A new restaurant in MoRA features flavors from the popular uptown Halal Food Cart
Khuram Bashir is credited with bringing the first halal street food to Charlotte, serving out of the Halal Food Cart uptown. Now to close out 2021, the recipes from the iconic street food spot are finding an additional home at a restaurant off Monroe Road — while staying in the family.
Halal Street Food has opened at MoRA Point off of Monroe Road and is owned by Bashir family members Daniel Tiru and Elizabeth Marmol.
The menu
Halal Street Food serves up traditional dishes and favorites from the food cart including wraps, kebabs, salads and platters. From vertical rotisseries, guests can order doner kebab, shawarma and gyro, or from the grill, wood-fired chicken, lamb and beef kebabs.
Dishes can be served with pickled vegetables and sauces, including homemade white sauce, garlic sauce, tahini, green chili chutney and a homemade hot sauce aptly called “Dare You Sauce.”
The restaurant also offers favorites like falafel and options for various diets, such as the Vegan All the Way salad. For breakfast, guests can order crepes in both savory and sweet flavors.
The modern, warm-toned space features plenty of room for dining in under woven chandeliers. Check out more photos and details on the MoRA website.
The history
Halal is Arabic for “permissible” or “lawful,” and refers to food items that adhere to traditions of Islam. In New York, halal carts can be found on street corners across the city, but back in the early 2010s, when Bashir moved to Charlotte, Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill, according to a 2017 Creative Loafing article.
In 2016, the Halal Food Cart opened uptown at the corner of Trade and Tryon streets, with a menu inspired by the family’s restaurant Mi Barrio Halal Latin Grill.
Bashir’s wife, Damaris, moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic, giving the family restaurant and cart a blend of international flavors, the Creative Loafing article stated.
The Halal food cart can still be found at 101 N. Tryon St., open 7 days a week.
Halal Street Food
Location: 4044 Connection Point Blvd., Suite B., Charlotte, NC 28212
Hours: Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m -10 p.m.
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 12:58 PM.
