Dona Mary- A Halal Authentic Mexican Place In the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex

Restaurant: Dona Mary
Address: 2200 Los Rios Boulevard, Plano, Texas 75074
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of VisitL 12/26/14

Photo Credit: http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/14/dd/07/dona-mary-not-the-greatest.jpg

Background:

Salam/hey guys! I am right now in Dallas writing this up. What does that mean? It means for the first time, I will be reviewing at more than three restaurants per trip. Ever since I started this blog, I have been going to a maximum of three restaurants in each specific city (only exception = trip to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Detroit in 2013). Even on my last trip to Dallas in December 2013, I only went to 3 restaurants. So this 4th restaurant I am going is Dona Mary (pronounced "Donya Mary"). I found out about this on zabihah.com while I was actually looking for a place to try out. I figured that I would try this place because I had been longing to eat some Mexican food ever since the whole M&M grill fiasco. M&M did have some great Mexican food. I was a big fan of their chimichanga and their enchiladas. Dona Mary is regarded to have excellent Mexican food in all of Plano. Initially I was going to Noodle Wave in McKinney, but my uncle said no to Thai food since he doesn't like it at all (Believe it or not I am the only person in my entire family who actually enjoys Thai food). We also had a time constraint because we had to go for Friday prayers and a Nikah (declaration of marriage). So after doing some quick shopping in Costco off US 75, we went to the restaurant.

Let The Experience Begin!

Dona Mary is located at the intersection of Park Boulevard and Los Rios Boulevard in East Plano. From the outside, it looks like a hole-in-the-wall place. When we went, the strip mall looked deserted. But inside, it was lively. There was a TV playing along with Mexican music. We confirmed the halal status. They told us that the fajita style beef and chicken was halal, and that they cooked the food separately. After this was told, we sat down and looked through the menu.

Let's Eat!

We first confirmed once again that the only halal things are the beef and chicken cut in fajita style. I then decided to order the Huarache Mexicano, while my uncle ordered the chicken skillet. A huarache is basically a masa oval shaped tortilla topped with many ingredients. In this one, the huarache is topped with steak, bell peppers, grilled onions, ranchero salsa, and cheese). For the chicken skillet, it came with refried beans, pico de gallo, spanish rice, avocado, and tortillas. He ordered the corn tortillas. To drink, I got one of my favorite sodas: the Mexican Coke (Only Coke product I drink), while my uncle just got water after passing up the same drink as me (he has an addiction to it, since it is so good). We paid roughly $25 (tax included). the waiting time was 12 minutes and 13 seconds. To wait for the food, we got some free chips and salsa

Menu (click to view): Menu Page 1, Menu Page 2

Unlike the other Mexican places I have been to, you have the option of getting other Mexican items along with the popular burritos, tacos, tostadas, and quesadillas. Now here are some terms and its definitions. Gorditas = cakes made with masa (dough) stuffed with mainly meats, cheese, and vegetables) Sopes = circle of masa of ground maze topped with refried beans, meats and vegetables. They even have breakfast items! Finally, THEY HAVE TAMALES!! The best part about this is that they have a separate halal cooking area for their entire menu, even though their barbacoa is not halal and they sell pork. I would suggest you ask whether the halal meat can be used on any of the breakfast items, since the other parts of the menus allow you to choose the halal beef/chicken. If they say yes, then ONLY order the beef and/or chicken after requesting halal. If not, just order vegetarian. Now, if you do order anything vegetarian, YOU MUST STILL REQUEST HALAL TO AVOID CROSS-CONTAMINATION. Mexico, like most of Latin America, has an insane infatuation for anything related to pork, so most places would likely cook everything in lard. If you are still unsure of the halal status, the people will be more than happy to help you out. 

Chips and Salsa

The Chicken Skillet

Spanish rice, refried beans, pico de gallo, and avocado

Huarache Mexicano. The tortillas are in the very cute sombrero

The Verdict:

One word: fantastic. Even my uncle, who barely eats anything that's not Indian/Pakistani, even enjoyed the place. The masa was stuffed with refried beans. The management said that the refried beans were made separately and without any pork or lard. The huarache was also very fantastic. Everything on the plate tasted very well. The cheese had a lot of goo in it, and the meat was cooked perfectly. After eating this, I was stuffed. The food was washed down with a bottle of Mexican Coke. Overall, two thumbs up.

The service was phenomenal. The restaurant people were very friendly, and they took their time to help us through the entire menu, telling us what the Mexican dishes meant and what items were halal or not.

Conclusion:

If I had lived in Dallas, then I would most definitely be a regular here! I would also recommend this place for someone who is looking for something that is halal, but not Indian/Pakistani. I will definitely make another visit here the next time I visit Dallas, if time permits.

Grading:

Service: 10/10

Food: 9/10

Waiting Time: 10/10

Total: 29/30 = 96.7% (A)

Pricing: $$ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information:

Dona Mary
2200 Los Rios Boulevard, Plano, Texas 75074
Phone: (972) 422-6402
Website: None
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonaMary.Antojitos
Timings: Mon-Thu: 8 AM - 9 PM; Fri-Sat: 8 AM - 10 PM; Sun: 8 AM - 7 PM
Caters: Yes

Feel free to leave a comment below, send me a message on Facebook, or email me.

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed