Albany's Central Avenue corridor is the heart of the region. Everything comes in and goes out from here. To understand the changes regarding Halal food in Albany and the New York capital region, look at the stores and restaurants that bring the brick buildings on Central Avenue and its side streets to life.
Italian coffee, bedecked in a hazy Venetian blue, harkens back to the time when Italian immigrants swept through the capital region. Chesters Smokehouse, which opened in mid-2015, reminds people of the German and Eastern European flavors brought by immigrants. For a time, a Burmese restaurant (Shwe Mandalay, now closed) showed the presence of Burmese immigrants, many of them refugees who came to the United States and the capital region. Central Avenue's cultural landscape today looks a bit different from the immigration peak of the late 19th and 20th centuries. Mexican and Caribbean food is abundant, with authentic Oaxacan restaurants standing out from Jamaican beef patties and 'mannish water.' Old-style Italian pizza shops are a distance from Japan's vast market, ramen shops and African grocery stores.
But in the last two years, many restaurants and stores have transformed into Halal-certified restaurants and suppliers. There are five Halal restaurants and supermarkets on the 200 and 300 blocks of Central Avenue, with more branches on North Manning Boulevard and Ontario Street.
The Zabihah website praises itself as 'the world's largest guide to Halal restaurants and markets.' The capital region has 40 Halal restaurants, 13 Halal food markets and 25 Halal eateries, not including traditional chain grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Price Rite in Schenectady.
Halal means 'permitted' in Arabic and refers to things acceptable to believers of Islam (similar to Jewish Kosher—religious and strictly regulated). Most people are familiar with Halal because of its requirements for meat, requiring merciful treatment of animals and the method of slaughter.
Certain species—especially pigs, as well as carnivorous animals and those with claws and fangs (such as tigers)—cannot be slaughtered and consumed under Halal principles, but Halal food has gone beyond this scope. Plants used as food must also be grown and processed in a careful manner; in the harvesting, storage, pretreatment and packaging of food, hygiene and cleanliness are paramount.
So what are the factors behind the increase in Halal food? To find out, please carefully read the next article: Growth Factors for Halal Food in the New York Region, Parts 1-2.
FAQ
- What is the current state of Halal restaurant and market development in the US New York capital region?
- According to the Zabihah website (which calls itself the world's largest guide to Halal restaurants and markets), the capital region has 40 Halal restaurants, 13 Halal food markets and 25 Halal eateries (not including traditional chain grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Price Rite). In the last two years, many restaurants and stores have transformed into Halal-certified suppliers; the 200 and 300 blocks of Albany's Central Avenue alone have five Halal restaurants and supermarkets.
- What requirements does Halal food have for plant raw materials and processing?
- Halal food has gone beyond the scope of meat. Certain species (especially pigs, and carnivorous animals with claws and fangs such as tigers) cannot be slaughtered and consumed under Halal principles; plants used as food must also be grown and processed in a careful manner; and in the harvesting, storage, pretreatment and packaging of food, hygiene and cleanliness are the most important considerations.