Saturday, June 20, 2015

Yanni's Greek Cafe - The Only Halal Greek Place in North Texas

Restaurant: Yanni's Greek Cafe
Address: 280 FM 544, Murphy, TX 75094
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 6/10/15




Background:
Salam/hey guys. Welcome to the last review of this Dallas trip! The review will be on Yanni's Greek Cafe. Believe it or not, this is the only halal Greek place not only in Murphy (the only halal place in all of Murphy), but also in the entire Metroplex. I convinced my aunt to let me drive here before getting my car serviced. I had to carefully budget out my restaurant trips for the trip, so I saved this for the last. After getting ready, and going through the back roads of Collin County, I arrived at the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
Yanni's Greek Cafe is located in the strip mall near the intersection of FM 544 and Murphy Road. The inside had a nice, dark, ambiance. There was a Greek radio station playing throughout the restaurant. I was immediately helped after I got in. After looking at the menu for a few minutes, I was ready to order.



Let's Eat!
I decided to go light and healthy. I ordered the traditional Greek lentil soup and a classic gyro. I paid $10.89 (tax included). The waiting time was 10 minutes and 43 seconds.




The menu is fairly priced. It's has many traditional Greek dishes like Euro Bakery in Spring. The main difference is that there are a lot more appetizer options here than Euro Bakery. Some of the appetizer items I had never heard before. They also have dips with various sauces. The one with caviar really caught my eye, but I was kinda hoping that there would be legit caviar :P. The major difference is that this place is not fully halal. Their sausage is not halal, but it is cooked separately from the halal meat. 



Greek Lentil Soup

The Gyro



The Verdict:
The Lentil Soup was outstanding. It was very tasty and refreshing. The bread was perfect also. The gyro was decent, but it felt nice to eat a gyro after a while. The food was washed down with a nice glass of water.
The service was good. The people were really nice and had smiles. They went around making sure everyone is OK.



Conclusion:
I would make another trip here the next time I visit. I hope to try the other Greek items. I wish I could try the Saganaki. It would be fun for someone to shout "OPA" and then serve me the food. Unfortunately, it's flambeed (flambayed) with alcohol. 



Grading:
Service: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 16/20 = 80% (B)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Yanni's Greek Cafe
280 FM 544, Murphy, TX 75094
Phone: (972) 424-9494
Timings: Mon-Thu: 11 AM - 9 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 10 PM; Sun: 11 AM - 8 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or email me!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Hot N Crunchy: The Restaurant Name Perfectly describes the food

Restaurant: Hot N Crunchy
Address: 2040 W Spring Creek Parkway Suite 134, Plano, Texas 75023
Buffet or a-la-carte: 6/6/15
Date of Visit: 6/6/15



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my newest review! Today I will be reviewing Hot N Crunchy, a place that serves Indian/Pakistani and American food. It is located in Plano, like many other halal places in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. I was with a group of friends that I had made at the masjid in Allen. We had decided to go somewhere to watch the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Juventus. We had to think fast as the game had already started. We then decided to rush over to there to catch the remaining game.



Let The Experience Begin!
Hot N Crunchy is located at the intersection of W Spring Creek Parkway and Custer Rd in West Plano. The set up was very simple. You had the counter, the tables, and the TV playing the Champions League. We got a table, which was very dirty by the way. We got the menu and decided to order.



Let's Eat!
We ordered fried chicken and bbq wings. We split the bill and paid $4.17 (tax included). The overall waiting time was 30 minutes and 4 seconds, the longest in a really long time. To wait, we watched the game.



Menu: http://www.hotncrunchy.com/menu/
Along with fried chicken and chicken wings, they offer different American and Indian/Pakistani food.items. They have weekend specials. I like that everything is under $10.




BBQ Wings

Fried Chicken


Verdict:
Both the fried chicken and wings were really good. Ironically, the food we got was exactly like the name of the restaurant: Hot N Crunchy! The wings definitely went well with the bbq sauce. The fried chicken was fresh and crunchy, albeit oily. My best advice to you is to bring hand sanitizer and get a lot of napkins. The food was washed down with a can of Pepsi.
The service was nothing to write home about. The only issue was that the table was not cleaned up before we sat.



Conclusion:
Hot N Crunchy is a good place if you want some halal wings or fried chicken. Even though the setting is not the best, you can still come and enjoy the food.



Grading:
Service: 7/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 15/20 = 75% (C)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Hot N Crunchy
2040 W Spring Creek Parkway Suite 134, Plano, Texas 75023
Phone: (972) 200-7161
Website: http://www.hotncrunchy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/134812890960/ (I don't understand why they can't make a separate page for the restaurant)
Timings: Sun-Thu: 11:30 AM - 10 PM; Fri: 11:30 AM - 10:30 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, message me on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Al-Markaz: The Best Pakistani Restaurant in North Texas?

Restaurant: Al-Markaz
Address: 1205 West Trinity Mills Road, Carrollton, Texas 75006
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 6/3/15



Photo Credit: https://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/39016100/almarkaz.0.jpg



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review. Today I will be reviewing a Pakistani place that is actually regarded to be one of the best places to eat in all of Dallas. The place is called Al-Markaz. I first heard about this place on my Instagram when someone left a comment on one of my pages saying that this place is legitimately excellent. I never had the chance to do so during my last trip back in December, because it was near the Bush Turnpike and I-35E interchange. The time actually came to try as I promised to treat my uncle. It was long overdue to be honest. I never got the chance to treat him in the past, so today was the best opportunity. As soon as my aunt and cousin found out that we were going there, they got really excited. This gave the initial hint that it is indeed considered to be a great place to eat. This is big as both are really picky eaters. After stopping at the nearby mosque in Carrollton for prayers, we arrived at the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
Now let me tell you this. W Trinity Mills is not a separate street. In fact, it serves as the feeder of the Bush Turnpike in Carrollton. The intersecting road that is nearest to Al-Markaz is Old Denton Road. The restaurant was inside a Pakistani supermarket. When you enter, the right side is the market, and the left side is the restaurant. Inside was significantly packed. We had to wait in line to order our food.



Let's Eat!
When you order, you get a number card. Also, you pay after eating the food. We ordered three things to eat at the restaurant: Bihari kabab, chicken boti, and daal fried. We also ordered two things for takeout for everyone back in Allen: daal fried and two extra naan. The eating in items came with three naans. Altogether, I paid $41.41 (tax included). For that much food, that's a good price. The waiting time was 16 minutes and 6 seconds, the longest it has been for a long time, but still within the 20 minute tolerance I have. To wait, I spoke to my uncle.



Menu (click to view). This place offers the normal things you see at a Pakistani restaurant, You get karahis, kabas, and different rice alongside naan



Al Markaz - Carrollton, TX, United States. Since they don't have a website.
The Menu: Photo Credit: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/al-markaz-carrollton?select=EIDkRS-qmRn8mqWKra_AQA


Naan, dal fried, bihari kabab, and chicken boti



The Verdict:
After a while, I have finally gone to a Pakistani place and actually enjoyed the food! The dal fried was definitely one of the best dals I have ever had at a restaurant. The taste and quality is up there with the places that I used to frequent in Saudi. The Bihari Kabab and chicken kabab were top notch as well. Overall, two thumbs up.
The service was much better than most Desi places I went to. The lady who was helping us was extremely nice and had a smile on her face. She came multiple times and made sure that everything was ok.



Conclusion:
I have been to Dallas about 20 times after moving from Saudi Arabia in 2006. Until now, my top place for Pakistani food in North Texas was Zyka restaurant. I really loved their biryani and chicken 65. I last had it in 2010. They closed down a few months ago. Now, I can safely say that this place is definitely one of the top places for me to eat at in Dallas, and is a top place for some excellent Pakistani food. I would definitely recommend this place.



Grading:
Service: 9/10
Food: 9/10
Total: 18/20 = 90% (A)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Al-Markaz
1205 West Trinity Mills Road, Carrollton, Texas 75006
Phone: (972) 245-9525
Website: none
Facebook: none
Timings: Mon-Sun: 10 AM - 10:30 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant and Pastries: A Favorite Thing Of Mine In It's Worst Form

Restaurant: Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant and Pastries
Address: 314 East Main Street, Richardson, TX 75081
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 5/31/15



Photo Credit: https://antonio1028.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/afrah-mediterranean-cuisine-grill-richardson-tx.jpg


Background: 
Salam/hey guys! For the first time ever, I will be reviewing a fourth restaurant on a trip. Every other trip I have made since 2013 has been to maximum three places. Even in the last trip to Dallas in December 2014 did I go to three places. Today's review will be of a long established restaurant in Richardson: Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant. The restaurant boasts that it was featured on the Dallas Morning News, one of two major newspapers in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. It was even featured on Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. The time came for me to try came when me, my sister, my cousins, my aunt, and my uncle were invited to a gathering. I initially did not want to go, but after finding out that I was specifically requested to come as I had not come to the previous two gatherings, I decided to come along.



Let The Experience Begin!
Afrah is located just at the intersection of N Greenville and E Main in Richardson. There was an outdoor patio and the inside of the restaurant. The host (my uncle's oldest sister) reserved a whole bunch of tables for the group. After everyone arrived, we sat in the restaurant.



Let's Eat!
At first, it looked like it was going to be a repeat of what happened at Samosa Hut: not getting what I had desired. Before leaving my aunt's house, my cousin decided to order burgers for her, me, and my sister. I was beyond upset. I never had a chance of even seeing the menu before deciding what I wanted. Also, I found it extremely odd to have a burger at an Arab place. This place is far different from the other places that I have been to that have both American and Mediterranean (examples include Grand Cafe in Richardson and Busy Boy back in Houston). This is because the main selling point here at Afrah is the Mediterranean food like shawarmas and kababs. In the other places, both the Mediterranean food and the American food are popular hits among the customers and the major selling points. Thankfully, by the time we arrived, not everyone was there. So this meant that I would use the menu to order and I got what I desired. Anyways, everyone there ordered many different things from shawarma wraps to burgers to kababs. I ordered the shawarma combo plate, which was chicken and beef shawarma meat with tahini and garlic sauce, kabsa rice, and french fries. Thus, this is different than what had occurred at Samosa Hut. This means that I will determine whether Afrah is worth going to or not, based on the food that I get. If at all it is bad, then I would need to be convinced by someone to give this place a try rather than coming back voluntarily to try the one thing that I had desired to try. To wait, I went to the Indian grocery store and prayed.



Now why did I put the website of the actual place rather than the usual direct link to the menu? Well, it's because when you click "Menu", a popup consisting of the PDF copy of the menu opens up. Anyways, the place has the usual Mediterranean such as hummus, baba ghannouj, falafel, kabab wraps, and kabab plates. This place also has hookah. This wasn't good for me because any time I had been near a hookah in the past, I would immediately start coughing intensely. I remember when I had visited Grand Cafe with my uncle back in December. The person next to me was smoking hookah while I was eating. I wouldn't stop coughing for four straight weeks despite taking cough medicines and cough drops (I am still coughing as I type). I wonder if the inside of the restaurant allows smoking, as many of the places do allow hookah smoking inside regardless of whether it's a hookah lounge or not. They have a lunch buffet also.



The Entire spread with some bread


The Verdict:
Long story short: I didn't enjoy at all. The only good things were the bread, fries and the tahini sauce. The meat and kabsa rice barely had any flavor. The garlic sauce was one of the worst ones I had ever had. It's sad, considering the fact that garlic sauce is one of my favorite sauces of all time, and garlic sauce and fries is one of my favorite combinations of all time. The garlic sauce had a really bad smell, and once I took a bite of it, it seemed as if something bit my tongue. The food was washed down with a glass of water. Overall, two thumbs down.
The service was good though. The waiter was able to serve us properly even though there was a party of at least 15 people. He was also very nice.



Conclusion:
Despite all the good things I heard about Afrah, I had a completely different experience with the food. The food that didn't taste good, and to top it off one of the worst garlic sauces that I have ever had. I personally wouldn't recommend this place. The only times I'll probably come back are if somebody convinces me to give them a second chance OR if there is a gathering that takes place here in the future that I would have to attend. If you want some good Arab food in Dallas, then I would suggest you look somewhere else.



Grading:
Service: 8/10
Food: 5/10
Total: 13/20 = 65% (D) (Only the second non-passing grade given outside Houston)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information: 
Afrah Mediterranean Restaurant and Pastries
314 East Main Street, Richardson, TX 75081
Phone: (972) 234-9898
Website: http://afrah.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfrahRestaurant
Timings: Mon-Thu: 9 AM - Midnight; Fri: 10 AM - 1 AM; Sat: 9 AM - 1 AM; Sun: 9 AM - 12 AM
Caters: Yes


Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Monday, June 1, 2015

Samosa Hut & Grill: A Huge Disappointment

Restaurant: Samosa Hut & Grill
Address: 1129 Coker Street, Irving, Texas 75062
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 5/29/15



Photo Credit: http://rdc.rdcimage.com/partner-images/45892/micrositeimage_391981photo1.jpg


Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be reviewing Samosa Hut and Grill. I first heard about this place from a good friend of mine from college back in Houston all the way back in December 2014. He told me to check this place out if I had a chance to. During the 5 month period, I was unable to because I had not visited Dallas during that time period due to school. There were three trips to Dallas done by my family during that time period. Two were during school, and one was during my trip to College Station (my review for Zand's Persian Kababs- http://zainshalalreviews.blogspot.com/2015/04/zands-persian-kababs-halal-restaurant.html). The other issue was that Irving is a 35 minute drive from my aunt's house in Allen, which is in Collin County. To add to that, you either had the choice of going through the construction on 635, or paying tolls using the Bush turnpike. Literally the only time we drove to Irving to eat was my first trip to Saravanaa Bhavan, since my aunt from Dallas, my aunt from Kansas, and my mom are obsessed with Indian Vegetarian food. Literally the main reason this trip was possible was because I came to Irving with my uncle and sister to listen to Sheikh Omar Suleiman give a wonderful khutbah at Valley Ranch Islamic Center. From there, it was a worthwhile drive since there was a major PGA tournament going on at the golf course off N MacArthur Boulevard. 15 minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin!
Samosa Hut is located in the same strip mall as Subway and a driving school at the intersection of N MacArthur and Coker. The place was almost empty, since it was 3 PM when we came to the place. Inside were the normal tables and chairs with a few booths. There was music playing in the restaurant. The big menu was displayed. After taking a few minutes to see the menu, we were ready to order.



Let's Eat!
Since my uncle had to drive to Richardson to do something, we got takeout. I ordered the beef short ribs with regular fries, my sister ordered the tandoori chicken naan-wich with masala fries, and my uncle ordered the jerk chicken naan-which with masala fries. I thought of ordering a dozen samosas and paying for them from my own pocket, but my sister and uncle didn't want it, nor would they let me order it. We paid a total of $28.11 (tax included). The waiting time was 14 minutes and 12 seconds. To wait, we sat at a booth and talked.



Honestly speaking, it is better to either consolidate the menu into one hyperlink, or just simply put a PDF copy of the menu. I wouldn't want to hit the back button just to find another thing on the menu based on the category. Nevertheless, the menu here is one of the most interesting ones I have seen at a Indian/Pakistani owned place. It's a nice departure from the usual kababs, or biryanis you get at the majority of Indian/Pakistani places not just here, but all over the US. Until I came here, I had never in my life thought that there could be a thing like chocolate samosas or even nacho or cream cheese samosas. All my life, the samosas I have eaten either had keema (minced meat), or potatoes and peas. The ideal thing I wanted was a few of the jerk chicken or the nacho beef samosas with my ribs and chocolate samosas to finish the meal. Naan-wiches are basically sandwiches that use naan instead of the traditional bread. I was also interested in trying the beef short ribs because ribs are one of my favorite things to eat. I also like the idea of an Indian style burrito. Think of tikka masala burrito as your usual rice and tikka masala combo wrapped! Interesting fusion combo I must say.



Beef Short Ribs with Fries. The green things are romaine lettuce. I couldn't get the pics of the other items as we ate in the car and my uncle was getting increasingly mad for even taking a picture of this food.


The Verdict:
Well, did the trip to Irving end well? Nope. The ribs were a huge disappointment. They lacked flavor and was extremely chewy. My sister had a few pieces and she didn't like them as well. My sister liked her sandwich, but my uncle didn't. I didn't get to try the sandwiches because by the time I had eaten my food, they were one bite away from finishing their food. But I did get to try both fries, which were okay. Overall, one thumb down.
The service was fast and good. No one was grumpy and the owner let us take our time and decide what we wanted.



Conclusion:
If at all I were to come to Irving and try this place, then I would definitely come to try their samosas the next time I visit from Houston. I will give them a second shot, something I rarely do. This is mainly because trying different types of samosas was the thing I wanted, and my lunch companions didn't make it possible. Most of the time, me giving second shots have been successful. But for now, here is the grading based on the beef ribs. I will update the next time I come here

Note about updates: I will start updating if there are any significant changes (good and bad) in a restaurant, if a restaurant has closed down, or if a restaurant no longer serves halal meat. This is made possible by the fact that I do make multiple visits to places (which are currently posted on my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I will also try a place that I have given a bad grade to if I am convinced by someone to give it a second try or if I didn't get what I wanted the first time I visit a specific place



Grading: 
Service: 8/10
Food: 6/10
Total: 14/20 = 70% (C)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Samosa Hut & Grill
1129 Coker Street, Irving, TX 75062
Phone: (972) 255-1894
Timings: Mon-Wed: 11:30 AM - 9 PM; Thu-Sat: 11:30 AM - 11 PM; Sun: 11:30 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes
Feel free to comment below, send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or send me an email!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed