As for the entree, I decided to get the Turkish prize of Adana Kabab, while my friend got a dinner special which consisted of a gyro platter with a special tomato based sauce. The appetizers came out on time and were good to munch on with the Turkish bread. The falafel was well cooked and had a great crunch while the hummus left a lot more to be desired.  After the appetizers, the entrees came out and were amazing. The Adana Kabab was delicious and flavorful. The portion size was great and I can say it was one of the best I have ever had. The gyro platter was even better. The gyro was layered with sauce and a small layer of crispy, sauce soaked bread. I asked the name of the dish and all they said it was their “special gyro platter”. In conclusion, if your looking for a delicious new place for some good, well priced Turkish food, Istanbul Park is the place to check out.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Gyro Platter
• Adana Kabab
• Turkish Bread

Rating

• Food: 4.5 – Great flavors and tasteful entrees
• Value: 4.5 – Fairly priced and great portion sizes
• Service: 4.0 – Good service, friendly staff
• Lota-Pani: 4.0 – As to be expected clean restaurant
• Decor: 3.5 – More to be desired, modest setup

Overall

Halal Rating

• Halal verification by staff
• Maybe BYOB

Location

293 7th Ave (between 4th Ave & 5th Ave)  Brooklyn, NY 11215

Contact

Phone: (718) 832-3400

Website: http://www.orderistanbulpark.com

If there is ever a chance for us to ever sit down and eat some good grub, we are always for it. The other day we trekked out to Flushing and checked out an Afghan restaurant called Choopan  Kabab House. This place is a favorite for a lot of people in the neighborhood and we decided to give it a try.

When we first got there, we were greeted by a wonderful lady who was very nice and helpful. We ordered the usual kebab and rice dishes and waited. We got bread and salad it was great.  The food came out pretty fast and was pipping hot. The afghan food is probably one of the most delicious ones we have had. If your with a group, try to get a the combo platter so you can taste a bit of everything and really experience it all. The kebabs have a freshness to them and the rice is better than at Bakhtar Kabab.  Price wise your also looking around $10 depending on what your ordering. There really aren’t any real complaints about this place except that it isn’t the best place to sit & eat, so you may wanna take it to go!

Overall, if your in the neighborhood picking up groceries or just talking a walk at the park, this is a wonderful little place to check out.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Combo platter (get a little bit of everything)
• Kufta kebab & don’t forget the white sauce
• Green Tea

Rating

• Food: 4.5 – One of the better & clean afghan food out there.
• Value: 4.0 – Not over priced, looking at under $10 for most platters
• Service: 4.5 – Great & helpful waitresses (please tip them well)
• Lota-Pani: 4.5 - Clean bathrooms
• Decor: 2.0 – Could be done better; place is a bit cozy

Overall

Halal Rating

• Fully Halal

Location

4327 Main Street Flushing, NY 11355-4743

Contact

Phone:  (718) 539-3180

Website:  None

Since it was a weekday afternoon, we got just in time for a lunch time for the lunch special. The place is located near bus & subway stops so its easily accessible. After getting seated we were pleasantly greeted with a salty treat as we decided on our order. We decided to get an order of General Toa’s Chicken & Hunan chicken. The meals came with a soup and we both opted for hot & sour soup.

The soups came out very fast and were chunky & thick. The tofu was surprisingly very delicious. Soon after that the both dishes came out. At first sight the portions sizes are big. The hunan chicken was crispy and very tasteful.  The general’s was a bit too sweet for my liking, but the hot sauce did the trick. Overall the food was delicious, cooked to perfection and definably worth the money. So if you get a chance, check it out.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Hunan Chicken
• Pepper Steak
• General Toa’s Chicken

Rating

• Food: 4.5 -Best authentic Chinese food around
  
• Value: 4.5 – Great prices, especially if you get the lunch special
• Service: 3.5 – Decent service, could be better.
• Lota-Pani: 3.5 - Clean tables and floors
• Decor: 3.0 – Could be improved, but not the worst

Overall

Halal Rating

• Full Halal

Location

25-25 Broadway, Astoria, NY 11106-3413

Contact

Phone: (718) 278-0080

Website: None

Well, looks like this place closed down
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Forget about olives growing in gardens. Real olives grow on trees, and “Olive Tree” will definitely make you a believer.  As one can tell by the title, Olive Tree is another “fusion style” restaurant. The curve ball here is that it’s the first Halal Indian/Italian fusion restaurant in New York City. Let me be the first to say: Italian and Indian food work incredibly well together, like peanut butter and jelly, toast and butter, Conan O’Brien and NBC (oh wait…).

First off, the decor is top notch. It’s modern and very comfy with dimly lit lights, wall paintings and some snazzy looking tables and chairs. There’s authentic Italian music that’s played and there’s just a very good vibe about the whole place.  It’s very welcoming. The staff was very courteous and friendly as they took our orders. We ordered Potato Croquettes for the appetizer, Grilled Italian Chorizo, Char Grilled Pepper Chicken, Carbonara and Chili Chicken Pastas. We ordered the food to have a little more spice to suit our taste buds, and we were not disappointed.

The croquettes are long pieces of mashed potatoes filled with cheese in the middle and are fried which was served with marinara sauce. It tasted exactly how I described it. It was a decent appetizer. Now onto the main course(s): the chorizo was very good. It was a fresh medium rare sausage with a spicy casing. Pepper chicken was skinless grilled chicken with mild spices, but what makes this dish pretty amazing is the gravy that came with it. Creamy, mildly spicy, and savory; you can dip anything into the gravy and there would be a party in your mouth. After experimenting dipping my napkin into the gravy I moved onto the carbonara and chili chicken pastas.

Now here’s where the fusion thing makes sense. The chefs in the back used their sweet, genius brains to find a way to make an authentic Italian pasta dish have a Desi kick to it without ruining the food. It really works and the pastas were devoured within minutes. This stuff is damn good. So good you’ll kick yourself for not coming up with the idea first. Who knew that alfredo sauce and garam masala were amazing together? It kicks more butt than Vegeta and Goku fused. Yeah, it’s that good.

Finally, onto desert. You won’t find gajar halwa stuffed cannolis here (thank god), but what they did have was Tiramisu. Normally, tiramisu is a layered spongecake drenched in alcohol, but since we were at a halal restaurant, the tiramisu we ordered was free of any intoxications. Excuse my Spanish, but I can say without a doubt in my mind that tiramisu is the stuff. It’s a definite must have at the Olive Tree. Sweet, soft, and a bit chocolaty. Such a dangerous but delicious combo.

The only bad thing I’m going to say about Olive Tree is that the prices were pretty expensive. But that’s to be expected when you’re dining in an elegant restaurant in the beautiful city of New York. Expect to pay around $15 per entree. With that said, I can’t recommend Olive Tree enough. It’s a Halal Italian/Indian fusion restaurant catered to Desis! What more could you want? GO GO GO.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Any Pasta dish and desi-fy it. (Make it spicy)
• Grilled Italian Chorizo. It’s an Italian take on a Spanish dish… but desi styled. How much more “fusion” can you get?
• Tiramisu

Rating

• Food: 5.0 – Everything we had was top notch and we came out more than satisfied.
• Value: 4.0 – Yeah it might be a little expensive, but you’re paying for the decor, the atmosphere, and the delicious food. It’s worth the money.
• Service: 4.5 – Very courteous and friendly. The staff seemed dedicated to the job.
• Lota-Pani: 4.5 – So clean you can eat off the toilet seat.
• Decor: 4.0 – It’s one of the better decorated places we have seen.

Overall

Halal Rating

• Fully Halal
• No Alcohol

Location

182 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Contact

Phone: (212) 447-8706

Website: NA

One word explains the experience, amazing. I had expectations of CFC and boy did it live up to and destroyed what I had in mind. The atmosphere itself was amazing, a large restaurant where people can sit without having to worry if there is space or how long they will be there for. No worries about parking or anything as they have there own area to park and boy was the food amazing.

I judge CFC’s based on how they make a chicken cheese steak: if it is cooked well, how it’s presented and above all taste. In the past I have driven all the way to Philadelphia to get a proper halal cheese steak and the one I got at CFC blew even that away. Perfectly made with American cheese, well cooked chicken, onions and green peppers, my mouth is watering just writing about it. I had bites of everything my friends and I got and everything was superb. The buffalo wings were perfectly spicy and the cheeseburgers were delicious. I ended the night by getting an ice cream cone, the ice cream can’t mess with the ice cream at Crown’s in NYC but it was definitely good as well. All in all, I absolutely loved the experience and highly recommend it to others.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Chicken Cheese Steak – didn’t have the beef but chicken was amazing
• Buffalo wings – kinda wish they had boneless but the boned ones were very good
• Double Cheeseburger – for $3.75 you can’t really go wrong if you only want a sandwich

Rating

• Food: 4.5 – far exceeded expectations
• Value: 4.0 – Fried chicken is kinda expensive but everything else is cheap
• Service: 4.0 – food was made quickly and the staff was fun to talk to
• Lota-Pani: 3.0 – there was water on the floor and a few squares of toilet paper
• Decor: 3.0 – regular sit in or take out place -

Overall

Halal Rating

• Everything is halal except for the ribs

Location

443 Lincoln Street

Worcester, MA 01605

Contact

Phone: 508-595-0220

Website: N/A

As soon as you walk in, you’ll be in awe with the decor. It’s very well decorated with dim and beautiful lighting and fixtures. This was easily one of the best decorated (halal) places we have seen. After being greeted and seated, we took a look at the menu. There are two cuisines that are served: one being Indian cuisine (no beef dishes) and the other a fusion on Asian style food (Chinese, Hakka, and Thai). The prices are what is to be expected, in other words it’s not cheap, expect to pay $15 an entree. An issue of concern I had was communicating with the staff. The staff that I encountered happened to be of Indian descent and had very strong accents, so it was challenging to communicate with them (just imagine being on the phone with Dell tech support).

Onto the food, which was just good. Nothing amazing, but the usual fare. One thing I can say for sure and that’s that the decor is definitely better than the food, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We ordered Chili Chicken, Cashew Shrimp, Shrimp Lo Mein, Hot & Sour and Vegetable & Chicken soups. The chili chicken is going to be spicy to the gora (white) people, but to us proud chest bumping Pakistanis it was mild with a hint of spicy. Good flavor all around, but nothing to make you say “Damn this is good!”. Cashew shrimp was an interesting combo. It’s cashews with shrimp in some sauce. Good stuff. The cashews bring a different texture to the shrimp and a bit of nutty flavor to the helpless sea creature on your plate.  The shrimp lo mein was how you would expect it to be, but other Chinese restaurants make it better (Halal Kitchen). Now, I’m not much of a soup person, and these two soups helped solidify my opinion. Hot & sour as you probably already know is a hot soup that is pretty tangy on the taste buds. lastly, the veggie & chicken soup was ordinary. Broth with chopped up vegetables and chicken. It’s nothing fancy unless you think ginger ale is a miraculous drink  that doesn’t get you drunk.

NanKing kind of makes you wonder why they put so much effort into the decor when the food isn’t up to par. I think it’s because the decor is the main part of the experience at NanKing. This isn’t to say the food is bad, it’s far from it, it’s just that with such beautiful decor, one would expect the food to play the part too. Recommended to people who want to delve into the atmosphere more so than the food, which is the case sometimes.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Cashew Shrimp
• Chili Chicken (get it done spicier if you want your taste buds to commit suicide though)
• Their non-alcoholic drinks are really good. It will make you look cool with an umbrella in that chilled curvy glass for 5 seconds before you snap back into reality.

Rating

• Food: 3.0 – Nothing amazing. The decor does give you false hope about the food.
• Value: 2.5 – Not cheap at all, but could be much worse.
• Service: 3.5 – Wait staff could be better, but gosh darnit they try!
• Lota-Pani: 4.5 - Very clean, amazing bathrooms. (Try the hand dryer!)
• Decor: 5.0 – One of the best decors we have seen at any place.

Overall

Halal Rating

• Alcohol served
• Verbal verification

Location

2056 Hillside Ave
New Hyde Park, NY 11044

Contact

Phone:  (516) 352-0009

Website:  www.nankingrestaurantgroup.com

Since that time, we have been going to Moti’s at least once a week and have become regulars at the restaurant. It’s a small place with a very nice wait staff, the food is good, the price isn’t too expensive and you feel filled when you leave. There are a number of halal dishes on the menu (there are some non halal too) so you can choose from a few different things of what you want to eat.

They have raised their prices on a few items since December so the Famous NY chicken/lamb and rice is now 7.95 instead of 6.95 which for college students makes a big deal. It is great for late night on Thursdays – Saturdays as it is open until 2 AM and soon there will be delivery so no more trying to convince people to go, if you want it you can soon order it. Overall, I like the place and would suggest it to others, just be sure to ask what is halal that day as it changes based on supply of what is available.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Famous NY chicken/lamb and rice
• Gyro – it is bigger than the shawarma and the same price
• Lemonade – it has rose water in it, very sweet but very good

Rating

• Food: 4.0 – very close to NY style chicken/lamb with rice
• Value: 3.0 – for a sit down place in town decent priced but for college students kind of expensive
• Service: 4.0 – very nice wait staff
• Lota-Pani: 4.0 -bathroom is in the back of the restaurant through the kitchen, still very clean though
• Decor: 4.0 – nice lighting and decorations through out the restaurant -

Overall

Halal Rating

• Not all dishes halal.
• Verify before ordering

Location

25 North Pleasant St, Amherst MA

Contact

Phone: 413-259-2150

Website: not yet

At this point you might be asking yourself, “What the heck is a bun-kabab?”  Well, it’s exactly what it sounds like: a kabob in a bun.  Think of a spicy hamburger made of super-soft, finely minced beef mixed with lentils.  Now imagine that patty brushed with an egg wash, fried, topped with a sweet and spicy chutney, sprinkled with chopped onions and surrounded by a toasted bun.  There you go: bun-kabab. The first bite gives you a sweet oniony crunch mixed with the spicy beef patty that’s so soft it literally melts in your mouth.This thing is amazing, and takes you right back to the streets of Pakistan. I almost started hearing the honking of downtown Karachi traffic with the first bite…

Ok, where was I?  Oh yeah, the food.  With our most recent visit to the restaurant we tried the  breakfast-platter special that included a sweet semolina based halwa, a savory potato dish, a chick-pea dish and two parathas (lightly crispy flat bread)–all for $4.99. For the price this platter was incredibly satisfying and filling. All the food was also very authentic. The bright yellow color of the sweet halwa, the combination of yogurt with the potato tarkari and chick-peas brought me back to my mom’s breakfast table.

The downside: I didn’t particularly like the gola ganda, which is basically a snow cone with special sweet syrup and condensed milk–it was a little too sweet for my taste. And although it was tasty, the chick-pea dish that came with our breakfast platter was overly salted. Another downside is that you have to pay for water. It’s only .50 cents per bottle but water should be free at every restaurant, especially any restaurant that serves spicy food!

In a nutshell the food at Agha Juice ATL is very authentic. It not only reminded me of my mom’s cooking, but it also took me back to a breakfast my family once had in a small village near Swat, PK 11 years ago. I could go on with this story, but since this is a food blog the point is that the food at Agha Juice Atlanta will either take you back to Pakistan or give you a unique taste of what it’s like to be there if you haven’t visited before.  When the flavors of food have the ability to transport you into another time and country, you know you’re eating something special.

Pictures

Recommendations

• If you join their Facebook group or check their website often you’ll learn about special deals and discounts.  For example if you mention the FB group you get 5% off your order.
• Do try the bun kabab, chicken samosas (the mint chutney that comes with them is also very fresh), halwa, mango ice cream, kulfi, falooda and chai.
• Free wireless, so you can bring your laptop and study (or pretend to study and Facebook instead).

Rating

• Food: 4.5 – Other than the gola ganda, I haven’t tried anything I didn’t like.  The quality of the food is great: fresh, tasty and authentic.
• Value: 3.0 – The food is reasonably priced, but you have to pay for water.
• Service: 4.0 – Service is quick.
• Lota-Pani: 4.5 - The bathroom has new fixtures and they seem to be pretty clean.
• Decor: 3.0 – Well decorated but not overly fancy.

Overall

Halal Rating

Location

5050 Jimmy Carter Blvd, Suite 180 Norcross, GA 30093

Contact

Phone: 678.368.4186

Website: http://www.aghajuiceatl.com/

Overall the restaurant is clean and has a very family-friendly set up. In addition to the sit-down tables in the main areas, there are separate rooms available for small private parties, a prayer area and best of all a special play room for children. The TV and toys in the playroom are a great way to keep young children occupied as you take some time for yourself to enjoy a nice meal.

My favorite menu item is the Zinger Burger. Battered, seasoned, and fried to prime crispiness, white-meat chicken tenders are slathered with spicy ketchup, topped with fresh coleslaw and surrounded by a toasted, buttered hamburger bun. With the first bite, your mouth is simultaneously hit by the juiciness of the chicken and the crunch from the coleslaw. All that punctuated with the subdued spiciness of the ketchup creates a flavorful bite that’s hard to swallow, only because you want to keep it on your taste buds for a while. This burger is highly recommended.

Another item worth a try is the Karachi Cheeseburger. This burger is your traditional American style cheeseburger: a thick, seasoned beef patty topped with mayo, pickles, onions and cheese, also on a buttered toasted bun. Although the meat is juicy and seasoned very well, my only complaint with this burger is that the name hints at something spicy– something with a little Karachi “chat patti” (spicy/zingy) flavor to it.  But once I got over the initial disappointment in the lack of spice, the rest of the burger just got better and better. As long as you’re not expecting any extra kick to it, you’ll love this one for its traditional American style.

Also worth mentioning are the french fries. As one of my favorite foods, I like to consider myself a connoisseur of all fried potato foods. Karachi Broast’s french fries are really good. Super crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside: the perfect way to supplement a great burger.

And now for the bad.  Although it’s in the name of the resturant and should be their signature item, the broast is nothing to get excited about.  Broast is basically a method of cooking chicken in which the chicken is fried under pressure.  Broast in Karachi is made the same way but it traditionally has a spicy flavor to it as well.  However the broast here  is your run-of-the-mill fried chicken, without the spice.  In addition to the broast, stay away from the steak.

If you’ve ever been to Karachi before, don’t come to this resturant expecting spicy broast or burgers topped with chutney.  This place is for all of you who have driven by a McDonald’s or any other burger joint with a pang of sadness, thinking you will never be able to savor a juicy halal cheeseburger.  Karachi Broast has not only made this possible, but it has done so without sacrificing the quality or flavor of the burgers.

Pictures

Recommendations

• Zinger Burger, Karachi Cheese Burger, Chicken Tandoori Burger and the Thai Burger (which is basically a Karachi Burger topped with a sweet and spicy thai peanut sauce)
• Philly Steak and Cheese
• Boti Kabob Platter

Rating

• Food: 4.0 – The food is worth coming back for, as long as you know what to order.
• Value: 4.0 Portion sizes are decent. You can fill yourself up for around $7.
• Service: 4.0 – The staff is very nice and the food comes out fairly quickly.  But in general it is a self-service type of resturant.
• Lota-Pani: 4.5 - The bathroom is pretty clean and even comes lota-equipped!
• Decor: 4.0 - Nothing too fancy, but the place is clean and well organized.

Overall

Halal Rating

Location

Contact

Phone: (678) 291-0101

Website: www.karachibroastandgrill

After roaming around the city like I usually do, I happened to run into another place which I heard great things about. This time it’s a place that stays open late and started up about a year ago called “Munchies”. Its located just south of Houston St. on Essex Street near the East Village region in New York City. Munchies provides delicious American style food to the mass and best of all they are open late!

Munchies is more known for their delivery and take out, but since I was in the neighborhood I decided to check out the place and get my “munchies” taken care of.  As you walk in, the place looks like a fun place to grab a bite with friends and be on the way. The place seems clean and it is decently decorated with a sort of 1950′s style meets present day. They have nice tall tables with bar stools which aren’t the best to sit on and munch down your food on. After getting a seat and going over the menu, I couldn’t help check out all the different options they have for finger foods. I was told to get one thing in particular; the Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches. They are small bite sized sandwiches which are battered and fried and I must say taste amazingly delicious. They also have chicken wings that I ordered but they were bland and not special at all. I would rather recommend wings from Gigis if that’s what you’re in the mood for.

All the starters and fillers are great, but I came into Munchies for burgers. So, I ordered their famous “Munchies” burger which is a 1/4 lb. of beef, cheese and toppings (mayo based sauce, lettuce, onion & turkey bacon). The burger came out after some time and I must say it was a very delicious burger. The beef was well cooked and flavorful. The sauce was very good (not better than other places) and the cheese was nicely melted. These items don’t compare to turkey bacon that’s on the burger, which single handedly made this one of the best burgers out there and now I truly understand why everyone loves bacon. Overall, if it just a matter of taste, and Munchies does provide some of the best halal options in the city.

The food was very delicious, however (now to what I call a deal breaker) I was very disappointed on two factors, that really changed my overall opinion of the place. The first issue is the portion sizes. The burgers are claimed to be 1/4 pound meat, but I can’t explain why the burger I ate was finished in 3 small bites. I thought about this and since have gone again to Munchies, and this time on a full stomach I finished the burger in 3 small bites. The burger is just very small and there is no explanation as to why that is. The second issue is the price – now if the portion sizes were bigger I could justify the price, but paying nearly $7 just for a burger (no fries or drink) isn’t acceptable anywhere.

In conclusion, if you want a delicious tasting burger and don’t mind spending a lot, this is the place for you!

Pictures

Recommendations

• Mozzarella Balls
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Munchies’ style
• Mac n  Cheese
• Munchies Burger with Turkey Bacon!

Rating

• Food: 4.0 – Great tasting food, delicious appetizers, creative snacks and fillers. And very tasty  burgers with good flavor (just too small).
• Value: 1.0 – Can’t justify the price for the amount of food; Would you really pay over $6 for a small burger without a side or soda at any other fast food burger joint??
• Service: 4.0 – Great staff, helpful and friendly
• Lota-Pani: 2.0 - clean place & seating; No real bathroom!
• Decor: 3.5 – Classy decoration, great style; However, its still setup as a fast food joint!

Overall

Halal Rating

• Verified Halal Food

Location

179 Essex St (between Stanton & Houston St)  New York, NY 10002

Contact

Phone: (212) 673-6066

Website: www.munchiesny.com