Friday, June 09, 2006

Italy Is Going Halal

Yes, Islamic Food Is Making Inroads In Italy:


FLORENCE, Italy — Italian cuisine is prized worldwide, with bistecca alla Fiorentina — or Florentine steak — a must for meat-loving visitors to this city. The succulent, mouth-watering, porterhouse cut reappeared in restaurants this year, after a nearly five-year hiatus due to mad cow disease.

While it was shelved, butcher shops carrying Muslim halal meat opened their doors to the city. And now, despite being a quintessentially Tuscan dish, some of the Florentine steak served in homes and restaurants here follows Islamic dietary restrictions.

“At least seven restaurants buy Florentine steak from us,” said Palestinian Mustafa Abu-Zahu, as he butchered cuts of beef at his family’s halal Mini Market near Florence’s basilica of San Lorenzo.

“They feel that our meat is fundamentally more flavorful,” he said on a recent afternoon, adding that some believe “it’s better for the health.”


You know, if it is more flavorful, then, I say, "GREAT!"

This, actually, may help Muslims learn about the joys of Free Enterprise. Finally, individual Muslims may have something we in the West would want to buy. I really hope so.

However, I have a feeling this is just the beginning of the entire continent going Halal en toto.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In Britain, most of the corner shops or convenience stores, liquor stores and late opening groceries are run by South Asians; you could say they have cornered the market!!

My point is most of them are Muslim, and are no strangers to free enterprise and hard work.

I also don't think the flourentines prefer halal meat, it's the only place they can get the cuts

Pastorius said...

Yeah, I noticed that when I was in London. I frequented one in Queensgate.

Does Free Enterprise integrate Muslims, do you think? Maybe that's a stupid assumption on my part, considering those guys who did the 7/7 bombings were sons of shop owners, right?