Al Basha (Northern NJ)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

——————————————————-

Positive: The best Middle Eastern food joint in Paterson as per Zabihah.com.  The shawarma hummus platter is excellent.

Negative: Their specials finish very quickly. The meat quality is not great compared to other Middle Eastern restaurants.

Overall: Great place to go with family and friends to enjoy a delicious Middle Eastern meal but their ambiance and food taste has dwindled.

Revisit:  I will only revisit for the shawarma hummus platter when in the area.

——————————————————-

updated february 25, 2012

Al Basha restaurant has the most reviews on Zabihah.com for all the restaurants listed in Paterson, NJ.  I have tried it multiple times and had the chance to experience it again.  When I entered the restaurant, I noticed that that it has become more worn down over the years — they really need to do some renovations including painting the walls, cleaning the place, and fixing the carpet.  They should really put some work into it so that the ambiance lives up to the raving reviews.

On this visit I, again, enjoyed my most favorite dish there, the Shawarma Hummus platter.  It was fresh, delicious, and went great with their pita.  The mixed grill has declined in taste since my last visit.   The lamb meat was not soft and the texture was rubbery.  The other meat seemed somewhat overdone and the chicken was burnt.  I was extremely disappointed overall.  However, the service was great and the front house manager was very nice as usual. I am going to degrade their rating from four crescents to one crescent until some improvement is done to their food and place. It is not worth going to eat there just for the hummus. I would only get it if I was in Paterson.

from August 13, 2011

Can’t figure out which restaurant to eat at while visiting the arab hub of patTerson?  well look no further!

I had a chance to visit Al Basha restaurant in Patterson New Jersey on Main Street with various Middle Eastern restaurants and bakeries. It is situated in the heart of Main Street in Patterson and is a pretty happening restaurant in the area, besides the China Pagoda ofcourse.

This restaurant offers both Lebanese and Turkish cuisine. When you enter there are two sections that you can sit at which you can base on the type of people you’re with. The first section consists of seating booths and is more for the younger crowd. It is more suitable when you’re with friends and it can be loud. The other section has more of a family like, quiet atmosphere, unless ofcourse you have kids running around.

The service overall is excellent. The waiters gave us good tips on what to order and how much to order.  They’re also very helpful in trying to give us items on the house.  By the way, they also have specials of the day that usually run out early so make sure to request that as soon as you get in. When you first sit down the waiter brings you fresh olives, radish with vinegar, and their warm pita breads. The olives are actually imported from Palestine.  

I have been to this restaurant three times already and I find that the hummus with shawarma is excellent.  The shawarma has succulent and tender meat and is situated on top of smooth, tasty hummus that goes great with pita. I’ve also had the mixed family platter which I highly recommend when visiting this place. The mixed platter bascially has all their meat products in one dish, while are piled on top of a mountain of rice.  I enjoyed their sheesh kababs and chicken kababs the best.  The tender chicken kebabs are moist and soft from the inside. The meat was flavored well and was juicy.  I have also tried some of their sandwiches which are also equally great.  I haven’t tried their Thursday New York Strip Steak Special though.

 I think that this restaurant is a must to try when visiting Patterson or if you are in the mood for some tasty Arab cuisine.   And on top of that the waiters have cool Hats (and one of them reminds me of the guy from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)!

-—————————————-———-

Al Basha Restaurant Website

View Larger Map

Bundu Khan Kabab House (Queens)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

——————————————————-

Positive:  Great combination of lacha paratha (bread) and fresh naan with gola kababs, bihari kababs, and boneless chicken tikka.  

Negative:  Inconsistent food taste, especially the gola kababs, like many other Pakistani restaurants.

Overall: The best BBQ Pakistani food in the NJ/NY area.

Revisit:  Yes,  I have visited there often and will continue to do so; their food tastes better than other places even on a bad day.

——————————————————-

UPDATED ON 2/25/2012

Bundu Khan is still inconsistent in the food they have, but the naan and paratha are always delicious.  Their bihari kababs and boneless chicken tikka were excellent on this visit but their gola kababs were too spicy and a bit salty.  It would be so much more satisfying if they were more consistent. With all that said I still believe they still have the best all around Pakistani bbq food in the region.

FROM JANUARY 9, 2012

Craving good pakistani kababs and paratha?

Bundu Khan, no relation to popular restaurant in Pakistan with same name or the restaurant in Houston with the same name, is a clean and small quick bite restaurant located on Union Tpke in Glen Oaks, NY. The walls are painted bright green with large photographs of food hanging on the walls; despite the description, this all works very well for the restaurant and gives it a nice feel. They also have a large screen TV playing various indian movies on a given day.  It can accommodate four families of four people but not more.  Most people seem to order or take out.

There are usually the same three people working at the restaurant in the front end:  the owner, his wife, and a female worker.  From what I hear, they have been working together for a very long time when the owner had another well known Pakistani restaurants in Long Island which he later sold.  That restaurant (Kababchi) by the way, has dwindled in quality after the current owner of Bundu Khan left to start up a new restaurant.

Nonetheless the food at his new restaurant is delicious.  Yes, it is like other typical Desi restaurants, where the taste is inconsistent because of the large amount of different spices that are put in and the intricacy that is involved.  On the back end he has several Mexican cooks who do most of the work.  I enjoy their lacha paratha, naan, boneless chicken tikka, and gola kababs.  I have tried their bihari kababs but think they are mediocre.  The gola kababs can be very delicious at times, melting in your mouth, while you eat the crispy lacha paratha (no this paratha is not the typical flaky one from the Pakistan based restaurant or the one in Houston, but its still damn good).  The gola kabab used to be very spicy but the owner managed to make the spice less but now the problem is cooking – sometimes its burnt and other times its perfect.  They need to get this right soon otherwise they’ll lose me as a customer for sure. They do have some delicacies as well, including Magas Nihari (Nihari with brain in it).  I haven’t tried it and don’t plan on it.  I have heard its decent though, but of course cannot compare to the one you find in Pakistan.

Despite the inconsistencies, they have the best BBQ Pakistani food around and their food still tastes better than other restaurants on a bad day.

——————————————————-

No Website

View Larger Map

Related articles

• Kabab Paradise (Central & Northern NJ) (halalfoodcritic.wordpress.com)
• Bakhtar Halal Kababs (Queens) (halalfoodcritic.wordpress.com)

Bakhtar Halal Kababs (Queens)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

——————————————————-

Positive: Best Chicken and Beef Kofta Kababs I’ve ever had at a reasonable price.  

Negative: Casual seating and environ. Can become very busy on weekend nights.

Overall: If you want to try the most excellent Afghani food, hands down, you have to eat here.  

Revisit:  YES!  I already visit this place every time I am in the area.

——————————————————-

Want high quality afghani food and don’t care about location or ambiance?

Go to Bakhtar Kabab in Fresh Meadows, NY. They have the best Chicken and Beef Kofta Kababs I have ever had, hands down. Even their rice and their white yogurt sauce are delicious. I don’t go to any other Afghan restaurant anymore because every time I have tried another place, they can never compare to Bakhtar. In addition, the price is a super deal - for $8.00 you get two skewers of kababs, rice, and salad. No place beats that!

In addiiton to these kababs, their lamb chops and burgers are decent as well. This is a great place to go to with family and friends if you want good food that is very reasonably priced in a casual environment. There is a lot of seating available and they have a few televisions that are hooked to Pakistani channels. The restaurant is located across from an Indian movie theater, so it is very busy on weekend nights but you can always find a seat as they have a lot of seating available. This restaurant is one of my favorite restaurants so definitely try it when you’re in the area.

——————————————————-

No Website

 

View Larger Map

 

 

Related articles

• Kabab Paradise (Central & Northern NJ) (halalfoodcritic.wordpress.com)
• Philly Bistro (Philadelphia, PA) (halalfoodcritic.wordpress.com)
• Al Basha (Northern NJ) (halalfoodcritic.wordpress.com)

Philly Bistro (Philadelphia)

Rating:

Quality, Taste, Cleanliness, Environment, Price , & Staff

——————————————————-

Positive: Located in Franklin Mills mall which gives an alternative to the usual vegetarian options seen at most food courts.

Negative: Slow service and quality/taste is below average.

Overall: If you are shopping at the mall and craving some meat try this place, and while waiting for the food talk with the nice husband and wife who own the place.

Revisit:  Only if I am at the mall and want some meat.

——————————————————-

Looking for a halal place to eat while at the mall?

I had a chance to visit Philly Bistro located in Franklin Mills Mall in Northeast Philadelphia. It consists of two restaurants. One restaurant serves exclusively halal meat, and their dishes mostly comprise of various permutations of chicken, lamb, and rice as seen at the Halal Guys of 53rd and 6th.  They also sell Seekh Kabab and various salads, sides, and sauces to put on your food.   This restaurant is operated by a very nice and polite husband and wife who seemed to be working pretty hard, and at times looked very new to the restaurant business.   The food quality, however, was not that great and their service was a bit on the slower side.  Regardless of this, I am still very impressed with their idea to open a halal place in a food court where the surrounding community has a good Muslim population, and I like that they are working together to make it work.  I think they would need to improve the quality of their food to get me back as a customer but if I am in the mall I would prefer their halal restaurant over others.  With that said I think those that don’t mind the meat they eat will like it because it is an addition to the many cuisines already available in the food court.

Next to this restaurant is another restaurant, which is attached and has the same name.  By their menu and pictures it seems like they sell a lot of burgers, wings, and steaks.  However, only their Philly cheesesteaks seem to be halal.  Therefore , you have to make sure to tell them about your meat restrictions.  The quality of their food was also mediocre, easily surpassed by Douglass Pizza and Al Salaam.  If they expand the halal menu to include their other items and their quality improves, I am sure they will do well too.

Overall, I think both of these combined restaurants will do fairly well if they advertise to the Muslim community, increase the quality of their food, and make everything purely Halal.  However, because of their location in a fairly busy outlet mall, they may not change much in order to continue to get customers.  This restaurant has much potential, but I have a feeling it won’t tap into it.

——————————————————-

No Website Available

View Larger Map