Photo courtesy of Mohammad Imran

27th Steak & Potato owners Osama Abushanab (left) and Mohammad Imran (right) serving halal food at their new restaurant at 3158 S. 27th St. 

There is no “Islamic cuisine.” Muslims have brought the foods of their many homelands to new countries over history and have adapted to the food ways of their new homes, always bearing in mind what is halal (permissible) in Islamic law. 

By calling their halal restaurant 27th Steak and Potato (3158 S. 27th St.), owners Mohammad Imran and Osama Abushanab are making a statement. Halal is not confined to shish-kabob and other dishes associated with the Middle East. Halal can be as American as apple pie, chicken wings and those old staples, steak and potatoes. All of those items, except the pie, are on 27th Steak and Potato’s menu.

Imran and Abushanab complement each other like steak and potatoes. Imran is reserved and soft spoken; Abushanab is bursting with passionate enthusiasm. Both were born overseas, Imran in Pakistan and Abushanab in Palestine, and both have lived most of their lives in the U.S., arriving in Wisconsin as adults.

“I came to Milwaukee to start something,” Imran said with a shy smile. That something was Prime Printing, his high-quality, on-demand digital printing company. Other than a high school stint flipping burgers in a fast-food outlet, Imran had no prior experience in restaurants.

The contrast with Abushanab could not be more distinct. “I wanted to live the dream!” Abushanab said of his move from Palestine to New York City. Asked if 27th Steak and Potato is his first restaurant, he answered, “No! Probably my seventy-second!” Abushanab spent his entire career in the food industry, starting as a sales rep for Sysco, the food service wholesaler, and moving on to a series of eateries in New York before moving to Milwaukee, “a nice quiet place to raise a family,” he explained.

After arriving in Milwaukee, Abushanab opened 76 Steak and Potato on the corner of Hampton and 76th Street. The menu was similar to his new restaurant, but the meats were not zabiha halal from animals raised and slaughtered according to Islamic law. “On the north side, there were not many Muslims requesting halal,” Abushanab said, adding, “It’s a bit more expensive than regular meat.”

With his north side lease about to expire, Abushanab searched for a building to buy, purchasing a structure on busy S. 27th Street that had long housed a Chinese restaurant. “I looked around and saw who my customers would be in this neighborhood, a mixture of all people, including Muslims,” Abushanab said.

Imran has been Abushanab’s friend going back to the day when the restaurateur hired Prime Printing to produce signage for 76 Steak and Potato. Imran came onboard as a full partner in the new venture. Despite their hectic schedules, both men spend time in the new restaurant’s partially exposed kitchen, taking turns as chef. “I can build a better product by knowing the product,” Imran explained.

Abushanab and Imran gutted the interior of the old Chinese restaurant, transforming it into a spacious, black ceilinged, white walled, tile floored expanse that looks nothing short of sparkling clean. Orders are taken by friendly cashiers at the counter for eating in or taking out. Deliveries are available through Uber Eats.

27th Steak and Potato is not a fast-food restaurant. The meat isn’t frozen but fresh as well as halal and prepared by skillful hands. Expect a 10-15 minute wait. The burgers and other sandwiches come on a choice of buns, including sweet-tasting Hawaiian rolls. The burgers are juicy, and the crispy chicken is fried in a tasty, light batter for a sandwich that explodes from a combination of flavors, including pickles and special sauces running mild to hot and hotter still. Sandwiches are large, almost too big to handle (ask for plenty of paper napkins!).

The array of handheld items is wide and includes nachos, chicken tender wraps, gyros and a chicken Philly sandwich. Chicken dinners and T-Bone Black Angus steak dinners are also available. Potato choices include French fries; gyro cheese fries topped with nacho cheese, sliced gyro meat and jalapenos for a multi-ethnic combo; and the loaded potato, a freshly baked Idaho topped with butter, cheese sauce, chives and imitation bacon bits. If you’re looking for something other than potatoes as a side dish, you can choose from onion rings, broccoli with cheese, corn and mac & cheese. A small selection of salads and desserts are available. 

Presented with an artist’s palette for color and texture as well as a chef’s palate for flavor, the menu and preparation benefit from Abushanab’s many years as a restauranteur. He has mastered his recipes and refined the staples of American cooking to a high level.

“We didn’t know what kind of response we’d get,” Imran said, recalling Steak and Potato’s June 30 opening. They were pleasantly astonished. “We had lines out the door. We were supposed to open at 2:30 but we opened at 11 because the line was so long.” At the head of the line was a customer from Abushanab’s previous restaurant who drove from the north side for his not-to-be-missed burgers.

If anything, the food at 27th Steak and Potato may be even better than it was on N. 76th Street. “I try to educate our customers about halal meat—what makes it different, how the animal was raised and treated, the way it was killed,” Abushanab said. “It’s much healthier than regular meat. If a chicken is sick, it cannot be slaughtered according to Islamic law.” Which of course makes halal meat a desirable alternative for non-Muslims concerned about America’s industrial chicken farms and slaughterhouses. “It’s not only about making money but about doing something for the community you’re serving,” Imran added.

Located just south of St. Luke Hospital, on the same block as Mazo’s, beloved since the 1930s for its hamburgers, and across the street from the legendary Leon’s Frozen Custard, 27th Steak and Potato is in a heavily trafficked district with many options for eating out. With great flair in the kitchen and a halal menu, 27th Steak and Potato has already established a distinct identity.

“I tell my kids, ‘Distinguish yourselves! Make a difference somewhere! That’s how you’ll feel good about yourself as a human being!” Abushanab said. “My passion is cooking. The happiest moment for me is when I cook a meal and the person eating it gives me that big smile!”

27th Steak and Potato is open daily, 10 a.m.-11 p.m.