Chik-FIl-A claims to have invented the chicken sandwich. Proving that claim is beyond the scope of this blog, but we certainly can address whether their chicken is halal!
One of Chik-Fil-A’s known suppliers is Perdue Farms, which does offer a halal product. Unfortunately, even of Chik-Fil-A were using the halal product line, there’s no guarantee that it would be in use at any given time at any given location.
Shake Shack is one of the most popular franchise burger chains in the world. There have been numerous sources that have stated that Shake Shack uses Creekstone beef. Unfortunately, Creekstone is not the sole supplier of beef to Shake Shack in the US, so there is no guarantee that your burger at Shake Shack is actually halal. Here’s the official response from the corporate Twitter account to multiple inquiries from Muslim foodies:
Saqib Shafi of the famed MuslimEater blog also has a couple of articles about Shake Shack, which includes direct emails from the company saying much the same thing. These articles are no longer available on MuslimEater.com, but we have provided Internet Archive links and PDF copies below for posterity.
The Cheesecake Factory is a national, well-known brand that does not serve halal meat (as far as anyone knows). However, some of the cheesecake flavors are made with halal beef gelatin. Below is an email from the Cheesecake Factory that is standard boilerplate regarding which flavors are halal. Note, some of these may change over time so the best practice is to call ahead to your local outlet and inquire if the flavor that you have your eye on from the below list is still made with the halal gelatin or not. Also, note the comment at the end about vanilla extract. As always, you have to make your own decision regarding what is acceptable and what is not.
Thank you for your interest in The Cheesecake Factory. As with most high end pastries and desserts, when needed, we use gelatin over a host of gums and artificial additives.
Below I have included a list for cheesecakes that “do” and “do not” contain animal gelatin for your convenience. For those that contain gelatin, it is Halal beef gelatin. They are all delicious, and we hope you will find a flavor to enjoy!
Cheesecakes that DO NOT contain animal gelatin:
Original Cheesecake
Fresh Strawberry Cheesecake
Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake
Reese’s® Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake
Toasted Marshmallow S’Mores Galore Cheesecake
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Salted Caramel Cheesecake
Coconut Cream Pie Cheesecake
Hershey’s® Chocolate Bar Cheesecake
30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake
Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake
White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake
Very Cherry Ghirardelli® Chocolate Cheesecake
Cinnabon® Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake
Tiramisu Cheesecake
Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake
Adams Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple Cheesecake
Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake
Low-Licious Cheesecake
Low-Licious Cheesecake with Strawberries
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
Caramel Pecan Turtle Cheesecake
Chocolate Tuxedo Cream Cheesecake
Celebration Cheesecake
Chocolate Caramelicious Cheesecake Made with Snickers®
Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Pumpkin & Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecakes (seasonal)Cheesecakes that DO contain Halal Beef Gelatin:
Godiva® Chocolate Cheesecake
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake
Oreo® Dream Extreme Cheesecake
Key Lime Cheesecake
Mango Key Lime Cheesecake
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake
Pineapple Upside-Down Cheesecake
Peppermint Bark Cheesecake (seasonal)For your convenience, we’ve included a handful of desserts that contain alcohol from liqueur as an ingredient. These desserts will have alcohol in the finished product.
Cheesecakes that contain Liquor:
Tiramisu Cheesecake
Tiramisu Cake
Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake
Key Lime CheesecakeNote: Our cheesecakes contain Vanilla Extract, which contains alcohol, yet it’s evaporated during the baking process. Thank you again for your inquiry. Should you have further questions, please feel free to contact us anytime. We appreciate your interest and look forward to serving you soon!
Dave’s Hot Chicken is the biggest halal success story of our times. From a simple pop-up stand in North Hollywood to a nationwide and soon, global franchise, there’s a good chance there’s a Dave’s near you (and far too many locations to add to the Map).
According to the Zabihah.com entry, Dave’s has been certified halal by Halal Transactions of Omaha. The chicken used by Dave’s is machine-slaughter, not zabiha hand-slaughtered, however.
The LA Times featured Dave’s in an article that explained why Dave’s uses halal chicken at all their locations nationwide:
Dave’s Hot Chicken has sold halal chicken tenders since it launched as a pop-up in an East Hollywood parking lot in 2017. According to co-founder Arman Oganesyan, religious practice didn’t motivate the decision — to the four Dave’s founders, the halal tenders were simply a better product.
“We realized that any brand of halal was much better: Chicken would come out of the box much more tender, much more juicy,” Oganesyan said. “We had a brining process, and we had to do a lot less of our brining process because the chicken was so easy to work with.”
LA Times, https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2022-05-10/ihop-ramadan-halal-specials-become-permanent
We reviewed Dave’s back in 2020 (North Hollywood location) and it’s become even more of a sensation since then!
It’s worth reading the original article at Eater LA about Dave’s that started the buzz around the chicken in the first place. For more on the backstory behind Dave’s, check out this article in The Franchise Times that interviews Oganesyan.
Also, I was privileged to attend the grand opening of the Northridge location in March, 2021, and got to meet Dave himself! Here are some selfies from the event:
The Halal Shack is a new concept chain restaurant that is targeting college campuses nationwide. The menu includes bowls, wraps, and fries, and you can choose your type of meat. The options include halal beef and halal chicken, though the menu also has vegetarian options like falafel and Impossible meats. There is a BBQ Chicken option on the menu but it is not explicitly labeled halal.
Check out their Locations page for more information on the closest one to you. Note, that not all locations have been added to The Map.