Dallas Places

This is a personally curated guide. Firstly, given Dallas has so many restaurant options for Muslims, my opinion is to hold a higher standard in terms of our food. I am cautious to recommend a place serving meat unless I have evidence the meat they serve is properly slaughtered. I do not particularly enjoy asking restaurants about their meat supply chain, so I am happy there are trustworthy organizations such as HMS and HFSAA in Dallas providing this service for me. Secondly, often the primary goal of visiting a place is not to eat or drink, rather to enjoy since, alhamdulillah, there is often food and drink at home. Thus, I comment on subjective aspects of these locations that I find relevant.

Allen Area

• IAA. Building renovations feel high-end. The wudu area is well-designed to handle many people without crowding.
• Sayfani. A more laid-back Yemeni coffee shop featuring mural art. If I recall they play light instrumental music. It's very close to IAA. It's a good place to study for hours. Uncles sometimes come there alone just to get work done on their laptop. They have a prayer mat available. I've spent some late nights there studying.

West Plano Area

• IACC. Robust community with regular prayers and classes.
• Haji Ali. HMS-certified. They go for the Pakistan aesthetic. They have good falooda. Update: They no longer exist!
• Crescent Moon. HMS-certified. They serve Chinese food in a style that is desi-inspired. The dining room is a little dark and the staff stand at the register as you eat. I didn't feel as inspired by the restaurant.
• Turan Uyghur. HMS-certified. It's a popular place. Many people there eating are Chinese. I like the plov. I also like the laghman noodles.

East Plano Area

• Smokin' Grill by BBQ King. Serves American BBQ such as brisket and burgers with HMS-certified meat. I don't think they ever play music; it's just Quran. Prayer mats are available. Dining room is a little large which can make the atmosphere feel empty at times.
• 1418 Coffee Located in Downtown Plano. Not Muslim-owned to my knowledge. Just a cozy, dark, well-furnished coffee shop that focuses on the quality of the coffee. There's a very diverse customer audience. It is often busy, but not in a way that makes you feel as if you're intrusive.
• Haraz. It's a very popular place near EPIC. With large glass exterior windows, white and gold interiors, and high-end furnishing, it feels like it is a place to see and be seen. It came later in the wave of Yemeni coffee franchises. Their specialty lattes feel like they're just different syrup flavors and cost about $10 after tax and tip. With coffee so expensive, I feel as though I'm helping them pay off their furniture rather than paying for coffee.
• Muslims of the World. It's very close to EPIC. I've been there once, but it's a solid option run by good people. I don't really remember the coffee, but the aesthetic is nice. It looks professional without feeling corporate. It feels inviting and warm without feeling overly polished.

Carrolton Area

• Wave Bowl. Another restaurant by the Noodle Wave family. It's extremely polished. It serves Korean food. The restaurant is not HMS-certified, but they get their meat from HMS-certified distributors. The Korean food is good. I had carbonara, which is like a cheesy ramen pasta.
• Noodle Wave. This is one of their nicer locations. It's pretty. The menu looks more aesthetic than the other locations. It feels very Asian. It's in the middle of a plaza with a lot of Asian stores.

Frisco Area

• Escape 360. This is another restaurant from the Noodle Wave family. They serve HMS-certified meat, but the restaurant itself is not certified. They serve extremely fancy Asian-style desserts and coffees. Their coffee menu is actually ingenious. Whereas other coffee places serve a variety of options that are all differentiated by different syrups, this place actually puts a lot of thought into their drinks. All of their staff are extremely professional and wear uniforms. The place is packed. They have a policy of no laptops in the dining room during peak hours. That's because the place is literally so beautiful. It's an amazing place to take people for them to be impressed; it feels like decadence. It's not great for a place to take an old friend to catch up over coffee because the place feels a little packed in a good way and you would feel bad for staying too long since there's a line out the door with people waiting on the bench for their reservation.
• Arwa. It's nice. It's aesthetic. I think the main thing is they have a nicely decorated private room that feels like a cave. The density isn't too bad and you could reasonably study there for a few hours without feeling bad.
• Noodle One. They are not on the HMS-certified list, but I know the people behind it are careful with their meat. I heard that the owner split from a previous partnership because they wanted to make sure the meat was properly slaughtered. They serve really authentic Chinese food. How do I know? At any point in time, a good portion of their customers are just Chinese. I recommend the beef noodle soup. They also have scallion pancakes that taste like green onion parathas.

IANT Area

• Shibam. White marble tiles, gold accents. I can't remember music playing there. The crowd is quiet. It's a much more relaxing atmosphere. It opened up across the street from Arwa.
• Arwa. One of the first Yemeni coffee shops in the area. Generally packed, especially on weekends. There is a couch floor seeing area that normally has people on their laptops. It feels a little cramped.
• Red Hot. This restaurant is not HMS-certified, but they serve meat from an HMS-certified place. They also have some Desi-Chinese noodle dishes.
• Yummy Burgers. They serve proper meat here. I don't think they're on the HMS-certified list, but I heard from a trusted friend they careful with their meat. All of the meat is grilled on a proper grill so the restaurant always smells like a barbecue grill and sometimes it can smell a little strongly of food. The burgers all taste smoky. It's a unique flavor that people want, but it definitely doesn't feel like your standard patty. They have a lot of unique options like a burger with an egg in it, which I get.
• BBQ King. The original BBQ King. The place looks just like Pakistan. They have a proper chef from Pakistan. They have a huge dining room. On the weekends, there's a huge crowd and they have a pretty good buffet. They're HMS-certified.
• Spice Wok. It's an HMS-certified restaurant. There doesn't feel like there's anything special here. It's just a normal sit-down dinner in a polished dining room. I think I remember the place settings and menu to be more formal than usual. It's like a dressed up Noodle Wave. I don't mind it. The price point is around the same as Noodle Wave. I don't have any issue with the food either. It just doesn't seem as fun as other restaurants and there's nothing on the menu particularly unique.