Holy Cow opens in Uniondale

Some New Yorkers consider the chopped cheese a sacred food, an exquisite transformation that occurs when you mash a bunch of hamburger meat with onions and melty American cheese on a flattop. But this Long Island version is downright holy. 

Prepared with humanely slaughtered meat from a halal butcher, the chopped cheese is a special find at the new Holy Cow in Uniondale. Instead of the standard mayo and ketchup, the cook chops the chuck steak with "holy" sauce, a pink condiment made with housemade pickles and spices. The bread is a little different from the Harlem and Bronx bodega classic, here prepared with one of their ultra-sturdy hamburger buns. (Although you have the option of the more typical hero roll.) But this is a workhorse chopped cheese to the core, destined to satisfy with its saucy crumbles of ground chuck spilling out the edges. 

"We like bringing in classics and doing them the right way," says owner Adil Palwala.  

The late-night eatery near Hofstra University is in a shopping center with a Jamaican spot and a Mexico City-style taqueria, taking over previous halal restaurant Grillwaale. Although his first location was above a mosque in the Flatiron district of NYC, Palwala is beginning to franchise the brand and expects to open a sixth Holy Cow in Selden this September.

He sources all the meats from his wholesale butcher Hal & Al in Hauppauge, which means a special attention to the product. His take on a smashburger, the Holy Burger ($12), features a patty of short ribs and brisket. 

Milkshakes ($9) are made with nearly a dozen varieties of Van Leeuwen ice cream from NYC, including a faintly sweet strawberry. And the sweet potato tots ($6) were pretty plump and amazing. 

Holy Cow, 315 Oak St, Uniondale, 516-407-3305, holycow.nyc. Open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

By Andi Berlin

andi.berlin@newsday.comAndiBerlin

Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.