Fast food from Afghanistan, bro? These friends are bringing something different to Fresno

The star of the menu at newly opened Halal Bros, an Afghan fast food restaurant in Fresno, is a burger.

It’s called the Watani burger, and it’s actually not a burger at all — at least by American standards.

It’s a pita wrap stuffed with meat, french fries and sauce. The owners are planning to change the name to Afghani wrap to help customers understand, and to distinguish it from the more traditional American burgers on the menu.

The food at Halal Bros is fashioned after a modern take on Middle Eastern food that’s popular at sidewalk carts and restaurants in New York City.

When Halal Bros co-owner Adam Wardak flew there to sample the gyros and the sauces made by the guy who would become Halal Bros’ chef and co-owner, he fell in love with the food.

“You know what, we have to bring this to Fresno,” Wardak said. “This food does not exist here in the Valley.”

Halal Bros opened last weekend in the Bulldog Plaza at the northwest corner of Cedar and Barstow, not far from Fresno State.

Afghan fast food and more

The food is Afghan fast food. Afghan inspired, they say. Fusion. Middle Eastern with an Afghanistan twist. A bit of Mediterranean.

Like so many restaurants in our diverse city (especially Mediterranean), there’s a blend of cultures and flavors happening here.

Heck, check out the cultures that the owners of Halal Bros bring to the table: Tony Truong is a Vietnamese Buddhist, Wardak’s family is from Afghanistan and chef Khalid Wasiq is Emirati — from the United Arab Emirates.

Everything at Halal Bros is halal. That’s a way of eating and slaughtering animals that’s rooted in Islam and considered cleaner and more merciful. Keep reading for more details on that.

And since the business wanted to cater to students at nearby Fresno State, almost everything on the menu is less than $11.

The bros behind the Halal Bros are not actually brothers but say they’re close enough they might as well be. They also own several CHICK N’ BROS, a hot chicken restaurant and food truck (they have a female partner in that business, hence the chick). One is in the same center, along with their Boba Pub business.

Halal Bros had its grand opening last Saturday, with people lining up for free burgers. Its neighbor also opened that day, a locally owned plant and gift store called Let Me Take A Look.

The food/menu

That Watani burger/Afghani wrap holds a hot dog, salami, french fries, lettuce, tomato, cilantro and sliced hard-boiled egg, all doused in tzatziki sauce.

Tzatziki sauce, usually thought of as being Greek and made from yogurt, is extra thick and creamy here.

Rice platters are available too, with chicken or lamb shawarma or tofu. Truong likens them to a Chipotle bowl, but says of the rice platter, “once you try this, you’re going to forget about Chipotle.”

The shawarma is seasoned meat stacked on a vertical rotating skewer. Thin pieces are cut off with a knife when a customer orders.

The Afghan-style rice is topped with shawarma, tomatoes and lettuce and smothered in tzatziki, a cooling complement to the spicy red sauce also slathered on top.

There are also smashburgers — “nice, crispy flat patties” available with two, three or even four on a bun, notes Truong.

Salads, hummus, and falafel are also available.

Fresno State student Hamed Al Suleimnai tried out Halal Bros with a friend for the first time Monday. He ordered the chicken shawarma.

“I only eat halal,” he said. “ It’s one of the best shawarma I ever ate. I’m a big fan of shawarma.”

What is halal? What about Harris Ranch?

Halal means “lawful” or “permitted” under Islamic law, though not everyone who eats this way does so for religious reasons. It shares similarities with Jewish kosher rules.

There’s too much to explain it all here, but it essentially it addresses the way animals are raised and slaughtered. They are raised with minimal suffering, not treated with antibiotics or hormones, and blessed with the name of God — Allah — prior to slaughter.

They are killed with a sharp knife and drained of all blood (literally, Wardak says, when he presses that smashburger into the grill, there won’t be any drops of blood bubbling up).

“We just want to serve quality food,” he said. “It’s cleaner. The meat is cleaner.”

Pork and alcohol are not halal.

Al Suleimnai, the customer, said it’s not hard to find halal food in Fresno, but it’s tough to find a good restaurant with halal meat, he said.

He eats at Firefly Burger on Blackstone Avenue sometimes. Restaurants such as the Wayback Burgers in northwest Fresno and Al’s Hot Chicken serve halal, too.

The thriving Fresno Halal Foodies Facebook group recently discovered the Krispy Krunchy Chicken at Bad Bud’s at Cedar and Herndon avenues was halal fried chicken, according to a post. The employees, who showed them the label on the box, didn’t even realize it and thought it was a flavor at first.

Halal Bros meat comes from a familiar source: Coalinga-based Harris Ranch.

The company has had a halal program since 1992, when Amin Attia, the former president of the Islamic Center of Central California, started it with the business.

“The animal has to be individually slaughtered, not in front of other animals,” he said. “I cannot force it. I cannot scare it. I cannot show it the knife either.”

Halal is less than 1% of Harris Ranch’s business, but there is “big time” demand for it and the company is supplying restaurants all over the the state and beyond with halal meat, he said.

Details: Halal Bros is at 1782 E. Barstow Ave. Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. 559-400-6715.