Where
to Eat While in Houston for ISNCON – 2019 edition
Assalam Alaikum
guys! Welcome to Houston and to ISNACON! Not only is Houston well known for NASA
and its Southern Hospitality, it is also known of having a very diverse halal
food scene! Here are some of the options that you can choose from during your
stay in Houston. Some opened up during after last year’s convention, and some
are still that good! Bon Appetit!
Downtown to
the 610 Loop.
1) Phoenicia
Specialty Foods- 1001 Austin Street.
This is still the
closest halal restaurant to the George R. Brown Convention Center, and the only
one that can be accessed by foot. This place has a variety of items to choose
from. You on choose from traditional shawarmas to cold cut sandwiches. You also
get a wide variety of international groceries and halal meat.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Chicken Shawarma
2)
Stanton’s City Bites – 1420 Edwards Street
Located only 5
minutes from the Convention Center, Stanton’s City Bites is still one of the
most popular options for halal burgers in Houston. They have halal chicken and
beef burgers, chili, and hot dogs, and all the halal stuff is cooked separately
on a separate grill from the pork items. All you need to do is to mention halal
and no bacon to the cashier when ordering your food. You get that classic diner
feeling when you dine there, so you don’t want to miss out!
Cuisine: American
Holy
Cow Burger
Monster
Burger
3) Pinkerton’s
BBQ - 1504 Airline Drive
Out of THREE options for halal Texas
BBQ, Pinkerton’s BBQ is the closest to the convention center! The place still
uses Creekstone Farms beef for their ribs and brisket, and smoke and cut the
beef separately from the other meats they serve. They are a favorite not only
with the Muslim community here in Houston, but also with many Muslims that
visit Houston. The vegetarian sides that they offer are their coleslaw and
their potato salad. Be sure to come at exactly 11 AM if you want to grab one of
their ribs: they sell out in between 60 and 90 minutes!
Cuisine:
Texan
Half
Pound Brisket with Potato Salad
Chopped
Beef Sandwich
4) Tourao Brazilian Churrascaria: 4412
Montrose Boulevard
Think of Fogo de Chao,
but with halal options! Nearly every meat option in this restaurant is halal! Along
with the traditional tableside carving of the meat, they provide hot dishes for
you to also enjoy! Simply mention to your server that you want the halal
options, and they will take care of you! Tip: order your steak medium rare for
the best taste, and do reservations as weekends tend to be packed.
Cuisine:
Brazilian
An
Assortment of Different Cuts of Meat (Beef, Chicken, and Shrimp)
An
Assortment of Items From the Hot Dishes and Salad Bar
5)
Gyro Hut - 2807 Old Spanish Trail
Gyro Hut is a
spot in the heart of the Medical Center that has delicious NY Style platters in
town! They give generous portions and they also have a large variety of vegetables
that you can choose from for your platter. Another good thing is that this
place is open late on weekends!
Cuisine: NY Style
Platters
Chappli
Kabab Over Rice
Combo
(Chicken and Gyro) over Rice
Website:
Between I-610
and Beltway 8
1)
Abu Omar Halal – Various Locations
Abu Omar continues
to be is one of the most successful halal restaurant chains in the city.
Established after a failed venture into the taco truck business, Abu Omar grew
from a small truck in the Medical Center to having eight locations in Houston,
and they are not stopping in growing. They provide shawarma and NY Style
platters, but the one thing that everyone loves is their chicken shawarma
arabi. Their location between I-610 and Sam Houston Tollway is 7727 Westheimer,
and their location in the Medical Center is 7500 Almeda.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Chicken
Shawarma Arabi
2)
Busy Boy- 5722 Hillcroft
Busy Boy continues
to provide excellent food and service. Everything here is halal, and they offer
a wide variety of items such as cold cut subs and sandwiches, burgers, Philly
Cheesesteaks, and Po-Boy’s. They also have crepes (savory and sweet) and
desserts. So, if you want to have some dessert after eating at the restaurant,
just walk over! Tip: Eat The Fries with the garlic sauce.
Cuisine: American and Mediterranean
Philly Cheesesteak
3) Peli
Peli Kitchen – 9090 Katy Freeway
This
place is a fully halal spot and is a sister restaurant to one of the most
prominent restaurants in Houston – Peli Peli. You can choose from a variety of
items such as Peri Peri chicken, a burger made from frikkadele (South African
meatball), and Portuguese Beef Fajita tacos! They have another location off
I-610, but this is the only location to be halal (the other location is inside
a Whole Foods). Tip: They have table sauces available if you want to make your
dish spicier.
Cuisine:
South African
Quarter Chicken topped in Peri Peri sauce, cilantro, and peppadews with Mac and Cheese
Boneless Thigh topped with peppadews and cilantro with Cauliflower Rice and Mac n
Cheese
The
JoBurger
Curry chicken topped with cilantro, fried onions, and peppadews with rice and mac and cheese
4)
Bismillah Cafe- 5696 Hillcroft
The expanded restaurant opened
earlier this year, and some new burgers were introduced! This place still offers
top notch American burgers along with Desi fusion burgers. They also have a
Desi menu.
Cuisine: Fusion Pakistani-American with
American Items
Patty
Melt on Texas Toast
Ten Chicken Burger on Texas Toast
Original Burger With Beef Bacon Add-on and Fire Fries. Warning, The Fire Fries are Extremely Spicy
Volcano Burger
5) Galleria
Food Truck Park – 2829 Chimney Rock
This place is actually a food truck
park where different trucks come and set up shop for the day. Thankfully, Two
with halal options are permanently here. The first is Mico’s Hot Chicken. This
serves an amazing hot chicken sandwich, where you can customize how hot you
could make the chicken. If you sign up for their most hot, the x-hot, they make
you sign a waiver. They also have animal fries and tenders basket. Right now
the tenders are halal, but they cook it separately from the breast (those are
the only meats they sell), and you can substitute the breast on the sandwich. Their timings are 12 PM to 8 PM, there's often a long line, and no online or phone orders! So instead of debating between Popeye's and Chick Fil A, try this place!
The second food truck is one that
pays homage to Detroit: Midwest Coney Connection. They sell coney dogs, and
some amazing wings along with Philly Cheesesteak. They also sell Faygo, a popular
brand of Soda from the Midwest. Right now, the coney dogs, wings, and the
Cheesesteak are halal.
Cuisine: American
Spicy
Wings from Midwest Coney Connection
The Sammich with chicken tenders
from Mico’s Hot Chicken
Chicken Tenders Basket from Mico's Hot Chicken
6) Barbar
Mediterranean Grill – 7917 Westheimer
Run by a chef who used
to run a prominent halal Mediterranean restaurant in Dearborn, Barbar Mediterranean
Grill is a spot that is enjoyed by many Houstonians who want to eat
Mediterranean food. They are most known for their grilled chicken, which you
can get either half or whole. A good thing is that they are open late as well.
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Half
Grilled Chicken with Fries
7) Beeezzz
Doner & Kebap – 7919 Westheimer
Beeezzz Doner & Kebap has become a
popular late night spot for Houstonians. In the middle of the night, this food
truck serves up items such as Adana kebap and doner kebap that would remind you
of your last trip to Istanbul. They also serve their sandwiches “Arabic style”. They're open until 5 AM on weekends.
Adana
Kebap Over Rice
Outside
Beltway 8
1) Aga’s
Restaurant- 11842 Wilcrest Dr - Stafford
Aa trip to Aga’s is worth venturing to for their goat chops. Along
with their goat chops, try their incredible Peshawari Chicken and Chicken
Makhni. Go before the rush though! I heard the whole block would be packed with folks wanting to come in and eat!
Cuisine: Indo-Pak
Peshawari
Chicken and Matka Daal
Chicken
Makhni
The Famous
Goat Chops
 |
Clockwise from Top Left: Goat Curry, Tandoori Chicken Handi, Chicken 65, and Goat Biryani
|
2) Deen’s
Cheesesteak – 5222 Barker Cypress Road – Katy/Cypress
Deen’s Cheesesteak has been
providing some of the best halal food in the northwest side of town. The owner,
who grew up in the Philly area (South Jersey), provides different types of
cheesesteaks along with the traditional one that pays homage to its birthplace.
They also have pizzas, boneless and bone-in wings, and rice platters.
Chicken Tikka Cheesesteak
from Deen’s
3)
Eggcellence Café – Katy and Sugar Land
Imagine your
favorite spot for brunch, but with halal options! They have popular brunch
items such as eggs benedict, chicken and waffles, omelets, and pancakes. A good
thing is that these items are served all day. They also have items such as
chicken fettucine alfredo, chargha, and kabab. They used halal chicken, beef,
and turkey, and they are also cooked separately from the pork.
Chicken and Waffles
Korean Chicken and Waffles
4) Las
Brasas Charcoal Chicken – Westchase
Rotisserie
Chicken Shops are a common thing over America, but Las Brasas is one that is
incredibly popular among many people, including Muslims, in Houston. They have
incredibly delicious chicken, and they are also generous with the portions they
give for the sides. Try their chaufa (fried rice with rotisserie chicken),
their vegetarian pinto beans (they do not serve pork), and their sauces. They
also have a halal beef option – their lomo saltado (sautéed beef). Try the sauces. They go very well with the chicken.
½ Grilled Chicken with Vegetarian
Pinto Beans and Salad
5)
Poblano’s Mexican Grill – Energy Corridor
Mexican food
is very popular in Houston, and Poblano’s is one that has halal options
available. They have popular dishes such as chile relleno, chimichanga, sopes,
fajita plates, enchiladas, and burritos. The halal options are the chicken and
beef fajitas, ground beef, chicken milanesa, their soup, and shredded chicken.
All the beans are vegetarian as well. The halal options are also cooked
separately from the other meats that are offered.
Chimichanga with rice and refried
beans
Enchiladas and a crispy taco with
rice and refried beans
Chile Relleno
6) Jade
Ly Asian Bistro – Sugar Land
Near the
beautiful Maryam Masjid lies a halal American Chinese spot that is small but
serves some delicious classics such as kung pao chicken, and Mongolian beef.
Jade Ly has grown to be one of the most popular halal Chinese spots in town.
One good thing about this place is that their lunch specials are available all
day, so you can try a dish along with fried/steamed rice, a side, and soup. They also give free rice crackers. Just a heads up: the chicken egg roll or chicken dumpling aren’t halal.
Beef with Broccoli, fried rice, and crab puffs
Mongolian Beef, Fried Rice, and Crab Puffs
7) Space
City Pizza – Clear Lake
Space City
Pizza, which is a halal spot that is close to the Johnson Space Center, offers
a Detroit style pizza to go along with the regular pizzas they serve. They have
a halal menu, which consists of both American and Desi pizzas. They are
currently take out only, but they are worth trying.
Detroit Style Halal Meatball Pizza
Detroit Style Halal Beef Pepperoni Pizza
I hope you enjoy your time in
Houston!
Cheers!
Zain Mohammed
