Angelou's Mexican Grill — Restaurant in San Jose

Angelou, you've redeemed yourself. A former coworker of mine once shared his philosophy on life. Second Chances. If you're a believer in giving everyone a second chance, then you may as well do the same for these little restaurants right?

And oh boy does it apply here. The first time I went, I played it safe and got my standard order - Super Burrito al pastor with everything on it. And it was probably an off day or something because my burrito was rolled on the wrong axis - as in the ingredients were layered sequentially from end to end. The first 2/3 of it was just straight rice, then straight meat, then salsa, guac, etc. It was weird and definitely a pretty negative experience

Side note: The orange sauce was pretty boldly flavored with a deep chipotle note, though it's important to recognize that this sauce is all flavor and no taste. You can't use it as a standalone condiment unless the food you're eating it with is already adequately salted.

On the redemption trip, I got the Cali Burrito al pastor with everything on it. One of my coworkers recommended it as their go-to. Maybe it's because fries are long and straight, but this time the burrito was rolled in its correct orientation - which means consistent bites with multiple tastes and flavors. And the orange sauce pairs exquisitely with the pastor. I was very pleased with my burrito.

My only knock on this place would be the lack of a salsa bar, or salsa in general, to go with the complimentary chips. It...

Overall, I think the quality of the food at Angelou's is slightly better than other similar taquerias in the area, especially La Vics and Iguanas (their main competition probably).

Most of the food is pretty standard taqueria fare and pretty standard quality - meaning nothing of any great wow factor.

I gave this place 4 stars because two items did stand out in particular.

First, their carne asada fries, which, judging from the sheer number of photos on Google Maps and Yelp, and from my own tasting experience, lives up to every bit of the hype. It is excellent; a massive mound of fries topped with serious helpings of steak and guac, sour cream, pico de gallo, cheese, etc. One order of that alone can (and will) put a grown man into a food coma.

Next, their loco cali burrito was truly unique and awesome. It's basically your standard super burrito: you choose the meat and included in the burrito are beans, rice, guac, cheese, sour cream. But, the piece-de-resistance that makes this burrito over the top is the fried egg added inside the burrito. It's a taste explosion. Plus, since it's a california burrito, there are french fries inside the burrito (but I think that was already self-explanatory).

In sum, I would go back to eat...

I've always heard of Angelou's and have had it bookmarked for the longest time... So I finally tried it this past weekend and my only regret is that it took me THIS long to go.. Holy crap, this place has amazing food.. We stopped there around 2am on a Saturday night, and luckily there wasn't a line.. because I was ravenous after a night out bar hopping. Because I wanted to try two different items on the menu, I ended up sharing my burrito with one of the guys - really, I was just looking for an excuse to have the carne asada fries as well.

Both the carne asada fries and the Cali Burrito were amazing, and even more amazing with the green/orange sauce that you can add to your burrito. The fries stayed crispy and gave a nice extra texture to the burrito. The carne asada fries were generously covered with a delicious mixture of sauces so that not a single French fry was left tasting plain.

The next morning, I woke up really wanted more of Angelou's... To my dismay, they are closed on Sundays!! Can't...