Mezban - A Desi Buffet Spot That is Actually Good

Restaurant: Mezban
Address: 6655 Harwin Street, Houston, TX
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/15/18



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be talking about my recent experience at one of Houston's most well known Pakistani spots in town: Mezban. I wanted to look for a Pakistani buffet that is not in the suburbs that actually tasted good. Being a person who grew up eating Indian/Pakistani buffets that were excellent, I had high expectations for the buffets. So far, it has been disappointments with the buffets that were not in the suburbs. But there were only two I had (Shahnai and Haveli), and one that I refused to step into because they nearly gave me food poisoning (Lazeeza). I did have Mezban before, since they catered to some of the events that I would go to. And they were great. Sohail, the owner, and his team did a great job with the quality and taste of the food. But one thing I learned during my 5.5 years of blogging is that often the catering food is far different than the food that you'd get at the actual restaurant. There's only one spot so far that has been consistent in both, and that is Aga's. I did hear good things about the food that was at the actual restaurant. So one day, I headed there.



Let The Experience Begin!
Mezban is located in a strip mall on Harwin near the Hillcroft intersection. It's in the strip mall that has Parivar Groceries and Roop Sari Palace. There's a waiting area once you enter the restaurant, and then the main dining area comes.



Let's Eat!
Starting here at Mezban is simple. You get a table and then it's up to the buffet line. The line has a variety of things, from appetizers to desserts. The prices vary based on what time you go. For Mon-Fri lunch, it's $11.98 (tax included). With the buffet, you get free fresh naan.


Menu: https://www.mezban.biz/online-ordering
Though they have a buffet all day, they have a takeout menu. It's on the online ordering part of the website, but you can also order over the phone as well as at the counter. The price of the biryani ($4.99) is really good in my opinion, and what's greater is that it's the same price everyday!. Along with the regular dine in buffet, they have a to-go buffet, as well as a halwa puri (popular Pakistani breakfast dish) buffet that consists of popular Pakistani breakfast items. One thing that was interesting is that they offer a Philly cheesesteak Paratha roll.

Plate One: Chicken Biryani, Chicken Karahi, Goat Curry, and Chicken Bihari

Second Pic: Goat Curry, Mezban Chicken, Chicken Pasanda, and Tandoori Chicken

The Verdict:
The last good Indian/Pakistani buffet I had was back in 2015 at Taz Indian Restaurant in College Station. That long wait is over. This place is actually good. Mind you, this is a Desi buffet that I am talking about. The food was actually fresh; it didn't taste like it was leftovers from their catering or it was reheated. The goat curry was fantastic (hence me getting it in both plates). The biryani was delicious, and the fact that it's $5 is a steal! The only thing I didn't like was the Mezban Chicken. I thought it could have some more flavor. But overall, a satisfactory meal. No complaints about the service; the people were nice.




Conclusion:
Mezban is for now the only good Pakistani buffet spot in town. It's refreshing to see that a Pakistani spot would make fresh and tasty buffet food, given how the majority of buffets at Pakistani places would get a bad rap for providing stale food or leftovers from banquets that they catered. If you guys want to have a fresh and tasty Pakistani buffet, then this is the place to be.


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

Restaurant Information:
Mezban
6655 Harwin Street, Houston, TX
Phone: (713) 952-0606
Website: https://www.mezban.biz/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mezbanhouston/
Instagram: @mezbanhouston
Timings: Mon-Sun: 11 AM - 10 PM
Caters: Yes

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Peli Peli- One of Houston's Well Known Restaurants

Restaurant: Peli Peli
Address: The Galleria, Houston, TX
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/5/18



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be talking about my experience(s) at one of Houston's most well known spots in town: Peli Peli. Peli Peli is a South African restaurant that is run by co-owners Paul Friedman and Thomas Nguyen. So how did I find out about this place? Well, let's flashback to 2015. They had just opened their Galleria location, which was their second location after Vintage Park, and they invited bloggers to go. Being a person who just joined a food blogger group, I decided to go so that I could network with other bloggers. I remember having their shrimp, and I had really enjoyed them. At that time, I really wished that they would serve halal options, since the food was really good. Over time I'd see them be featured for their food. They were featured on the CNBC show Restaurant Startup. They won the 2017 People's Choice Awards, which was conducted by the Greater Houston Restaurant Association. They are rated top 10 in Houston by both TripAdvisor and Yelp. They even won the best food at the 2017 Menu of Menus Event, where restaurants come in and people vote on who has the best restaurant out there. A Facebook video of their espetada went viral recently. And their food looked absolutely mouthwatering. They then opened up a location in Cinco Ranch at LaCenterra. Fast forward to last Saturday (11/3) and someone had just tagged me in a comment. And I couldn't believe it. The restaurant said that they were going to start serving halal chicken (except the wings) and lamb the following week, and then by Spring they'd have halal beef. I then inquired about their fast casual concept Peli Peli kitchen (locations in Heights and Spring Branch). They were going to start with the halal items in two weeks. Alas, a prayer answered, Alhamdulilah. I then went ahead and made a reservation for lunch the following Monday. But that's not all. That Monday was also one of my best friend's birthday. His wife wanted a nice place so that she, her son, and all his friends can come and dine for the occasion. After studying for my GRE, I went for lunch. And after studying more, I headed to the Cinco Ranch location.



Let The Experience Begin!
The Galleria location of Peli Peli is located at one of the main entrances to the Galleria. You can calmly park at the Galleria garage and then walk, or you can park in the open lot as well. The inside was really nice. In the front you have a patio outside, and the inside has tables. The Cinco Ranch location had a great vibe as well.



Let's Eat!
For lunch, I ordered the Cape Malay Chicken Potjie Pot as well as South African Seafood Cakes. Potjie is basically a pot for a stew. Thus, the dish was basically a stew. It consists of chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, cilantro, chopped red onions, chopped tomatoes, toasted coconut, mango chutney, and South African Rice. The Seafood Cakes had kingklip (a fish native to South Africa), prawns, their special seasoning and breading, and peppadew tartar sauce. The Potjie Pot was $12+ tax for lunch, and the Seafood Cakes were for $16. I got the Cakes for free because there was a special promotion going on. The waiting time was about 13 minutes in total.
For dinner, I and the majority of the guys got the chicken espetada. It's chicken that is hung vertically with garlic herb butter on top. Just like that video on Facebook but with chicken instead of beef. And it floats! It came with sauteed baby spinach, onions, roasted red potatoes and carrot bredie (a type of South African Stew). The dinner price for the espetada is $28 + tax, while the lunch price is $17 + tax.


Menu: https://www.pelipeli.com/pdf/menu/FullMenu01232018.pdf
As mentioned above, only the chicken (except the wings) and the lamb are halal. I met with one of the managers at the Galleria location. I confirmed that the items were indeed halal. I also asked them to clean the grill. But wow, a whole new cuisine that has halal options available in the Houston area! The seafood items look great as well.

The Trio of Seafood Cakes

Cape Malay Chicken Potjie Pot

Chicken Espetada

The Verdict:
What can I say. This place was incredible. The Potjie Pot was wonderful. One thing though: everyone suggested that to get the best taste, you mix everything inside the pot, and then eat. The seafood cakes were some of the best seafood I've had, especially the peppadew sauce. As a first time eater of Kingklip, it was wonderful. The espetada was amazing as well. The garlic butter fits perfectly with the meat. The sides were also great. The rest of the guys enjoyed the food that they ordered. I had a few bites of their chocolate dessert and it was great as well. Overall, two thumbs up.
The service was amazing as a whole. Though it was a little slow at the Galleria location because it became busy, the Cinco Ranch location was wonderful. The folks there are really nice and are attentive.



Conclusion:
Peli Peli is a wonderful place to go if you're going for lunch or for a special occasion. The lunch prices are reasonable, though the menu options are limited. The great part is that both the Galleria and Cinco Ranch locations were consistent in their food quality. I can't wait to go back and try the other dishes as well as their halal steaks that come out in 2019.



Grading:
Service: 9.5/10 overall
Food: 9/10
Total: 18.5/20 = 92.5% (A)
Pricing: $$$$ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information:
Peli Peli
Locations in Galleria, LaCenterra (Cinco Ranch), and Vintage Park, Houston, TX
Phone: (281) 257-9500 (works for all thee locations)
Website: https://www.pelipeli.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/peligalleria (Galleria location)
https://www.facebook.com/pelicincoranch/ (Cinco Ranch)
Instagram: @pelipelihouston
Timings: Galleria- Sun-Thu: 11 AM - 10 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM;
Cinco Ranch: Mon-Thu: 11 AM - 9 PM; Fri: 11 AM - 10 PM; Sat: 10:30 AM - 10 PM; Sun: 10:30 AM - 9 PM
Caters: Yes
Reservations recommended on weekends.

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

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

CLOSED: Rhotey Rotisserie: Gourmet Sandwiches in Westchase

Restaurant: Rhotey Rotiseerie
Address: 9296 Westheimer, Houston, TX
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 11/1/2018

UPDATE 2/23/19: Sadly this place closed down. It will be really missed :(

Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing about my two experiences at a small shop called Rhotey Rotisserie. Rhotey Rotisserie is a sandwich shop that offers various sandwiches with different rotisserie meats. I found out about this spot after seeing that this place uses Creekstone Farms beef for their beef sandwiches. After confirming that they use it and cross contamination is not there (more description below), I went there for lunch one day. Then, I got a message from the owner saying that they would start using halal chicken. So I went again and had it.



Let' The Experience Begin!
They are located just after the intersection of Gessner on Westheimer Road. It's a small shop. You could see the folks making the sandwich in front of you.

Let's Eat!
On the first trip, I got their rotisserie beef sandwich. I got their rotisserrie chicken. The rotisserie beef sandwich is $10, and the rotisserie chicken sandwich is $9. The waiting time wasn't bad at all


Menu:
https://www.rhotey.com/menu/
The menu is very simple. There are two sandwiches available for each type of meat. You can even turn the sandwiches into a salad. While they do have pork, they cook and cut it separately from the other meats.

Rotisserie Chicken Sandwich

Rotisserie Beef Sandwich

The Verdict:
The sandwiches were really tasty. They both had a lot of flavor and were filling as well. Thumbs up for the food. The service was great as well!

Conclusion:
If you want to go to a sandwich spot that serves halal meat, then Rhotey is the place to be! I'll definitely be back on more occasions!


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


Restaurant Information
Rhotey Rotisserie
9296 Westheimer, Houston, TX
Phone: (713) 643-4474
Website: https://www.rhotey.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhotey/
Timings: Mon-Sat: 11 AM - 9 PM; Sun: closed
Caters: Yes
Online ordering available via Doordash and Ubereats

Feel free to comment below, send me a Facebook Message, or email me!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

The Chew Shack: A Delicious Halal Turkish Food Truck

Food Truck: The Chew Shack
Address: 5741 Westheimer, Houston, TX
Date of visit: 10/19/18



Background:
Salam/hey guys! Today I will be writing about my experience at a food truck called the Chew Shack. This company actually has three trucks. One is Turkish, one is American (Burgers, fries, etc.), and one is Mexican. This review is for the Turkish one. I got a message from them saying that they are at a new set location, so I decided to give them a try. After work, I met up with another blogger.



Let's Eat!
They are located next to the James Coney Island on Westheimer and Bering. We got three platters: a combination of chicken and lamb Adana Kebap, a combination of filet mignon kebap and lamb Adana kebap, and a chicken kebap. All the platters come with rice, vegetables, pita, and red cabbage. We also got a chicken doner, which comes with fries, and the onion rings. While waiting, we talked to the cashier as well as catching up on life.


Menu: The Turkish truck isn't deep like the brick and mortar spots. It has different types of kebaps, including the traditional Adana and doner. The biggest plus though is that it's not pricey (Turkish spots are some of the most expensive halal spots in town).

Le Menu

Chicken and Adana Kebap platter

Chicken Kebap Platter

Filet Mignon Kebap Platter

Chicken Doner (normally comes in one piece, but they cut into pieces because it's so huge)

The Inside of the Shawarma

The Verdict:
Absolutely delicious! There was so much flavor in everything that we got. My top ones were the Adana kebaps and the filet mignon. The food gets two thumbs up.
The people working there were really nice (I was observing them as other customers had come to order food).

Conclusion:
If you want some Turkish food without having to spend a lot of money, then the Chew Shack is a great spot to go to. I won't mind going there again soon. During the day, they are usually at office buildings. At night, they are at the address (5741 Westheimer). Afiyet Olsun!



Grading:
Food: 9/10
No service grade since this was a blogger event.
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information
The Chew Shack
5741 Westheimer, Houston, TX
Phone: (713) 643-4474
Website: https://www.thechewshack.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechewshack/
Timings: Wed-Thu: 7 PM - Midnight; Fri-Sat: 7 PM - 2 AM
Caters: Yes
Online ordering available

Feel free to comment below, send me a Facebook Message, or email me!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Where to eat While You are in Houston for the ISNA Convention

Assalam Alaikum guys! For those visiting for the ISNA Convention, welcome to Houston! Houston is known not only for NASA and for its Southern Hospitality, but also for its wide variety of available halal food options! Here are some of the options that you can choose from during your stay here in Houston. Bon Appetit!

Downtown to the 610 Loop.

1)      Phoenicia Specialty Foods- 1001 Austin Street.

This is 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 small restaurant area where they sell items such as shawarmas and shish tawook with rice. 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 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

The Monster Burger

Holy Cow

www.stantonscitybites.com

3) Pinkerton’s BBQ - 1504 Airline Drive

If you want to try halal Texas BBQ, then this is the place to be! Since October 2017, this place has been cutting and smoking their Creekstone Farms beef separately from the other meats they serve and has become a favorite among the Muslim community here in 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

www.pinkertonsbbq.com

4) Gyro King - 2424 Old Spanish Trail

Since 2014, Gyro King has been offering some of the best NY Style platters in

town. They give a generous portion of food for a decent price. If you want to be

closer to the convention center, check out their truck in the Medical Center!

Cuisine: NY Street Food

Mix Over Rice with Both Sauces

www.gyrokingtx.com

5) Crispy or Grilled – 2306 Brazos Street or 3333 Eastside Street (Must Follow on Social Media For Location Info) 

Crispy or Grilled is a food truck that offers halal American fare. You have the option of choosing from a normal chicken sandwich to halal chicken cones. Think of this place as a halal Chick-Fil-A food truck, but with more chicken options!

Cuisine: American and Fusion

Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Asian Persuasion and South of The Border Tacos

Clockwise from left: Buffalo Chicken Cone, BBQ Chicken Cone with Beef Bacon, and Asian Persuasion Cone

Nashville Hot Chicken Burger

www.crispyorgrilled.com

Between I-610 and Beltway 8

1) Abu Omar Halal – Various Locations

Abu Omar 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.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

www.abuomarhalal.com

2) Busy Boy- 5722 Hillcroft

Since 2007, Busy Boy has been providing e-xcellent 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 just expanded to include crepes and desserts. So, if you want to have some dessert after eating at the restaurant, just walk over!

Cuisine: American and Mediterranean

Philly Cheesesteak

3) Cedar’s Bakery - 8619 Richmond Ave.

This is a Lebansese Bakery in the heart of Little Beirut that serves up delicious pies. You have a lot to choose from, ranging from the basic manakeesh to labne and zaatar.

Cuisine: Lebanese

Cheese Manakeesh

www.cedarsbakeryhouston.com

4) Bismillah Cafe- 5696 Hillcroft

This place offers top notch American burgers along with Desi fusion burgers. The owner is a friendly guy and he sure knows how to make great burgers!
Right now, his restaurant is undergoing expansion. However, the Bismillah restaurant next to it has a few of the café items available!

Cuisine: Fusion Pakistani-American with American Items

Patty Melt on Texas Toast

Ten Chicken Sandwich on Texas Toast

5) Thai Gourmet- 6324 Richmond Ave.

Thai Gourmet is widely regarded to be the best Thai restaurant in Houston, and the best part is that they use halal chicken! This place can have a long waiting time, so come early if you can! The chicken is cooked separately from all the other meats. But be careful on the spice level you get. The medium can still burn your mouth!

Cuisine: Thai

Drunken Noodles

Chicken Pad Thai

Green Curry with Chicken

6) Aga’s – 11842 Wilcrest Drive

Aga’s is widely considered to be the best Indo-Pak restaurant in Southeast Texas. Their service and their quality of food are held in very high regard. This is a great place to take your family, or any large group of people. There is one golden rule to dining here: Goat Chops.

Cuisine: Indo-Pak

Top left going clockwise: goat curry, tandoori chicken handi, chicken 65, and goat biryani

Goat Chops

Peshawari Chicken

www.agasrestaurant.com

If you have any questions, feel free to message me on my Instagram at thehalalreviewer, or email me at zain.mohammed93@gmail.com!

 I hope you enjoy your time in Houston!

Cheers!

Zain Mohammed

March 2018 Roundup

Salam/hey guys! For March 2018, I will be doing something different. I'll be rounding up my trips from that month. The reason being the fact that I have no time to write full reviews because of school and work. I am in my senior year of engineering school, and the work is so much that I have to devote time to do it. once I finish, I can get back to writing full reviews. So without further ado, here is a roundup.

The Gyro Guys
The first trip was Gyro Guys in Clear Lake. It was my first review in Clear Lake in 4.5 years. I got to go there since I was in Galveston for most of the day and wanted to give that place a try. I got a large mix over rice, and it was delicious! Price was $10.98 (tax included) Service was good also.

Menu: http://thegyroguys.us/

Mix Over Rice

Service: 9/10

Food: 9/10

Address: 12403 Scarsdale Boulevard, Houston, TX

Timings: Mon-Sun: 10 AM - 10 PM

Pricing: $$ out of $$$$

Secondly, I went with two followers to a new Indian/Pakistani spot in Sugar Land called Biryani Bistro. What got me interested in trying out this place was the fact that the owner used to be a chef from the famous Nizam Club in Hyderabad. I looked at the menu, and I saw many Hyderabadi items offered like dum ka chicken, tahari, and marag. We ordered dum ka chicken, goat biryani, and chicken 65. Accompaniments included white rice, raita, and mirchi ka salan. The main standouts were the mirchi ka salan and the dum ka chicken.

Service: 8/10

Food: 8/10

Address: 16100 Kensington Drive Suite 400, Sugar Land, Texas

Timings: Tue-Thu & Sun: 11 AM -  9:30 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM 10 PM; Mon: closed

Koala Kolache

Next, I went to try a Texas delicacy: klobasnek. It's basically a kolache with a meat filling.
A common misconception is that kolache is a pastry with a sweet or savory filling. I used to think that as well, until one follower and some research pointed out that it was indeed klobasnek. And what better place to try out klobasnek than one of the top rated places for it: Koala Kolaches. Located on Spring Cypress and Louetta, Koala Kolaches has grown to become one of the placed highly regarded for kolaches (and klobasnek). And what do ya know, the gyro one was halal, thanks to a muslim food Instagrammer from here in Houston! They in fact use the gyro from Phoenicia for their gyro kolaches (or rather gyro klobasnek). Because of the timings they have, the only time I had to try them was before I headed to school. I got two gyro kolaches, and the hype was actually real! The price for each is $3.69. The kolaches were fantastic. They also have a good variety of vegetarian, seafood and sweet ones as well. I know I'll be back regularly!

The inside of one gyro klobasnek

Service: 9/10
Food: 10/10
Address: 14502 Spring Cypress (Intersection of Spring Cypress and Louetta), Cypress, TX
Timings: Tue-Sat: 6 AM - 2 PM; Sun: 7 AM - 2 PM
Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Las Brasas Charcoal Chicken
I then went and tried a place that has Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken, a first in the state. The place is called Las Brasas. I discovered that they used halal chicken from a group on Facebook. Rotisserie chicken (or pollo a la brasa) is actually one of the most consumed and popular food items in Peru alongside ceviche. I then headed there one night. It's on Eldridge just after Westheimer next to Chennai Express. The people were really nice. The first thing you notice is that the chicken is cooked in an actual rotisserie that was imported from Peru. Second, you'll notice the halal certificate for their chicken. In fact, the chicken is the only thing that is halal, and it's a good thing because that's their main specialty. According to the owner, he said that they have been using halal chicken since March 1.
So the ordering process is that you specify how much chicken you want (1/2 lb, 1 lb, etc.). Then you pick the sides. Oh, and the sides are all vegetarian! So I got a 1/4 lb chicken with rice and beans. The price? $9.73 (tax included).

Menu: http://www.lasbrasaschicken.com/our-menu/
The chicken prices are reasonable! And as shown below in the pic, you get a lot of food for that price.

The Spreadd. Red sauce = spicy. Green sauce = mild

For someone trying Peruvian food for the first time, the place was great! The chicken was full of flavor. Do give this place a try if you are in the energy corridor or want to be healthy (one of the few halal places with healthy food)!

Service: 8/10
Food: 8.5/10
Address:
2721 Eldridge Parkway, Houston, TX
Timings: Sun-Thu: 11 AM - 9PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 9:30 PM
Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Darna Mediterranean Cuisine

To wrap up March, I took a day trip to Austin. Now many who goes there from Houston would often go to either Halal Bros or Arpeggio for halal food. But I went to this place called Darna Cafe. The reason? Moroccan food. It's unbelievable that Houston doesn't have a full fledged Moroccan restaurant, while Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin have one. I've been wanting to try Moroccan food for a long time. The closest I got was Moroccan Bites in San Antonio back in 2014. Sadly they were closed because the owners took a vacation. My parents went to Morocco in 2015 and loved eating tajine. But finally, it was time for me to try a tajine.
Darna is located at the intersection of W 11th and Guadelupe Street, not far from the UT campus. Because there's construction, it's best to pay for parking and then take a little walk to the place. The interior was nice. After sitting down, I was handed the menu.
I ordered the kefta tagine: ground beef and lamb meatballs with a boiled egg cooked in tomato, garlic, and herbs. I paid $16.23 (tax included) for this.

Menu: https://darnatx.com/menu/
This place is more Moroccan than Mediterranean tbh. The menu is similar to the one at Moroccan Bites. I'm assuming that the prices of the tagines are similar in other Moroccan places (someone please help)

The Kefta Tagine

For a first timer, the tajine really impressed me. It was bursting with flavor. Everything was cooked freshly. The food was washed down with some water. Overall, two thumbs up. Service was great as well. Really friendly people.

If you are visiting Austin or go to UT, then Darna is definitely a place to try! Inshallah I hope there will be a Moroccan place in Houston.

Service: 9/10

Food: 9/10

Address:

408 W 11th Street, Austin, TX

Timings: Mon-Thu: 11 AM - 9 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 10 PM; Sun: 9 AM - 8 PM

Pricing: $$ out of $$$$

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

Cheers! 

Zain Mohammed

Fanoosh Biryani and Burgers: Where East Meets West

Restaurant: Fanoosh Biryani and Burgers
Address: 1226 Museum Square Drive, Sugar Land, Texas
Buffet or a-la-carte: a-la-carte
Date of visit: 3/12/18



Background:
Salam/hey guys! I will be writing about my experience at the recently opened Fanoosh Biryani and Burgers restaurant. So how did I arrive at coming to a place that serves both biryani and burgers? I saw the owner on Facebook posting about the restaurant opening up in a few months. Next thing you know, he invites the public to give the place a sneak peak. I went for it, and the biryani was absolutely spot on. I decided to come again, this time with two friends. It was a challenge, because I had invited some friends and bloggers to try the food here since the biryani was that good. Unfortunately, many canceled at the last minute despite several answers of "Yes". Another challenge was the time. The place closes at 8 on Mondays, which honestly is early. I got off work late on that day, so getting there was a real challenge with the traffic Houston is known for. Thankfully, the traffic was actually not bad since it was Spring Break, so I made it with some time to spare.




Let's The Experience Begin!
Fanoosh is located exactly where UB's used to be (same strip mall as Bahama Bucks and the Sugar Land location of Stacked Ice Cream). The layout and outside patio are still there. The place was bustling when we went inside. After browsing through the menu and meeting the owner, we were ready to order.




Let's Eat!
We ordered three things: chicken biryani, house fries (fries with burger meat, cheddar jack cheese, onion, cilantro, and Fanoosh sauce), and the angus burgers (angus patties with gouda, Fanoosh sauce, lettuce, and tomatoes). We split and paid about $14 (tax included). The waiting time wasn't bad at 14 minutes and 23 seconds. They give you a pager, and when it buzzes, it means that the order is ready. We sat on the patio and talked until the pager sounded.




Menu: https://fanooshbnb.com/
If you want to see the menu, you just have to click "menu" and it will take you there. The menu is limited, and for a good reason. The owner wants to make sure that all the food is fresh. They have various types of biryanis and burgers that are available to order, even though some of the biryanis are only available on the weekends. The prices are honestly not bad, and all the meat is halal.

The Chicken Biryani

House Fries

Angus Burger

The Verdict:
When we got the burgers, there was something that caught my eye. All the vegetables, and the sauce were on the side instead of on the burger. It's most likely like that for picky eaters to choose what goes on the burger and what is left out. You add the vegetables and the sauce, and you get what you see in the above pic.
Tastewise, the biryani proved to be the clear winner yet again. The taste was simply marvelous. Perfectly spiced biryani with a lot of flavor, just the way I like it. Second place was the house fries by a close margin. The Fanoosh sauce had the perfect spice kick: not too mild yet not too hot. When they say that their food is fresh, they really mean it. Last place was the burger, which was just ok. The patty wasn't up to my taste tbh. Nevertheless, a good experience overall.
The service was good too. The owner is a really nice guy.




Conclusion:
While the burger was just ok, the biryani was superb. Fanoosh is a great place to have some delicious biryani without having to drive far if you live in Sugar Land. It's also a great place to have biryani if you do not want to wait in the line at Aga's (in the past few trips, the line was up to the door!). I hope to come visit this place again when I am in Sugar Land.



Grading:
Food: 23/30 (9/10 for biryani, 8/10 for fries, 6/10 for burger)
Service: 9/10
Total: 32/40 = 80% (B)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$



Restaurant Information:
Fanoosh Biryani and Burgers
1226 Museum Square Drive, Sugar Land, Texas
Phone: (281) 201-2067
Website: https://fanooshbnb.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tasteofgreek/
Timings: Mon, Tue & Thu: 12 PM - 8 PM; Fri-Sat: 12 PM - 9 PM; Sun: 4 PM - 9 PM; Wed: Closed
Caters: N/A

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Cheers!
Zain Mohammed