Little Flower, a new halal coffee shop and bakery opening today in western Astoria is the answer to whether coffee clubs can be considered halal. Owned by the Zaman family who also run Sami’s Kabab House nearby, Little Flower represents a modern take on NYC-style coffee shops by offering menu items with unique halal-friendly twists for breakfast sandwiches and burgers alike.

Rethinking food options to reach a wider audience. “It’s not just responding to student complaints,” according to Lana Kolchinsky ’22, an interfaith values fellow who collaborated with Dining Services and Lindsey Carelli of Interfaith Values to add Kosher and Halal options into the Coffee Shop menu – she herself follows a Kosher diet!

So for example, their soft scrambled egg sandwich, featuring chives, cheddar cheese, and lamb bacon rolled like prosciutto in a milk bun is an ode to Afghan heritage; similarly their modern take on Boston cream doughnut baklava features crunchy burnt sugar topping and filling of Afghan cardamom and rosewater-laced milk custard (firnee) instead of conventional pastry cream fillings.