved hand and then using same hand to put the salad onto the plate. I wasn’t sure the first time but I just witnessed it again. That’s not cool. Be sure to point it out to him.
Also, the Thai and Taco trucks next to it has such long lines today. Seems like a little bit more marketing is in order!

The cheapest tasty and balanced meal available Midtown West. That sentence merits 4 stars.
To be honest, I could nitpick the food. The rice is just rice. The «salad» fresh and edible iceberg lettuce, red cabbage and yellow tinged red tomatoes (also available at carts charging nearly double the price). Fries are above average in terms of flavor and crispness. The two meats I had were nicely marinated, appropriately cooked and with only a hint of in chewable fat. The portions are generous. I feel good about the calories I consume from this cart, I have not Ben tempted to visit another cart on my way back to the office. So far, you don’t have to wait on line.
The guys running the cart are chill yet efficient. It looks exceptionally clean.
$ 6-​$ 8. Yes, $ 6-​$ 8! (Without beverage).
As «First to Review» I encourage my fellow Unilocalers to try this place for themselves and contest my assessment. After all, you’re risking less cash than any other decent looking vendor.