Halal food festival returns to LI

When a halal food festival coinciding with the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha is held on the grounds of Masjid Darul Quran mosque in Bay Shore on Saturday, a crowd of up to 10,000 is expected, along with 65 vendors, half of them selling food, with the rest selling clothing and jewelry.

“This is our fourth year doing it,” explained Eid Food Festival organizer Raza Dastgir, a self-described food fanatic from Dix Hills who also co-launched The Halal Guide on Facebook and Instagram with his partner Ammad Sheikh in 2019, focusing on eateries in the tristate area. Such is the popularity of The Halal Guide — the Facebook page alone has more than 20,000 followers — it now generates revenue from ad sales to restaurants and other establishments. A brand-new app (“it’s like DoorDash but only halal”) will feature more than 100 participating restaurants when it officially launches at the festival. 

Among the eateries flying under-the-radar: Kabab Platter & Burger, which opened in 2018 and stumbled along until 2020, when Dastgir and Sheikh visited and raved about the place on The Halal Guide. Its fortunes changed overnight.

“We had lines outside,” confirmed Kabab Platter’s Mohammad Nadeem, seated next to Dastgir. “Every time they write about us we see a bump in business.”

A few months after his first visit to Kabab Platter, Dastgir convinced the restaurant to attend last year’s Eid festival and hawk the naan-wrapped chicken skewers known as "crazy kebabs," a signature menu item. The eatery sold more than a thousand between 2 p.m. and sunset.

“This year, we didn’t need any convincing,” said Nadeem.

The 4th Annual Eid Food Festival is on July 16, from 2 p.m. to sunset, on the grounds of Masjid Darul Quran mosque, 1514 E. 3rd Ave., Bay Shore. More info at The Halal Guide’s Facebook page.

By Scott Vogel

scott.vogel@newsday.com

Newsday writer and restaurant critic Scott Vogel aims for a refreshing, gimlet-eyed take on the Long Island food scene, often while drinking a refreshing gimlet.