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| Garden Halal Restaurant |
There is a good chance that for most people in Boston, Blackstone Street, on the edge of Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market, consists of three things: Durty Nelly's, Haymarket Pizza, and the joys of Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays. For those of us who like to venture into the literal basements of other worlds, there are some great Halal shops and food offerings that don't include getting yelled at by Vinny if you happen to touch the merchandise. That being said, it isn't all that often that I go gaga over a place after trying it only once, but there are certain meals that are just THAT good and if need be, you never go back again just so you don't catch the place on a bad day. Don't get me wrong, Garden Halal didn't change my life, and I was admittedly overly hungry when I popped in for lunch a few days ago, but I'm overly hungry a lot so I don't let that skew my opinions of what is clearly good and that which is somewhat shabby. The Chicken with Olives and the Boiled Potatoes ($8) are superb here. One of the best meals I have had in weeks. I will most certainly try this place again just so that I can see what else they have on the menu.
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| Chicken with Olives and Boiled Potatoes |
Garden Halal is basically an Algerian restaurant. They have yet to take down the old menu, so you can't actually get the advertised Somali food, and the prices and meals that you see above the cash register, pizza shop style, are not at all what the place actually has, but most of what is offered here is right in front of you to see. This is my favorite kind of Halal Restaurant, because they also have pizza that some of the patrons were ordering with pepperoni. Granted, I know that there is good beef sausage out there and you could certainly call something pepperoni that isn't quite such and not be sued, but I love when people take food more seriously than religion. Other than tasteless My-Food-Is-Better-Than-Yours Amateur Chef shows, it causes far fewer problems in the world. I don't know what kind of spices were on this chicken, and the owner didn't have a name for the recipe (he just called it Chicken with Olives) but it was quite impressive.
1 comment:
Garden halal Restaurant and the store below are owned by the same people. The restaurant offers a variety of Algerian recipes mostly with a hint of moroccan food. The combination is simply exquisite. the food is always fresh and the patron always kind and helpful though a bit overwhelmed on Saturdays. If you have not tried the "M'smen" ist is a kind of a square folded pita-like bread. you can take it home, toast it and add honey. with a cup of tea or coffee the tate is unreal. The best in my opinion. the meals served don't have a specific name because you can order any side dish with any kind of meat. If you go there, please try a plate of Merguez (this is a typical algerian beef sausage) mix with roasted potatoes or rice and some veggies. the Merguez is unique as you cannot find it anywhere else. Yes, I agree this place needs some house keeping for their menus, and ads, but the patrons are so kind, they would offer you anything you want. Sometimes they offer a free cup of mint tea, which is another story.
Downstairs, the store has a variety of things. Fisrt whether youare Muslim or not, I challenge you to buy some ground beef, go home and mamake meat balls or grilled burgers with it. I would like to hear from you if you do. the taste of the meat is unbelievable. not sure why. some say because of the way it is slautered and the blood drained. I have no proof. you can also buy the Merguez and make your own at home. In the front they have a variety of meats (beef, lamb, goat) goat is not the Algerian favorite meat (mostly for far east folks). get some lamb chops. they are simply fantastic. thay have a range of seasonned olives which are completely different from the canned ones. You can also get some nuts, seeds, semoulina, wheat flour by the lb, which I find very convinient. Sometimes they make their own bread (it is semoulina-based) and tastes great. Prices are reasonable. meat prices are low for that kind of quality in my opinion. So if you are shopping I highly recommend this place.
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