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| - My initial visit to The Halal Guys had me impressed and hungry for more. I was excited to indulge in their food and welcomed The Halal Guys as a potential competitor to Chipotle in the Tempe-ASU area.
On my first visit, the lines were out the door, which left me feeling both excited for the food and irritated because I had to wait. After reaching the entrance and getting past the bouncer, I approached the friendly staff at the counter and asked for a combo plate. I glanced at the menu and looked around the store, but had to double take at the menu one more time to make sure I read the right prices. 8.99$ for a regular platter. When making my decision, I looked at the man in front of me, who opted for the costly 6.99$ wrap, and noticed his sandwich was much smaller than the menu image made it out to be. Assured that I had made the right choice, I proceeded to walk along the counter, mesmerized by the teamwork and mass production of food by the staff. The employee added two heaping spoonfuls of rice which I oddly assumed was cheese, a scoop of crunchy water (lettuce), a scoop of flavorless tomatoes, a pitiful spoonful of gyro, a lackluster spoonful of beef, and 4 mini triangular pieces of pita bread. Unbeknownst to me, you are allowed to add onions, green onions, and olives as free extras, however I was uninformed of this by the busy staff. The employee then asked me if I would like white sauce, red sauce, or barbecue sauce but I asked for all three on the side (to get more quantity). To finish it all off, the staff placed my to-go meal in a high quality yellow Halal Guys plastic bag, which felt silky smooth and amazing to touch.
When I reached home, I was eager to try the food. I opened the legendary white sauce and drizzled it over my food. SO MUCH WHITE SAUCE. I sampled the rice alone and found it excessively greasy, but satisfying. The crunchy water and flavorless tomatoes added meaningless bulk to the meal. Both of the meats, gyro and beef, tasted average and were not horrible, but were not amazing either. The flavor particularly came from the white sauce and red sauce. The legendary white sauce was creamy and delicious, tasting like ranch dressing but with less kick. However, spoon after spoon of creamy, fattening white sauce with the greasy orange rice had my taste buds begging for something new. I drizzled the red sauce over the platter and was in for a surprise. This sauce was made for Satan himself. While not adding spicy flavor to the meal, the sauce tasted extremely hot and added excitement and variety to the greasy repetitive nature of the meal. The mini pita pieces were soft and delicious (I would recommend adding an extra pita for a dollar).
After return visits to the restaurant, I have found the food tasting dull, greasy, and flavorless, even in spite of adding the optional extras and trying their hummus. I also observed a decline in the quality of service they provide. On one visit, two of the employees looked stoned (which I do not mind), but they forgot to include my white and red sauce on the side in the bag, the very essence of Halal Guys. On two other visits, I was charged different amounts for the same combination platter I usually get. The staff is not as friendly as they initially were, and the overall food quality has declined from its initial opening. I would not expect more from a fast food restaurant but I was hoping for more.
Despite my critique of the store, I was initially astonished and satisfied by the food. For 8.99$, the quantity of food is decent and Halal Guys offers a fresh take on fast food in the Tempe-ASU area. Additionally, the hours are great, midnight on most days and 4AM on Saturday.
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