What is Halal?
Halal is an Arabic word meaning “permissible” and describes how Muslims must live in terms of diet, work, clothing and finances.
Jenny Berg, [email protected]
An exciting new dining destination has opened in the heart of Dearborn, offering a bespoke menu of dishes that perfectly capture the tastes of the city.
Featuring a bright, postcard-style mural across Evergreen Road reading “Greetings from Dearborn,” Canteen at Midtown at 720 Town Center Drive is Michigan’s first fully halal indoor market and food truck park.
Squeezed between the Fairlane Town Center shopping center and the University of Michigan – Dearborn, the new eatery was largely shrouded in secrecy during rapid construction until, a week before the opening, “The Canteen at Midtown” was printed on the building, attracting excited foodies. On opening day Friday, the food hall and food truck park’s Instagram account had over 17,000 followers.
The canteen was heavily influenced by Camp Dearborn, a campground in Milford where generations of Dearborn residents and others have spent their summers grilling, playing sports, enjoying the outdoors, and just hanging out.
“At The Canteen, we don’t just serve food; we create experiences that celebrate community, nostalgia and innovation,” reads a post on The Canteen’s Instagram. “Join us on a journey where the spirit of childhood summers meets the excitement of culinary discovery. Welcome to The Canteen at Midtown – where every bite tells a story and every memory is savored.”
The Canteen at Midtown currently has six food trucks, all of which were popular at the Ramadan Suhoor Festival that used to be held across the street in the parking lot of the Fairlane Town Center mall: The Munch Box, whose menu includes an array of melt-in-your-mouth burgers and sliders; The Terry Melt, known for its delicious patty and steak melts; The Chicken Coupe, famous for its chicken and waffles as well as its separate chicken and waffles; The Bistro Box, like an Italian restaurant in a truck with fettucine alfredo and rigatoni palamino; Amo Sami’s Shawarma, lauded for some of the best shawarma sandwiches in Dearborn, and Fratelli’s Eateries, where the pizza is baked in a wood-fired oven right next to the truck.
Inside, five other popular Dearborn eateries will be represented as smaller booths offering drinks, sweets and more: Qahwah House, Nami Sushi, The Custard Company, La Fork Creperie and Z’s Bubble Tea.
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In total, the Canteen at Midtown offers seating for 400 people: 200 in the dining room, which is likely to be used more in winter when temperatures drop, and 200 on the decorated patio adorned with fairy lights.
Without alcohol or loud music, Canteen at Midtown offers a warm, friendly atmosphere where families can socialize well into the evening.
The canteen also offers a coffee lounge called the Canteen Coffee Corner, complete with coffee tables and leather sofas, where students from nearby colleges can study and others can relax. However, the coffee corner also serves as a banquet room, the furniture of which can be changed and rented for parties of up to 100 people.
On the business side, the canteen also has a 12-room canteen that food truck owners can rent, including a kitchen and a storage room for preparing cold food.
The Midtown Canteen is currently open Sunday through Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to midnight.
