French fast food chain sparks halal burger appeal!

[Machjo]

You can read the article here in English:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8524056.stm

Or here in French:

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/02/20/le-quick-halal-de-roubaix-fait-le-plein-meme-si-certains-clients-se-sentent-limite-un-peu-choques_1309029_3224.html

Here's a short excerpt from the BBC article:

In Roubaix, Mayor Rene Vandierendonck, a socialist, called for a boycott of the Quick branch, and the town council has filed a complaint for discrimination with a regional court in Lille.

"I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a halal menu," Mr Vandierendonck said.

"But this is going too far because it is the only menu on offer and it has become discrimination."

On this note, I'd like to call for a national boycott of all vegan and vegetarian restaurants in Canada because they're all halal. All grocers in Canada who sell only vegetarian products ought to be boycotted too for not having any non-halal option on the menu. They might not be aware that everything on their menu is halal, but by Gawd as real Canadians they should go out of their way to inform themselves to ensure this doesn't happen.

Generations ago, it was fine to sell only halal food because we didn't know what it was. But now that we do, we absolutely must go out of our way to emphasize our laïcité, even if it means banning anything that might be halal, like vegetarianism. May I suggest that we legislate that all restaurants and grocers in Canada must sell a non-halal option on the menu so as to not offend non-Muslim sentiments. Maybe your local vegan restaurant could add an alcoholic beverage to the menu (I doubt they'd add pork), even if few vegetarians actually drink alcohol and it would be a net loss to the restaurant to carry alcohol. It's all in the name of our national pride and our laïcité after all.

What are those protesters thinking? Do they know what the word 'halal'even means? Do they realize how many of the products they consume every day are halal?

Really, the only difference between a 'halal' restaurant and a vegetarian restaurant is that the 'halal' restaurant advertises that it's halal whereas the vegetarian restaurant doesn't, and might not even be aware itself that it's halal. So is it really the halal menu that offends them or the fact that the halal menu is advertised as halal? Obviously it's the advertisement that offends them more than the actual products themselves, because if it were the actual products, they'd be yelling and screaming that vegetarian restaurants must carry a non-halal option on the menu too. Oh the hypocrisy.

[Wilber]

A country with the culinary tradition of France finally descending to the level of government mandated menus. Now there's a head shaker.

Alcohol is vegetarian, they don't make it out of meat.

[Machjo]

A country with the culinary tradition of France finally descending to the level of government mandated menus. Now there's a head shaker.

Alcohol is vegetarian, they don't make it out of meat.

That's why I'd suggested alcohol to be added to the vegetarian menu as the non-halal alternative. Though most alcoholic beverages are technically vegetarian, most vegetarians I know don't drink it anyway. But the important thing of course is that, unlike carrots for example, alcohol is not halal.

Yes, we should just ban vegetables and fruits while we're at it. God forbid a secular society should eat halal products.

[Bonam]

Having a Halal menu, whether advertised or not, is not discrimination. A wide range of foods satisfies the various religious criteria, whether Halal or for other religions which have food guidelines. These foods can still be eaten by non-members of those religions, and are generally no worse for it. It is entirely within the purview of the restaurant owner what foods to offer at their establishment, as long as there is adequate food safety.

And yes I realize the original post was made in jest/sarcasm.

[GostHacked]

On that note, I'd like to ban everything Kosher.

[JB Globe]

On that note, I'd like to ban everything Kosher.

I wonder if Roubaix has any Kosher Delis? Or veg restaurants - is the mayor banning those as well for "discriminating" against goiyims and carnivores?

Side note - several chains in Canada serve all-halal meat - Popeyes' Chicken being one of them.

[GostHacked]

Bonam

I had the Halal hot dogs one time, and well, the taste was odd, and a little crunchy?!?!??!? I stick to the Red Hots !!

[Gabriel]

Bonam

I had the Halal hot dogs one time, and well, the taste was odd, and a little crunchy?!?!??!? I stick to the Red Hots !!

This behaviour is so anti-Islamic, it's not even subtle. It's hilarious that this mayor is claiming that a restaurant that caters to Islamic dietary rules is somehow discriminatory against non-Muslims. If anything, this mayor is clearly trying to discriminate against Muslims. It's a private business, and they should be permitted to operate with enough freedom to adhere to religious dietary guidelines, if they're so inclined. I eat at Halal restaurants all the time (often Lebanese restaurants), the food is fantastic!

What's next, filing complaints against restaurants for catering to clients who speak specific languages? For example, a restaurant that only hires servers that speak English will now be described as discriminatory?

[GostHacked]

This behaviour is so anti-Islamic, it's not even subtle. It's hilarious that this mayor is claiming that a restaurant that caters to Islamic dietary rules is somehow discriminatory against non-Muslims. If anything, this mayor is clearly trying to discriminate against Muslims. It's a private business, and they should be permitted to operate with enough freedom to adhere to religious dietary guidelines, if they're so inclined. I eat at Halal restaurants all the time (often Lebanese restaurants), the food is fantastic!

WOOOOO we got a live one here !!!

It was 2 dollars cheaper than the Schnieders packs, and I wanted to see how it tasted. And after reading the ingredients I thought I'd give it a try.I had budget dogs before and you can taste the budget it them. I mean, it's all lips and assholes anyways right?

What WAS odd was the Muslim woman right next to me who gave me a strange look for putting the Halal dogs in my basket.

If you are in Ottawa sometime, I'll show you a couple of my fave Lebanese joints. And if you like sushi, I can recommend a couple places as well. Also there is this fantastic Indian restaurant in Orleans that is incredible.

[M.Dancer]

I am home with the kids so I am cooking a multicultural favourite (anttention army guy)

Shake and bake chicken legs with isreali (not instant) cous cous with tomatoes, brocolli, garlic and onions.

Semi kosher....I used kosher salt on the chicken...

[Bonam]

I am home with the kids so I am cooking a multicultural favourite (anttention army guy)

Shake and bake chicken legs with isreali (not instant) cous cous with tomatoes, brocolli, garlic and onions.

Semi kosher....I used kosher salt on the chicken...

Why would that only be "semi" kosher?

[M.Dancer]

Why would that only be "semi" kosher?

Cause I bought the chicken at Loblaws...("koshering a chicken" is a kitchen term...you soak the chicken in heavily salted water for an hour or more, normally with kosher or sea salt)

[Mr.Canada]

We pay a Kosher certification fee built into the final price on items in our grocery stores on almost every item in Canada. A Rabbi is paid by the company to physically be at the plant to ensure that the items prepared are Kosher and gives these items a hechsher.

Look at your canned goods or bottled water or just about any prepared item you'll see the U with a circle or some similar markins on it. Even some of your cleaning products have Kosher certification.

Some people look at it as a sign of quality including myself. Halal and Kosher are very similar and I personally like the extra steps to ensure the food is clean and safe as long as the houses doing the certification is reputable this is a good thing.

With me having a long string of Jewish ancestory I know a thing or two about this.

TL;DR is nothing to be afraid of, extra inspection of our food is a good thing.