Rapidly expanding Israeli fast food chain Burgerim has opened several halal-only restaurants across the United States. New takes on halal food transcend other genres, too. The torta ($8.50) highlights Maya Halal’s refried beans over a pliant, cream-colored bun that Safi drives to Hayward to procure. But the wet option, smothered in red enchilada sauce, is still satisfying in flavor and proportion.
Of the burritos, you might prefer the texture of the Mission-style grilled version. The shrimp taco ($4) was a favorite, but all versions are garnished with diced cilantro and onion, with meat nestled in two white corn tortillas. You may lose sight of the cheese in the panoply, but you’ll discover it once you pluck a chip and its stretchy white fibers tug back. A green bank of guacamole forms a chunky saddle to the side and cilantro protrudes like evergreens from the magma - here, a tangy orange salsa. A hilltop of chips holds steady under ribbons of sour cream, pico de gallo, refried beans and spice-rubbed chicken (an optional add-on). In particular, the nachos ($9.75) are volcanic. Maya Halal’s Mexican-American cooking is downright delicious, whether or not you follow halal.
Safi said that she couldn’t dine at Mexican restaurants growing up, given the lack of halal options, but hopes to allow others to do so by offering a halal-friendly menu developed with her co-chef of Mexican heritage. But Lulu Safi, Maya Halal’s owner and co-chef, views adhering to HFSAA as an opportunity, not an obstacle. HFSAA also prohibits lard, which is derived from pork and often incorporated into refried beans. Nor will you find Pacificos and margaritas. Photo: Kathryn Bowenįor Maya Halal, HFSAA certification takes off the table popular menu options, like carnitas and al pastor. Super nachos with chicken at Maya Halal Taqueria. To ensure HFSAA compliance, inspectors visit the taqueria and review its suppliers. HFSAA requires, for instance, that animals are slaughtered by a practicing Muslim and that they are killed by hand, not machine. Maya Halal, on the corner of Webster and 14th Street, serves craveable, Mexican-inspired fare while following strict rules set by the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America (HFSAA). Diners are flocking to new-wave halal restaurants like Maya Halal Taqueria, a recent entrant to downtown Oakland’s food scene.
These shops take different tacks in doing so, but often share a goal of making more kinds of food accessible to more people.Īnd they are succeeding. The East Bay claims a growing number of counter-service eateries offering flavors and forms not typically associated with halal, an Arabic term referring to foods permitted under Islamic dietary laws. Though the now-ubiquitous franchise may be best known for its “white sauce” (a creamy, mayo-adjacent counterpart to the tear-inducing “red sauce”), it has also popularized “American Halal Food,” which the company’s website describes as “a complex melting pot of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors.”īut The Halal Guys is not the only option shaping fast-casual halal. Since opening in 1990 as a food cart, The Halal Guys has spread across the country, currently including brick-and-mortar outposts in Berkeley and Uptown Oakland.
I didn’t realize it then, but I had dined, and cried, at the original location of The Halal Guys.
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