South Bay: El Halal Amigos

Happy holidays everyone!  I hope you all had a very merry Christmas! 

Earlier in the year, Abby and I were invited to check out El Halal Amigos.  El Halal Amigos started as a food truck in 2020 and after gaining popularity, they opened a brick-and-mortar this year:

Located in Willow Glen, the restaurant's colorful interior was very welcoming:

As was the staff.  When we introduced ourselves at the order counter, the owner greeted us by exclaiming, "Ah, the influencers, right?"  We were a bit taken aback by this as we'd never thought of ourselves as influencers and really are nowhere near that level.  

Luckily, the friendly owner didn't bat an eye at our awkwardness and walked us through the menu.  He assured us that he was going to take good care of us and bade us to pick a table, any table.  We opted to sit outside for optimal photo lighting.  (Maybe there is a bit of influencer in us after all?)

We were immediately brought chips and salsa to whet our appetites:

As well as horchata and jamaica agua fresca ($5 each):

When the owner said he was going to take care of us, he really meant it.  The parade of dishes that came were way too much for the two of us.

There were nar-chos ($16), which comes with your choice of fries or chips and your choice of meat.  Our nar-chos was a heaping pile of chips, pollo a pastor, queso, pico de gallo, beans, crema, NAR sauce, and guacamole (usually $2 extra):

Then there were the enchiladas rojas authenticas ($16):

The plate consisted of two enchiladas with your choice of meat, topped with lettuce and crema served alongside rice and beans.  Our enchiladas were made with brisket barbacoa.

As if that weren't enough, we were also brought slow-cooked barbacoa costillas ($23):

The beef rib and brisket were almost criminally tender.  The bone slipped right out like magic.

We thought that would be the end, but then came a plate of three tacos ($3.80 each): 

The taco sampler included carne asada ($0.50 extra), pollo a pastor, and potato and cauliflower.

Then to round out the meal, we had street churros and chocolate ($9) with vanilla ice cream from Treat:

In the interest of full disclosure, we did not pay for any of this.  El Halal Amigos was incredibly generous and thanks to them, we were able to enjoy a fabulous meal.  Chef Hisham does a great job of marrying halal meats with Mexican cuisine.  While I'm not usually a fan of fusion, this is the kind of fusion that I can get behind.  Definitely give them a try if you're ever in the area!

Now, I do have some news to share.  When I started this blog back in April 2010, I was a law student in Chicago needing something fun to help escape the torture of studying.  Over 12 years later, this blog has morphed into a diary of sorts for my travels and also for my day to day life.  Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, keeping up this blog has become more like work and less like fun.  

It's been a blast, but it's time to retire this blog.  But no worries.  Abby and I will still be eating and sharing good food, just over on our Instagram account instead.  So join us there @noshameadventures!

So to my one or two loyal readers (yes, you, AG and maybe UK), goodbye from blog world.  I'll be seeing you in real life soon anyway.  To anyone else who just so happened upon this post, I hope you have a very happy New Year.  May 2023 be filled with even more good food, good friends, and no shame adventures!

El Halal Amigos

1100 Lincoln Ave

San Jose, CA 95125

(408) 645-5571

https://www.elhalalamigos.com/