Americas
County offers large selection of halal, kosher options
By Gazette.net
Dec 21, 2006, 13:37

County offers large selection of halal, kosher options

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006

When you walk into Abdul Baig’s Pizza Roma restaurant in College Park you might not notice anything unusual at first — pizza, hot and cold subs, pasta, calzones and even full breakfasts with a choice of ham, bacon or sausage.

Then you spend some time there, look around, and you notice many of the customers seem to be observant Muslims, the men with long beards and women with headscarves and long dresses. But — Muslims don’t eat ham and bacon, do they?

Here’s the catch: everything here is halal. It took Baig about a year after he opened in 1999 to find halal turkey ham and bacon, and halal beef pepperoni, but it was important to him.

‘‘I serve what’s supposed to be the right thing,” he said.

And that is part of the motivation behind a growing number of area halal and kosher restaurants in Prince George’s County — serving food that appeals to people with religious concerns, so observant Muslims and Jews can enjoy meals they otherwise would have to avoid.

The county’s only kosher-supervised restaurant, Pita Plus, opened two years ago in College Park, though the University of Maryland also has its own kosher dining program through its Sabra Deli on campus.

Kosher, an English word from the Hebrew meaning ritually fit for use, and halal, an Arabic term meaning permitted, generally refer to foods and food preparation permitted to observant Jews and Muslims. Both exclude pork entirely, and each has similar requirements for slaughtering of animals that allow the animals’ blood to properly drain, though kosher laws also require further blood removal by salting, for example.

But halal foods and drinks also exclude carnivores and alcohol, and permit all seafood, while kosher laws restrict some seafood, and forbid meat and dairy from being served or prepared together. The restrictions in both cases can get very detailed, but one thing makes it easier for business at Pita Plus: Muslims can also eat Jewish-prepared kosher meat.

‘‘It’s playing a lot to a large population,” said owner Liora Dahan, who took over the business in March. ‘‘It’s a unique restaurant ... on an average day you can hear four or five languages.”

Pita Plus’s table service and carryout draws everyone from students and travelers to business groups and tour groups, but Dahan also caters into the District and surrounding region.

She describes Pita Plus as offering ‘‘Middle Eastern fusion cuisine” — the menu includes traditional hummus, falafel, schwarma (or gyro meat), and the very popular matzo ball soup, as well as chicken fingers, burgers, hot dogs, deli sandwiches, kebabs, steaks, schnitzel, French fries, and even Moroccan tagines of lamb, chicken or couscous.

‘‘The authenticity of the ethnic food is bringing in non-kosher and non-halal people as well,” said Dahan, who is herself South African, though she lived in Israel for 15 years.

Baig is originally from Pakistan, and you can find some ethnic offerings at Pizza Roma as well, such as seekh kebab and chapli kebab.

But the owners of the halal-serving Sweet Tooth Cakes and Pastries in Capitol Heights are originally from America. Stephen Thomas is Muslim, though, and that means his priority is to make his food — including his cakes — with nothing but halal ingredients.

‘‘[We use] no lard, no alcohols,” Thomas said. ‘‘In the beginning we started out differently ... but we have reformatted our recipes. I worship Allah, that’s the most important thing to me.”

He has run the bakery in Capitol Heights for 10 years, but he opened a second location at the Boulevard at the Capital Center in Largo in 2003 which also serves soups, sandwiches and salads — all with halal ingredients.

Tabeer Restaurant in Hyattsville, open for 23 years, caters to Pakistani food fans, with its traditional meat, vegetable and rice dishes, breads, desserts and drinks from various regions of the owners’ homeland. But by halal regulations, there are no pork dishes and no alcoholic drinks served.

Since most Pakistanis are Muslims, that means the area’s Pakistani-Americans can enjoy a taste of home without worrying about their dietary restrictions, while the rest of the customer base can simply enjoy their favorite South Asian dishes.

And the Afghan-American owners of Food Factory II in College Park offer food from their own country as well as some Pakistani selections. Their halal marinated, grilled kebabs and huge, fluffy tandoori nan breads alongside meat and vegetable entrees draw both local Muslim residents as well as others interested in the ethnic tastes.

Although keeping their food halal and kosher means a bit more work — and often a higher cost — for Dahan, Baig and others, they will not compromise on their beliefs. And apart from taste, that fact can also attract residents of all backgrounds.

‘‘The way we process this meat, it’s much cleaner and ... safer,” Baig said. ‘‘In a way, it’s better for everybody.”

© Copyright 2006 by halaljournal.com