Brazilian 'halal' flavor comes to New Jersey

The new Brazilian-inspired restaurant, Baig’s Grill, located at 776 Route 1 in the Brunswick Zone center, serves flaming barbecue meats off a sword-sized spike and delectables to suit almost any palate.

The style of skewer-grilled meat is called churrasco, and a steakhouse serving it is a churrasqueria,” owner Mirza M. Baig Jr. said. “The meats are brought out on the table on the skewer and carved directly onto your plate.”

The grill’s specialty, all-you-can-eat grilled meats for $18.99, comes served hot off the restaurant’s Brazilian-style grill called a rodizio.

A window at the back of the restaurant’s dining room looks into the kitchen where lava rocks heat the slowly turning skewered meats.

“Because the meats keep rotating as they cook, anyone enjoying the rodizio entree enjoys a rotation of a vast variety of mouth-watering, tender and perfectly marinated flaming grilled meats,” Baig said.

Those who choose the all-you-can-eat entree can try 12 differently marinated meats, including top sirloin steak, shish kabob, marinated chicken, ground meat and salmon. The entree comes with a house salad, Turkish bread, french fries and a gyro.

In addition to rodizio, there are other items to satisfy customers’ tastes and appetites, Baig said.

Entrees range in price from $9.99 to $13.99 and include meals such as roasted tomato and basil braised salmon, kabobs and beef short ribs with a choice of rice, fries or sautéed vegetable medley.

For lunch, or those with smaller appetites, Baig’s offers five different sandwiches ranging in price from $4.99 to $7.25. Sandwiches, which come with french fries, include a vegetable wrap, zesty chicken sandwich, steak sandwich, gyro or a fish sandwich.

To complement any meal, Baig’s offers custom salads and appetizers, including mozzarella sticks, Caribbean chicken quesadillas, blue water crab cakes and hummus. To complete a meal, the restaurant has desserts such as Baig’s Paradise, a house specialty of roasted coconut, chocolate and ice cream.

Baig’s motto for his new restaurant is, “We don’t just serve food, we serve our customers.”

The North Brunswick resident opened the grill’s doors Nov. 14. Baig said he fashioned the Brazilian/Mediterranean restaurant after he tried similar cuisine on Broadway in New York City.

“It was heaven for a meat lover when the server at the restaurant brought me all of this meat to eat off a skewer,” Baig said. “My restaurant imitates that, but the food costs much less than $45 per serving and the meats are more flavorful.”

Although Baig has an engineering career, he said owning a restaurant has remained a lifelong dream of his.

“I used to tell my parents that when I grew up I would own a restaurant,” Baig said. “I got my education and two degrees, and after I did all they wanted me to do, I knew it was time.”

Baig said his father, Mirza M. Baig Sr., designed the restaurant. The atmosphere suits both casual and formal dining with Tucson beige-colored walls, flanked with floor to ceiling mirrors and pastoral artwork. The low-lit dining room seats 80 in dark-wood, cross-back chairs and large tables suited for the unique serving techniques of the specially trained waiting staff.

After living in North Brunswick for the last three years and getting to know the community, Baig knew it would be the place to fulfill his dream.

“Even the first few weeks have been great,” Baig said. “I have always wanted to be the kind of person that serves others, makes them happy, gives them what they want and so far the feedback has been wonderful.” 

(Content Source: The Sentinel )


Editor's note:

The grill serves lunch between 12 and 3pm and dinner between 5 and 10 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays Baig’s serves lunch and dinner from 12 noon until 11 p.m. Sundays it serves from 12 noon till 10pm. Mondays it is closed.

Interestingly, Baig's happens to be the only restaurant of its kind in New Jersey that uses Halal meat. But that is just incidental because the owners happen to be Muslims. However, this fact have been drawing the Muslim crowd for an unique array of "Westernized but halal meat" options. Baig's may well be on its way to creating a niche for itself.

Web site: http://www.baigsgrill.com/
 

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