Lawful and delicious, look for this Texas-style barbecue halal tri-tip, brisket and chicken

Want more food news? Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter at sacbee.com/foodnews to get your weekly fill.

Halal restaurants offer far more than skewered meat in the Sacramento area. Halal tacos, pizza and fried chicken joined the scene over the past few years.

Yet American styles of barbecue remain largely off-limits to Muslims breaking their daily Ramadan fasts, called iftar, this month.

When it debuts, Allen BBQ will be a small step toward changing that. Chef/owner Jeffrey Allen hopes to serve halal tri-tip, brisket and smoked chicken at Tarbiya Institute in Roseville for Eid al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan celebrated on May 1 this year.

Allen might have to make do with a barbecue tent for Eid al-Fitr, but a barbecue trailer will be ready to go shortly thereafter. Look for halal barbecue (and burgers, and loaded fries) at the Greenhaven Elk Lodge farmers market every Saturday starting May 7, at the Orangevale SummerPalooza from June 17-19 and at other events to come.

Allen isn’t a Muslim; he simply prefers to eat halal. With professional cooking experience before becoming an IT manager, he found himself in charge of the spread at several company parties, and often had Muslim coworkers.

Allen smoked his first 18-hour brisket about six years ago, guided by a brother-in-law who worked at Bay Area barbecue chain Armadillo Willy’s. The trailer is being outfitted with new appliances to prevent contamination, and all meat will be ritually slaughtered.

“There are a lot of restrictions on what you have to do, with raising the animal and slaughtering it, to make it halal,” Allen said. “It just tastes better, it feels better, and I thought, ‘well, there’s no reason for me to not go all-halal.’”

Allen hopes his Texas-style barbecue will draw intense flavors from the almond wood burning below it, which comes from local distributor Hillerman’s Firewood. Look for tamarind- or coffee-infused barbecue sauces in the future.

What I’m Eating

A small Ukrainian flag now greets customers as they walk into Firebird Restaurant at 4715 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael, followed by donation boxes at the bar. Formerly known as Firebird Russian Restaurant, its name (and identity, sort of) changed last month after Moldovan American owner Alexandru Sirbu wanted to distance his business from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Firebird is one of the few restaurants around Sacramento where one finds food from former Soviet countries, and probably the most elevated, with a roomy event space for hosting banquets. As borders changed over the years, many dishes have taken root in multiple Eastern European nations.

Take borscht ($9.50, or $11 with beef), for example, the fermented beet soup that’s Ukrainian in origin but commonly eaten in Russia, Poland and Belarus. Firebird’s version is mildly sour and served warm, a pleasant starter whose homeyness meshes well with the brown bread served to every table.

Firebird’s zrazy ($20) feels like a comforting throwback, more akin to grandma’s meatloaf than anything trendy. Huge twin logs of ground chicken roulades are stuffed with mushrooms, then egg-washed and fried before being served with fennel-cabbage salad and buttery white rice.

Some Russian dishes remain on the menu, such as shuba ($13), nicknamed “herring under a fur coat.” A neat, colorful stack of shredded potatoes, carrots, cheese and beets, chopped herring, olives and eggs, it was listed under “salads” but fused together with mayonnaise, calling to mind the Midwest’s loose interpretations of the word. In this case, though, the flavors came together beautifully, creating a dish that was creamy, acidic and earthy all in one bite.

Openings & Closings

• I’m sad to report that Sacramento’s lone Nigerian concept, Naija Cuisine, appears to have shut down its operation inside a Mexican market at 2682 Northgate Blvd. I last wrote about their jollof rice and fufu in September.
• Hikari Sushi & Omakase is planning to open May 3 in downtown Davis, owners Zin Khine and Sithu Tun (formerly of Mermaid Sushi) announced on social media. The long-awaited Japanese restaurant at 110 F St., Suite A will specialize in Edomae-style omakase, where the chef tops nigiri with cured seafood of his or her choosing.
  
  
• Sila Thai Cuisine is up and running in Rocklin West shopping center at 6815 Lonetree Blvd., Suite 105. Look for dishes like rat na (flat rice noodles stir-fried with meat, broccoli and oyster gravy) or yum woon sen, a glass noodle salad with prawns, ground beef and onions in a chili-lemon dressing.