Ah yes, The Halal Guys of New York City.
On our Trip to New York in January 2015 Rayyan and I had heard so much about The Halal Guys and
their apparently amazing street food that we were just thrilled to set off and
find their carts. Who would’ve known that a couple of months later, Toronto would hear news of getting its own The Halal Guys restaurant! Woohoo!
Funny story though, before trying the real thing, we made a
curious observation: There were many, many copycat carts all over the streets
of NYC offering “Halal food”.
We had approached another cart elsewhere thinking that mashaAllah,
NYC was really catering to the Muslims, but we quickly realized that it wasn’t
that these copy cat carts were offering different Halal options, but that the
word “Halal” became synonymous to New Yorkers with “A plate of chicken, rice,
and salad”. Thus, we learned that people probably think that “Halal” means
Chicken and Rice. Funny!
Do be warned though, the copycat carts are really not the
same thing and you'd have to ask the vendors if it's really Halal. Some have
even branded themselves with the same bright yellow and red just like The Halal
Guys.
LOCATION
We
had gone here after seeing a view of the city skyline at the “Top of the Rock”
Observation Deck at the Rockefeller Center (review coming soon!) which is only
a 3 minute walk away. Very much recommended!
The line was gargantuan and it never ended. The cool thing
is that even though many of the people in line were Muslim, most of them weren't.
The Halal Guys is legitimately the street food of choice for New Yorkers of all
walks of life. Excitement was building!
As you lined up you could hear the perpetual clink clink clink of their metal
spatulas as they tossed around minced lamb and chicken on their stoves. Their
employees were all dressed in yellow branded sweaters which really gave you a
feel of an authentic experience.
These guys were working non-stop as the line never ended,
cooking meat, chopping vegetables and bread, taking money and serving. It had a
very professional vibe as far as street food goes.
Alright let’s talk about the food. We decided to get two Mix
Chicken & Gyro plates for $7 each which was a mistake because they were
massive.
It came with minced chicken and lamb, a scattering of salad,
a plain “orange” rice, and some chopped pita pieces. It also came with
a couple of packages of “White sauce” and hot sauce, and if you asked for more
they gave you as much as they want, which was pretty cool.
About the taste – it was pretty good but I wasn't blown away to be honest.
Everything seemed to be a tad under seasoned, but I still liked it a lot.
Perhaps I was judging this to restaurant standards, but I had to remind myself
that this was street food, and for street food this is probably the best I've
ever had. What else do we have on the streets of Toronto that we can eat other
than halal hot dogs? This is a massive halal lunch or dinner you can pick up on
the street and probably share with another person. So in that regard, yes, this
was pretty amazing.
The white sauce was probably the highlight of the meal. It
tastes like a garlic sauce but a little mayo-like and less thick. I had heard
that before The Halal Guys got famous and expanded, the white sauce
had come in
little containers and tasted differently, but this was still pretty good.
The hot sauce is REALLY HOT. This is coming from someone
from Caribbean descent who knows spicy levels. If you like a little bit of pepper
sauce with your meal but can’t handle the hottest levels that your mom and dad
eat, DO NOT drench your food in the hot sauce like I did. That was a mistake.
It was like one of those pepper sauces that didn't have much flavour, and just
burns.
PRICES
I can’t comment on the Falafel over Rice or the Sandwiches,
but the meat and rice plates were definitely worth $7, and probably $8 here in
Canada. It was massive and filling, they didn't skimp on the meat, and it came
with all the condiments you wanted.
LOCATIONS
I heard they also have a few full-fledged restaurants in New
York as well! And 4am? I wonder if people hit up these carts for suhoor in
Ramadan?
After purchasing our food, we walked down the street to head
to the subway and found this amusing sight.
PLEASE NO HALAL FOOD HERE.
At first I was shocked! How discriminatory
for this Deli to ban Halal food! But then I realized that they had a few
tables outside and inside, and people probably bought their plates of food at
The Halal Guys and took up space at their restaurant, prompting the sign. We
laughed all the way back to the hotel.
FINAL RATING
I would eat this again, and if I was in NYC I would probably
eat this every other day. Yes it wasn’t blowing my taste buds to smithereens
but at the same time it was a yummy, comforting, and filling meal for $7 that
you can pick up on the way to all your sights and activities on a tour of NYC. I await Toronto’s new restaurant excitedly!
Thanks for the food, Guys!
-Maryam
Question for our
readers: Tell us of your
experience with The Halal Guys! If you haven’t tried
it, will you be going to Toronto’s upcoming
restaurant? Let us know below or on Facebook!
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