How to Check If a Restaurant Is Really Zabiha Halal

To check if a restaurant is really zabiha halal, ask who certifies its meat, look for that certifier's written standard, and confirm the restaurant is on the certifier's own list. Then ask whether the whole kitchen is halal or only some dishes. Ribs 'n' Kabobs in Artesia has answered those questions the same way since 2014: HFSAA-certified, 100% Zabiha Halal, with no pork and no alcohol on site.

Ribs 'n' Kabobs is a family-owned, HFSAA-certified, 100% Zabiha Halal BBQ and grill restaurant at 18925 Norwalk Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701, serving Los Angeles County, Orange County and the rest of Southern California since 2014.

This guide is the practical side. If you want the definition of zabiha and the five rules behind it first, read what zabiha halal means, then come back here.

Why is a halal sign not enough?

Any restaurant can print the word halal on its window. In the United States there is no single legal definition of halal, so the word on a sign or a menu does not tell you how the animal was slaughtered, who checked it, or what else is cooked in the same kitchen.

A handwritten sign tells you what the owner believes, and that belief is often sincere. But it does not tell you whether the supplier changed last month, or whether the chicken in the walk-in came from hand slaughter or a machine line. Those are the gaps a few good questions can close.

What questions should you ask before you order?

You do not need to be an expert, and you do not need to be rude. Most owners who take halal seriously are glad to be asked. Five questions cover it.

1. Who certifies your meat? You want the name of an organization, not "our supplier says so". If there is no certifier, you are relying on trust alone.
2. Is everything on the menu halal, or only some dishes? A menu with a few halal items next to non-halal ones is a different thing from a halal restaurant.
3. Does that standard require hand slaughter? This is the question that separates zabiha from a looser definition. Some halal labels accept a rotating blade with a recorded blessing.
4. Is any pork or alcohol served or stored on site? If yes, ask whether the grill, the fryer and the smoker are shared.
5. Can I see the certificate? A restaurant that is certified will usually have it on display and will not mind you reading it.

If a restaurant is happy to answer all five, you have your answer. If the answers are vague, so is the claim.

What should a halal certificate show?

A certificate is only as useful as what is written on it. When you find one near the entrance or the counter, read it the way you would read a receipt.

• The certifier's name. It should be an organization you can look up, with a website and a published standard.
• The restaurant's own name and address. A certificate made out to a meat supplier tells you about that supplier. It does not cover the kitchen you are standing in.
• What it covers. Some certificates cover a whole restaurant, some a product line. If the wording is unclear, ask.

Then check it against the certifier itself, which is the step most people skip.

How does HFSAA's website help you check a restaurant?

HFSAA, the Halal Food Standards Alliance of America, publishes its standard and the list of businesses it certifies at hfsaa.org. That gives you two checks in a couple of minutes.

First, read the standard. HFSAA works to the traditional zabiha standard of hand slaughter by a Muslim, so you know exactly what its name on a door stands for. Second, search the list for the restaurant you are thinking of visiting. If it is there, the certificate on the wall is backed by the certifier. If it is not, ask the restaurant who certifies it and look that organization up the same way.

What HFSAA certification means inside our own kitchen is covered in our HFSAA certification post, and the difference between certified zabiha and ordinary meat is laid out in halal vs regular meat.

Why does the whole kitchen matter, not just the meat?

A restaurant can buy halal meat and still cook it next to pork. In a mixed kitchen the same grill, fryer or cutting board may handle both, which is legal and common, but it is not what a halal diner is looking for.

This matters even more at a BBQ place. In a typical American smokehouse, brisket shares a pit with pork ribs. That is why question four on the list above is worth asking out loud, every time you try somewhere new.

How does Ribs 'n' Kabobs answer these questions?

We would rather show you than tell you, so here are our answers to the five questions, in order. Our certifier is HFSAA, and we have been certified since the restaurant opened in Artesia in 2014. Everything on the menu is 100% Zabiha Halal, from the Back Ribs in the hickory smoker to the Grandma Recipe Lamb Seekh Kabob and Chicken Koobideh on the lava rock grill. The standard is hand slaughter. There is no pork and no alcohol on site, so the smoker, the grill and the fryer only ever cook halal meat. And yes, you can ask to see the certificate.

That is one reason we describe ourselves as one of the very few halal BBQ houses in Southern California.

Where can you find us in Artesia?

Ribs 'n' Kabobs, 18925 Norwalk Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701. We are a short drive from the Pioneer Boulevard Little India district, near the 91 and 605 freeways, with guests coming in from Cerritos, Norwalk, Long Beach and Anaheim. Ask us anything about how the meat gets to the table when you visit. Directions are on the contact page.