Angelou’s Mexican Grill – San Jose

21 N 2nd St

San Jose, CA 95113

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in downtown San Jose, Angelou’s Mexican grill serves up both traditional Mexican entrees as well as Taqueria fare. Validated parking is available across the street and nearby street parking is sometimes available. Upon entering the small eatery, you will notice the large menu posted above the cash register. At the time, I was also able to check in on Yelp to earn a free Taco with a specific purchase. Staff was nice, a few guests were busy eating, and two TV’s broadcasted various programming.

Today, we decided to order the Cali moco burrito and three tacos. The Cali moco burrito was huge and contained steak, french fries, cheese, guacamole, and egg. All of the ingredients tasted fresh and went well together. There was not a lot of meat or guacamole, but there was enough. The egg added an interesting texture to the burrito. I really liked how there was no pocket of grease at the bottom of the burrito that is ever-apparent in California style, fry-filled, burritos. An even better addition was the provided orange sauce, which added a creamy texture and very strong delayed heat. The sauce is a bit sour and tangy too. Compared to La Victoria, Angelou’s orange sauce packs a lot more heat, but does not seem as creamy. Without the orange sauce, the burrito did taste a bit bland. The orange sauce also went well with the tacos and chips. We ordered both Carne Asada and Al Pastor tacos. The provided salsa on the tacos tasted very fresh over the fresh meat. I like how the tacos were lined with cilantro, which added a clean flavor. Orange sauce matched up well with the meat and tortilla. The green sauce tasted refreshing with refreshing notes of cilantro and lime, but still packing heat from fresh pepper. I did like the Carne Asada more than the Al Pastor because the beef had more flavor.

Overall, Angelou’s serves up delicious tacos and an impressive Cali burrito. I definitely recommend the use of the orange sauce if you can handle the heat. Compared to La Victoria, I would suggest coming to Angelou’s instead if you can make it downtown. Service was good and prices were reasonable, but slightly high. If you are in the area, you definitely need to get Angelou’s a try.

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