Afghan Village- Your traditional Afghan Restaurant

Restaurant: Afghan Village
Address: 6413 Hillcroft Street, Houston, Texas 77081
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 2/9/15

Photo Credit: https://farflungfoods.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/afghan-village.jpg

Background:
Salam/hey guys! Sorry I am late on this review as I have been busy with school lately. Today I will be reviewing another Afghan Restaurant that is popular in Houston: Afghan Village. Afghan Village is reputed to have some really good Afghan food. I have been here once during Ramadan for their buffet, and it was really delicious. I decided to not review during last Ramadan, but this coming Ramadan I actually will review places but still fast and pray. What makes this place unique is that it is on the other side of Hillcroft, away from the large umber of halal restaurants that you pass by whenever you are on it. I got to go here when I had forgotten my lunch at my house. I wanted to go to Elevation Burger or Gyro King since Stanton's was closed for the day. But then I decided that I will give this place another try. Thankfully traffic was not bad at 11:30 AM, so I arrived here in only 15 minutes.

Let The Experience Begin!

Inside the restaurant, you have a place where you can sit traditionally, and you have tables. There was part that was set up as if there was a buffet. Despite that, the owner came up to me with the menu and asked me what I wanted to drink which I chose water.

Let's Eat!

Normally when I would go to an Afghan restaurant, I would order the famous Afghan delicacy: Kabuli Pulao. But this time, I decided to try something that wasn't Pulao, but is considered another major delicacy of Afghanistan: Manto. Manto is basically a dumpling stuffed with beef and onions and is topped with mint, meat sauce, and dried mint. To drink, I just had a glass of water. I paid a total of $10.77 (tax included). The waiting time was 10 minutes and 23 seconds.



Menu: http://www.theafghanvillage.com/menu.html, http://www.theafghanvillage.com/menu-page-2.html
The prices are a tad higher compared to Afghan Dastarkhwan, but it is very similar. It features all the usual Afghan delicacies. Also, the mantu is an entree here compared to Afghan Dastarkhwan. I like the fact that the restaurant took the picture of the actual food, not use stock pictures.

The Manto

The Verdict:

So was it worth ordering this over the Kabuli Pulao? Absolutely! The dumplings were fresh, the mint and meat sauces were really tasty, and the yellow stuff was wonderful! The beef inside the dumpling was also amazing! The food was washed down with the water. Overall, two thumbs up.

The service was good. The owner was really nice. He let me take my time and decide which dish to take, and made sure the other customers were OK.

Conclusion:

If you want some good Afghan food, then this place would be a wonderful place to visit. The food is awesome and the people are nice! I would recommend this place, especially if you are with a large group of people. They have a buffet during Ramadan, so you can come here, have iftar, pray, and then eat!

Grading:

Service: 8/10

Food: 9/10

Total: 17/20 = 85% (B)

Pricing: $$ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information:
Afghan Village

6413 Hillcroft Street, Houston, Texas 77081

Phone: (713) 808-9005

Website: http://www.theafghanvillage.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Afghan-Village/756643314362212

Timings: Mon-Thu & Sun: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri & Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM

Caters: Yes

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

Cheers! 

Zain Mohammed

Dogarz Doner- The Doner Kebap Competition Has Spiced Up

Restaurant: Dogarz Doner
Address: 2101 Smith Street, Houston, Texas 77002
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 2/7/15

Photo Credit: http://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/fMO_PDd6us8oXNpiBRoIsQ/ms.jpg

UPDATE 12/29/15: This is now the only place in Houston with halal Berlin style doner kebaps.

ORIGINAL POST:

Background:

Salam/hey guys! Today I will be reviewing another place that serves Doner Kebap: Dogarz Doner. Believe it or not, ever since the introduction of Verts early last year, the cravings for doner kebap has increased a lot. Verts has now expanded to other parts of town (Westheimer, Tomball, Spring, River Oaks, Cypress). This prompted others to start up their own doner kebap places. One other place will be opening up on Highway 6 near King's Chicken and Great Khan called Crisp Doner Cafe. I first heard of this place when I was walking down the Houston Premium Outlets and I saw a food cart that had the same name. Only thing was, it was the last day of Ramadan. I then went back and googled them up. It turned out that they also had a store near downtown. A few months later, I ended up going after finishing my trip to campus to get tutored for my statics class.



Let The Experience Begin!
Dogarz Doner is located at the intersection of W. Gray and Smith Street. From the store, you can clearly see downtown. It is located next to a Starbucks and a T-Mobile store. I was the only one that was in the store, since it was 2:30 pm. I saw the menu that was hanging and a few moments later, I was ready to order.



Let's Eat!
I ordered the DonerMe, which is basically a doner kebap with meat (lamb and beef). Now the funny part is that you don't get asked which vegetables or sauces you want in the doner, which is what Verts does. This means that Dogarz is similar to a normal restaurant, while Verts is similar to Subway and Chipotle. I paid $9.20 (tax included), which is more than I paid during my first visit to Verts. There was also a waiting time of 11 minutes and 34 seconds, while Verts had no waiting time.



Menu: https://www.facebook.com/Dogarzdoner/app_187136414669863
According to the people working there, everything is halal. It is interesting how the prices are higher than Verts, and you don't have the luxury of choosing your vegetables and sauces.

The DonerMe

The Verdict:
This doner kebap gives Verts a run for its money. The food was really good! One major difference is that you can see the meat, and that there is very less sauce in the doner kebap. It is very filling and big, so big that they give a fork to you. A lot of it fell down when I picked it up to take a bite. Overall, two thumbs up.
The service was normal.



Conclusion:
Dogarz Doner makes the trip through Midtown worth it. I hopefully will be making more visits to the restaurant and also the food truck once it hopefully goes back running.



Grading:
Service: 8/10
Food: 9/10
Total: 17/20 = 85% (B)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Dogarz Doner
2101 Smith Street, Houston, Texas 77002
Phone: (281) 706-3466
Website: http://www.dogarzdoner.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zee.dogar.9?fref=ts
Timings: Sun-Thu: 10 AM - 9 PM; Fri-Sat: 10 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

CLOSED: Harvest Organic Grille: Halal Healthy Dining

Restaurant: Harvest Organic Grille

Address: 11681 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77077

Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte

Date of visit: 1/24/15

Photo Credit: http://znagroup.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/HARVEST_LOGO_PNG1.png

UPDATE 2/10/17: This place has closed down

Background:

Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review. Today I will be reviewing a first: halal healthy food. Why is it healthy? Because this is organic food. The name of this place is Harvest Organic Grille. The day of the visit coincided with the Houston Auto Show. I was given money to spend on lunch, since I would be out the whole day with friends. I read about the halal status of this restaurant on Yelp. I called up this restaurant to see about their halal status, but the person on the phone didn't know what I was talking about. So I decided to go here and see for myself. Traffic wasn't that bad, so I reached just 20 minutes after leaving my house.

Let The Experience Begin!
Harvest Organic Grille is located next to a supermarket that bears the same name. When I entered, I immediately requested to speak to the owner. The owner wasn't there, but the general manager was. She then told me that she would go to the kitchen and see what halal items there are. I started to feel worried. Maybe the person on Yelp was lying. Maybe the restaurant changed meat suppliers without my knowledge. After 10 stressful minutes, I was relieved to hear that there WERE some halal items. The general manager then pointed on the menu what specific item was halal. Top marks for service. I then decided to sit down and eat.



Let's Eat!
I ordered something that I have always wanted to have: Kobe Burger. Kobe beef is one of the higher quality meats today. It came with fries with ketchup. To drink, I had water. All of this for a price of $12 and tax! The waiting time was 11 minutes and 2 seconds.



Menu: http://www.harvestgrille.com/
The website is different from other websites. Here, if you click on "Menu", it actually scrolls down to the menu itself! The best part is that they don't serve pork, but they do cook with alcohol. They do, however cook it separately when requested. Now this place is pretty expensive, especially the steaks (not halal) and the seafood. I actually have the conversation that I have with them on FB regarding the specific items that are halal

1st Part of my conversation

2nd Part of My Conversation

Kobe Beef Burger with fries

The Verdict:
So how did tasting a high quality beef go? Well, it was wonderful! The beef was cooked perfectly and was juicy. The vegetables are fresh. There was a good balance between the bun, meat and the condiments. The fries could have been much better. It was soggy. The ketchup did taste great.
The service was wonderful. The waiter took his time to explain what the halal items were and assured me that the food can be cooked separately. I wish other restaurants wouldn't get upset over someone asking about their halal food.



Conclusion:
Harvest Organic Grille is a good alternative to the regular fine dining place. I hope to try their other halal items, and I hope one day that they will have other halal items. I would recommend this place for both special occasions and just casual dining.



Grading: Starting from this review, I will be removing the "Waiting Time" and merging that into the "Service". For every minute after 20, it will be .5 points off.
Service: 10/10
Food: 8.5/10
Total: 18.5/20 = 92.5% (A)
Pricing: $$$ out of $$$$



Harvest Organic Grille
11681 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas 77077
Phone: (281) 597-0000
Website: http://www.harvestgrille.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarvestOrganicGrille
Timings: Sun-Thu: 11 AM - 10PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM
Caters: Yes

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed