Eat halal? Try these under-the-radar food trucks near DTLA

L.A., for all its diversity of cuisine, does have its blind spots. One of them is the limited amount of halal food available in restaurants and take out, which is why Orange County is typically the go-to destination for halal food in Southern California.

Halal refers to dietary laws outlining what food Muslims can consume, and relates to everything from the type of animal (no pork) to how an animal is slaughtered.

But a new cluster of halal food trucks are adding to L.A.'s options, regularly converging on the edge of Echo Park and DTLA.

They've been attracting customers through word of mouth and social media, which is where I heard about it. So I decided to try them out with my colleague, LAist reporter Yusra Farzan, who recently accompanied me on a food tour of Little Arabia in Anaheim.

The tour

The food trucks and stands are set up along the cross streets where Sunset Boulevard morphs into Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and intersects with Figueroa.

[Pro tip: the best way to find them is to use the address 505 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles.]

Most of the stands are there every night, offering cuisines from a wide range of countries, from Kazakhstan to Palestine and Turkey, among others.

When we went there on a somewhat drizzly Tuesday night it was moderately busy with small groups of friends gathering to catch up and families grabbing a meal to eat there or take home.

But we were there to try the food. So we jumped right in.

Era Grill, the truck that started them all

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Gab Chabrán

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Era Grill (Central Asian food)

Yusra: The food truck that started it all, Era Grill, is a bright blue food truck that serves foods from the Central Asian region, mostly Uzbekistan.

I always joke with friends that I can roast an elaborate duck, but give me something as simple as rice and I will botch it. But rice is not simple. I believe it is an art form to get each grain perfectly cooked and fluffy. And Era Grill’s “plow,” a Central Asian version of pilaf, manages to do that beautifully.

The sweetness of the carrots and plump raisins with the richness of the tender lamb pairs so well with a fresh tomato, cucumber and dill salad. We also tried the shourpa, a meat and vegetable soup. The broth was light yet had depth with cumin and pepper flavor notes. The soup had soft chunks of carrot and potato and to my delight, cooked down sweet peppers.

Gab: We also ordered the Libananyan shawarma, which was much larger than a typical shawarma — about the size of a baby’s arm (no joke, this thing is huge) and could easily feed two people. Seasoned chicken is cooked on the vertical rotating spit and then wrapped with skillfully crispy fries and packed in a large tortilla with fresh-tasting onion and tomatoes mixed with sumac, topped with garlic yogurt sauce.

It is a lot of food, but there’s a good chance you’ll attempt to devour the entire shawarma yourself because it’s just that good.

Turkish Halal Food (Turkish Kekap)

Cem Derin at his Turkish Halal Turkish Kekap stand, located at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Figueroa near downtown L.A.

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Gab Chabrán

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At Cem Derin's Kekap stand, the star of the show is the mangal – a sleek, rectangular metal box that brings the art of Turkish-style grilling to life.

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Gab Chabrán

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Yusra: Cem Derin told us he started his food stand around three weeks ago and through word of mouth, WhatsApp groups and other vendors sending customers his way, he is slowly growing.

Gab: While he's very much the new kid on the block, his open-air grilling concept sets him apart from other food trucks. Along with his minimal pop-up tent, string lights, and folding table, he sets up his mangal, a metal rectangular box used for Turkish-style grilling, filled with a small mountain of natural mesquite charcoal before lighting its flame.

Yusra: Gab and I watched Derin set up his stand, fanning the coals, skewering the meat, finely dicing the salad ingredients. It took around 30 minutes, but it was so worth the wait. He handed me a piece of chicken piping hot straight off the grill and it was succulent, tangy and perfectly cooked.

The kekap or Turkish kebabs are served wrapped in a paper-thin bread paired with a simple salad of onions and tomatoes. The simplicity of the wrap allows the kekap to sing, with bold, tangy notes from the spice blend Derin sprinkles on the meat as soon as he pulls it from the skewer, and low smoky tones from the charcoal.

Mrs Knafeh (Palestinian Knafeh, Karak Tea, and Atayef)

Palestinian desserts from Mrs. Knafeh

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Yusra: There are two Palestinian desserts in my top five desserts of all time: knafeh and atayef. The thing with atayef, though, is that here in Southern California, it’s only available during Ramadan (that is unless you know a Palestinian teta or grandma — please invite me over if you do).

Aya Khalil has decided to change that by offering atayef all year around. Atayef are sweet, small pancakes that are packed with different fillings, shaped like a crescent, deep fried, and then doused in a simple sugar syrup. We opted for atayef filled with ishta (cream), walnuts and dates. The warm and crisp shell yielded quickly to the soft fillings. Don’t make me pick a favorite filling.

Knafeh is a separate food group in my opinion. And Khalil’s version with the sweet and salty jibneh (cheese) topped with the crispy, phyllo dough oozing with ghee and sugar syrup is going to become one of my go-to's. I can tell.

The menu at Mrs Knafeh near downtown L.A.

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Gab: When we approached Khalil’s cart, she asked me if I was ready to try the best knafeh I’ve ever had. I was immediately charmed by her confidence. I suspect you don’t get the name Mrs. Knafeh for nothing, and you know what? She wasn’t wrong.

We asked Khalil about how this group of food stands came to be. She told us that nearby apartment complexes house a growing population of Muslims, many of them students, who were seeking out halal food. As a result, Era Grill and then others, started popping up.

As our desserts arrived, we washed them down with a cup of karak. It's similar to masala chai, with black tea as its base, and contains cardamom and ginger, evaporated milk and sugar. The sweet, milky flavors provided spot-on accompaniment for the wonderful desserts.

Naryn Halal Food (Kazakhstan)

Yusra: Waiting for Gab to arrive, I got talking to some of the patrons enjoying the food on the tables set up outside the truck. One told me he had just come from Boston. His friend had picked him up from LAX and brought him straight to Naryn — he says it's the best Kazakh food he has had.

He recommended we try the manti dumplings and beef samsa. The dumplings were a little bigger than my fist, and as soon as I cut into one, I was hit with a cumin and pepper steam (beats any facial). I was soon in dumpling nirvana. Even the steady drizzle wasn’t enough to break me out of my stupor.

Manti dumplings and beef samsa from Naryn Halal Food truck.

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Gab Chabrán

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Gab: The samsa was a round bun-shaped pastry filled with meat and vegetables. The owner of Naryn, Yerzhan Urkimbayev, told us it’s like a burger, which immediately excited me. Tearing one in half, I found magnificently tender ground beef with tiny bits of cooked-down onion, seasoned and packed with sweet-smelling spices. Do yourself a favor and try it with the red tomato-based sauce that comes with your order, somewhere between a light marinara sauce and ketchup, nailing said burger comparisons to a tee.