Finding a good halal burger in Paris is about as easy as finding a milkshake in the desert. Largely limited to that holy trinity of salad, tomatoes and onions, we could only rejoice when we heard that the son of Algerian immigrants had brought gourmet halal burgers to the Left Bank. Just a few steps from the Grande Mosquée conveniently. At ABC (which stands for l’Atelier du burger et du croque-monsieur), everything is fresh and sourced in the area: meat comes from the Larrey boucherie and the bread – plain, sesame, poppy, onion, or cheddar –is bought from the local boulangerie, while the fries are made in-house.
I eat with a Muslim friend, a gourmet kebab expert, who orders the ‘Je-m-en foutisite’ (mango curry sauce, tomatoes, onions, rocket, tomme de Savoie cheese and slices of grilled chicken) and a Cultivé (burger sauce, onions, gherkins, iceburg lettuce, fourme d’Ambert blue cheese and grilled beef) for €8.50 each which we share between us. Plus of course, a croque-monsieur (€5.50) – which turned out to be a little too bland for our tastebuds. But the burgers – oh, the burgers – are more than worth their salt.
And if that wasn’t enough, the owner Jacques, has gone in for a community touch. The word ‘coexistence’ is posted above the door, adorned with Jewish, Christian and Muslim symbols. Better still, his customers seem a real mix of all three – mostly dropping by from the nearby Jussieu university. Marine Le Pen – eat your heart out.
TRANSLATION: MEGAN CARNEGIE
