Jerusalem Bakery and Grill: Mediterranean Food in the Peach State

Restaurant: Jerusalem Bakery and Grill
Address: 585 Franklin Gateway SE, Marietta, Georgia
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 8/27/16



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Welcome to my latest review! Today I will be talking about my first experience in the city of Atlanta. Atlanta has a significant number of halal places, but they're mainly in the north and northeast side of town, (Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnet counties). Cobb county, where Marietta is located, doesn't have as many. I was honestly shocked since I always thought that Cobb county was the second significant county in the Atlanta area after Fulton. One of the places that I actually got to go to was called Jerusalem Bakery and Grill. This was a last minute decision since there were over 15 family members and we had to drive all the way from Masjid Farooq in downtown Atlanta just to go there. We also decided to go here because it was near the hotel that we were staying at (Hilton Marietta Conference Center). After the nikkah was done, we went there.
Keep in mind that this is different than the Jerusalem Bakery and Restaurant in Alpharetta.



Let The Experience Begin!
To get to the place, you have to get onto South Marietta Parkway SE from I-75, thentake a left onto Franklin Gateway SE and then get into the strip mall. Attached to the restaurant was a bakery, where you could buy them for your house. We all got chairs and sat down. My uncle asked what we wanted and were ready to go.



Let's Eat!
Most ordered the chicken shawarma sandwich, falafel, or the philly cheesesteak. I ordered the shawarma plate. I did this after asking what was popular and the response was "Everything". We all got Mexican glass bottle sodas. Most got Coke, including myself, and some got Sprite and Fanta. As soon as the food is ready, it is delivered to the other side of the restaurant, where someone calls out the order. While waiting, I watched them prepare the food and talked to my cousins.



Menu: http://jerusalem-bakery.com/restaurant/
Not only do they have Mediterranean food, they also have pizzas, calzones, and strombolis. The pricing is pretty good.

The shawarma plate. I got the chicken

The Verdict:
One thing that particularly surprised me was that they didn't give the garlic sauce or hot sauce when you get the place. You have to go to the counter and ask for them. Then, you pour some over the plate and eat. Anyways, the food was on point. My family loved their food and were raving about it. They also gave me props for telling about this place.
The service had no issues. Just got the food, enjoyed it, thanked them, and left.



Conclusion:
If you want to have some halal food in Marietta, then I would recommend this place. It's also very filling. A good start to this Atlanta trip.



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



Restaurant Information
Jerusalem Bakery and Grill
585 Franklin Gateway SE, Marietta, Georgia
Phone: (770) 419-1666
Website: http://jerusalem-bakery.com
Timings: Mon-Sun: 9 AM - 9 PM
Caters: Yes

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Afghan Express: The Worst Afghan Place I Have Eaten at So far

Restaurant: Afghan Express
Address: 5600 Hillcroft Street, Houston, Texas
Buffet or a-la-carte: Buffet
Date of visit: 8/16


Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be doing a really quick review of another Afghan place called Afghan Express. I got to go here from my internship because I did not bring lunch from home. Since it was a Tuesday, I could eat lunch, then head immediately back to work.
Now let me tell you something about the location. In the past 5 years, there have been 3 separate restaurants that have occupied the space. Afghan Express is the 3rd one. The only other time that a new halal place replaces an old halal place was when Fatoush replaced Aladdin's (independent of the Aladdin on Westheimer).
One thing to note about this place is that it has received a lot of positive feedback on the Internet. In fact, I first heard about this place via extremely heavy promotion on Facebook in various groups. What immediately caught my eye was that they used the same logo as Afghan Dastarkhwan and put Afghan Express on it. It turns out that the same people who used to own Afghan Dastarkhwan now own this place. There is even an article written about them by Houstonia Magazine named "Why You Should Try Afghan Express' $10 Lunch Buffet" (article: http://www.houstoniamag.com/articles/2016/4/29/why-you-should-try-afghan-express-10-lunch-buffet).



Let The Experience Begin!
Inside, it was DEAD. For most of the time, I was the only one inside the restaurant eating the food. It was incredibly eerie. There was only a TV. I got in and started eating.



Let's Eat!
It was a buffet consisting of various Afghan items like Kabuli Pulao, bolani, and the Afghan version of chicken tikka. It came with free naan. To drink, I just had water. I paid a total of $10.98 (tax included).



Menu: http://www.afghanexpress.net/menu-specials.html
The buffet from what I know is only on the weekdays for lunch. The online menu on the other hand is for other times. Now, one thing: WHICH MENU IS THE CORRECT ONE??? Both have different prices on them for the majority of the menu items. How can you commit a fundamental mistake by not deciding what prices to use? If anyone were to dine in for the first time, you give them one menu with one set of prices, and then you actually charge them the prices from the second set, then you'll lose customers and you'll get a bad reputation for ripping people off.

Top: naan. Bottom right: Kabuli pulao, chicken korma, chappli kabab, chicken kabab, and chicken tikka. Bottom left: daal, bolani, chappli kabab, chicken korma, and chicken tikka

The Verdict:
The food was a hit an miss. The naan and the chappli kabab were the only things that I liked. That's it. I didn't like the Kabuli Pulao (or rather the Kabuli Pulao rice as it lacked the lamb shank). I didn't like the daal as well, and this is from someone who is a huge daal fanatic. The chicken tikka, chicken kabab, and chicken korma were OK. However, one of the pieces of chicken tikka that I had was actually raw (I wish I still had the pic). The bolani was without a doubt the worst that I have ever had in any Afghan place. I expected much much better. Overall, one thumb down.
The service was much worse. No greeting from the owner. Literally no words said. During my entire trip, he was very quiet. I said "Thank you" and he never responded. Never has this happened to me in a while. What also put me off was that when a group of older customers came, he was very friendly greeted them, and even conversed with them. I don't know whether it's either favoritism or it's that the owner is like this towards other people or youngsters or that he was scared that I was going to say something bad about his food.



Conclusion:
I'm not going to lie. I was thinking of trying their a-la-carte one day if the buffet was good. But since both the buffet and service did not hit the mark, I'd neither recommend this place nor would visit the place again. Heck, if I want some good Afghan food, I'd just head to Afghan Village or Afghan Cuisine.



Grading:
Service: 3//10
Food: 5/10
Total: 8/20 = 40% (F)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Afghan Express
5600 Hillcroft Street, Houston, Texas
Phone: (281) 974-2163
Website: http://www.afghanexpress.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/houstonafghanexpress/
Timings: Mon-Sun: 11 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

3 Bros Kabab House: House of Kabab^2

Restaurant: 3 Bros Kabab House
Address: 8586 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 8/11/16



Background:
Salam/hey guys! This will be a quick review of 3 Bros Kabab House. I haven't been able to write on my blog because I've gotten really busy with school and other things that have been happening in my house. Anyways, 3 Bros Kabab House is basically run by the people that used to run House of Kabob. When they were running House of Kabob, their food was good, but the service could have improved. This is the best chance I have to see whether they improved or not. I got to go here before attending the Friday prayers. After telling my boss I was going to lunch and prayer, I headed out for the restaurant.



Let The Experience Begin:
The restaurant is located on Westheimer and Dunvale on the left side. Inside, there were tables and the counter. You go up, and order.



Let's eat!
I ordered the mix shawarma combo that came with rice, free pita, and two free sides (take note Indian/Pakistani places). The sides I chose were the salad and fries. I used spicy rice, which was what I had used when I went to House of Kabob under their ownership. I paid a total of $10.28 (tax included). The waiting time wasn't long. Just about 6 minutes.



Menu: https://www.facebook.com/3broskababhouse/menu/?p_ref=pa
It has the basic things the Arab places have such as kababs, baba ghanoush, and shawarmas. Interestingly, they have burgers, even stuffed! One thing I saw waiting was a mouthwatering plate of shakshuka that was served to a customer. I guess that's one of the things that you can order, but isn't on the menu.

The Mix Shawarma Plate

The Verdict:
The food was great. The only issue though was that the beef shawarma was somewhat dry. Everything else was full of flavor. They had garlic sauce also, and that was very good as well. The food was washed down with water.
The service was wonderful. The person at the counter is very nice and are the people working there as well.



Conclusion:
3 Bros is a good spot to go for some Mediterranrean food. This would be ideal if you want to have some good Mediterranean food that is near the Galleria. I will definitely making visits to the place more often.



Grading:
Service: 10/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 18/20 = 90% (A)
Pricing: $ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
3 Bros Kabab House
8586 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas
Phone: (713) 485-0211
Website: none
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3broskababhouse/
Timings: Mon-Thu and Sat-Sun: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri: 2 PM - 11 PM
Caters: N/A

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed