Eating street meat from astreet food cartis a veritable religious rite of passage in NYC . But there ’s one cart that reigns supreme above all others , and that ’s Halal Guys ( officially named The Halal Guys ) . A bona fide mental institution with over 25 eld of street meat experience , you’re able to thank The Halal Guys for mainstreaming halal go-cart in a agency no one thought possible – gravely , even the guy rope who started it are pretty shocked . We sat down with these kings of the corner to get all their yummy secrets , and we ’re pretty confident you ’re gon na need a gyro coated in whitened sauce after understand this .
The Halal Guys started out as hot dog vendors
Before command the halal scene , founding father Mohamed Abouelenein , Abdelbaset Elsayed , and Ahmed Elsaka ran a live click cart out of their founding niche on 53rd St & 6th Ave . But the three quickly realized that there was a strong demand from hack drivers for commodious halal food for thought that did n’t involve tug to Astoria , and thus The Halal Guys ( THG ) was born .
Cab drivers played a critical role in kick-starting the cart’s popularity
You might not have even been born yet , but back in 1990 , there was no net . So to develop any variety of follow The Halal Guys had to bank on word of mouthpiece , and luckily the cab driver community did just that . Whenever holidaymaker asked their livery driver where to go exhaust , they often suggested The Halal Guys , and this promotion helped foster an initial fan base .
The super-secret white sauce is STILL super secret… for now
The Halal Guys are n’t spilling on their famous bloodless sauce recipe any clock time presently , but seeing as it ’s been practically unchanged for 25 year , they have a go at it they ’ve got a good thing going . We even tried tocrack the ingredient code(and it kind of worked ) .
It’s not just carts anymore
They ’ve get restaurants , too ! From the UWS to fourteenth St to Long Island City , The Halal Guys are expand their brick - and - trench mortar operations at a rapid tempo . And not just in New York – last year , The Halal Guys expanded to Chicago , LA , and even the Philippines , and that ’s just the beginning . With over 350 localisation in development – seriously ! – The Halal Guys are depart planetary in a major mode .
Their falafel is seriously popular
It ’s consistently one of The Halal Guys ’ most in - demand orders , so much so that the Houston , TX location goes through over 600 piece of felafel A DAY , which is a hell of a raft of chickpeas .
But the combo platter is the most popular item, hands down
Often referred to as the “ Halal Classic ” or only “ The Platter , ” this animal of an entree is a wimp & beef gyro served over Timothy Miles Bindon Rice with sugar , tomato , pocket bread , and the Earth famous lily-white and reddened ( hot ! ) sauces .
Since opening in 1990, the 53rd & 6th cart has missed less than 20 days of business
And that ’s only because of street closures ! Dedication , thy name be The Halal Guys .
Even during Hurricane Sandy, these guys were hard at work
They roll back into the city as soon as the streets were opened and were the only food for thought useable for blocks , so the lines were predictably harebrained . Even more awesome ? In the days directly follow the storm , all exigency workers / first responder ate for free .
They’ve basically created a whole new genre of food
The combination of traditional halal ingredient and spices + an “ Americanized ” presentation ( one designed to specifically meet the penury of the NYC cabbie community ) has basically become a musical genre of it ’s own : American Halal Street Food .
The founders play favorites… sort of
Technically they love everything on the bill of fare , but when we pushed for specifics , we were n’t frustrated . For Mohammed , his go - to Holy Order is the authoritative combo platter ; Ahmed is partial to the chicken sandwich for its on - the - go public toilet ; and Abdelbaset is also a combo disk guy rope , but WITHOUT the blistering sauce – it ’s a little too spicy for his taste .
And speaking of fiery, THG’s hot sauce has a Scoville rating of 100,000-130,000
In secular ’s term ? That ’s REALLY spicy . As in hotter than a Siamese chileandtwice as blistering as a tabasco or red pepper chili , so proceed with caution .
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Sarah Anderson/Thrillist
Flickr/Chris Goldberg
Flickr/Anton Diaz
Sarah Anderson/Thrillist
Flickr/Anton Diaz