I’m sure, like almost every New Yorker, you- the reader – have eaten halal. Or, at the very least you can create an image in your head when I mention halal or halal carts. What do you think of? The classic chicken over rice? The typical, “extra white sauce and a little red sauce too please.” Or a truck blaring Arabic hits. You’re probably thinking of the product, the result. What if I told you there’s so much more halal than you’ve ever thought of. That there’s so much more to the word halal. Halal is driven by the rules that guide it- the religious and legal. This article will explore what halal truly means, how NYC food cart permit laws are taken advantage of by scammers, and how, despite these rules and constraints, halal dishes were born on the streets of New York with a lot of cultural expression and creative flair.

A New York Success Story, Built by Immigrants

Halal cart’s success are driven by the immigrants that run them. Muslim and middle eastern immigration to NYC began in the 70’s and dramatically increased in the 80’s with growing unrest in the middle east. Halal carts first made their way to the streets of New York City in the 90’s with the famous Halal Guys cart. They started off by selling typical NYC street food- their menu included hot dogs, fries, and pretzels- but prepared halal.

As muslim immigration continued to rise in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the original Halal Guys transformed their menu to include more middle eastern and mediterranean dishes. This is what these carts serve today, and where we get to see cultural expressions born from the religious rules of halal food. With the influx of immigrants, there was an increase in halal carts.

So, I decided to get an up-close look at these trucks for myself – as though I haven’t been ordering chicken over rice for years. As I walked up Second Avenue I was hit by the beautiful smell almost immediately. Muhammad, a worker at this truck on 83rd St. and 2nd Ave., greeted me with a smile and the typical “what can I do for you Habibi.” I have conversed with Muhammad many times over the past few months as this truck has turned into my go-to, starting with when Muhammad recognized my Egyptian features. Later, I gave Muhammad the life-altering news that I am the son of Egyptian immigrants who does not know a lick of Arabic. An immigrant himself, he knows the importance of passing on your culture to your kin. We have, since, developed a cordial relationship. Today was different from our typical small talk, though. Today I wanted to know more.

From Religious Ritual to Street Corner Staple

To start, I wanted to understand what halal means – particularly to New Yorkers. There is a specific religious definition for the word, as it comes from Islam. Halal is an Arabic word that literally means “lawful” or “permitted” food. That being, food that is permitted by the Qur’an as “holy” to consume. Halal food must follow many guidelines to be considered as such. The rule of thumb – everything is halal except ABCD, which is haram (forbidden). ABCD stands for specific exceptions: A means alcohol, B is for blood, C is for carnivorous animals, and D is for “dead meat”, meaning meat not slaughtered according to Islamic rituals. Any foods that contain the ABCD’s are haram and cannot be eaten according to Islamic law. So, any restaurant, grocery store, or food service can serve food that is halal; and food from any culture can be considered halal as long as it follows the halal guidelines.

However, with the rise of halal carts in New York, the word has transformed into something more than just a religious food requirement. We have seen it become synonymous with the trucks themselves, and the food they serve. It has been disconnected from its religious roots and has been thrusted into the mainstream. When we hear halal today, we do not think of the Qur’an or the Islamic prayers used to bless the food, we think of falafel in those iconic plastic containers.

The disconnect between what halal really means and what it means in modern New Yorker culture can be seen as detrimental and beneficial to Islamic and middle eastern culture. It is detrimental because it is inherently white washing: stripping a culture of the true meanings of its words by the white American- essentially commodifying a culture’s food for the benefit of the rich (or those who are not working paycheck to paycheck as most halal truck workers are). However, it can also serve the purpose of making Americans more accustomed and accepting of Islamic culture. Islamophobia has been on the rise post 9/11 and has not slowed down fueled by the rise of right-wing extremism in America. In the words of Muhammad Abbas, a halal truck worker on the Upper East Side, “if people [are] com[ing] to my truck and eating my food, why be mad?”

Scams, Permits, and the Price of Owning a Cart

There’s one more hurdle these trucks workers and owners face before they can plate your chicken and lamb combo. Food cart businesses are notoriously predatory, littered with middlemen whose only goal is to scam hardworking immigrants. The New York Times reported that some cart owners pay “about 20,000 dollars every 2 years for their permits.” Meanwhile, the person they are renting their permits from originally purchased the permits from the city for just a few hundred dollars.

Muhammad does not own the cart or the permit. He just works there and gets paid “a very low” salary that he refused to disclose. Nevertheless, he informed me that his boss – the owner of the cart – is amongst the thousands of cart owners that rent their permits. This kills profits for no reason and can also be the culprit of Muhammad’s low salary.

So, how can this be fixed? The main solution is to allow for more permits. More permits means more opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their business. Also, the city can make the notoriously convoluted and complex permit process a little easier. If this process is accessible to those who don’t speak English as their first language, permits would be more accessible to regular merchants, instead of companies who buy them all up.

The Flavor of Home: Culture Through Cuisine

And despite all these hurdles and the constraints of making food that abides by the rules of halal and the middlemen that scam the trucks, these workers still make it their own. In the 90’s, the Halal Guys cart began to transition their menu into the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern mix we see today, featuring chicken over rice, gyro, falafel, and more. This is what Muhammad serves, and what he is more than happy to continue serving. He loves to bring his cultural flair to his food, specifically with “the seasoning. It is all about the seasoning Habibi.”

The best part of halal trucks in New York City is that no chicken over rice tastes the same. Muhammad’s chicken is flavorful and juicy (marinated in yogurt with an abundance of arab spices, as he told me) whereas a truck 5 blocks away seemed to have chicken that was seasoned with salt and pepper – this assessment is based on my taste buds, as they rejected a request for an interview. Muhammad also threw in a heaping of fries, 3 pieces of pita, and handed me a falafel while I was waiting for my food. Some trucks just give you chicken, rice, lettuce, tomato, and sauce and call it a day.

Over the months of coming to this truck and being served by 3 different workers who cook there, Muhammad is the only one who consistently gives a falafel while I wait for my food. He says he does this because when he’s cooking for his kids at home he gives them a taste of the food so they can calm down while he cooks. He brings that same philosophy to the truck- “if the customer is happy while he waits, he will want to come back for more.”

This is what halal carts in New York are truly about. Forget the true meaning of the word halal. Forget the permit struggles. Here, not only is Muhammad sharing the culture of his home country with the Upper East Side, he is also sharing the culture of his home. Halal food in New York is about the creativity and cultural expression born from constraint.