Golden Chicken Brings Palestinian Culture and Food to St. Louis
St. Peter’s Golden Chicken is a Palestinian restaurant with a lot to offer. Not only is their chicken top tier, but they also offer many fresh unique cultural dishes as well as a great selection of to-go meals and snacks.
“The specialty is the Shawarma and the kebabs and the rotisserie chicken,” Golden Chicken owner, Amjed Abdeljadbar said. “The rotisserie chicken is probably one of my favorite things. We make it by order so they always stay fresh and they take about an hour to cook.”
It’s not just the meals that are nice, either; Golden Chicken also offers a wonderful choice between 16 sides to accompany every order. Some of their sides include hummus, fries, kebabs, and even a gluten free wrap for those who struggle with digestive issues.
“We offer halal food,” Abdeljadbar said. “Even the sides. If you go around the area, there’s not many halal restaurants.”
Golden Chicken opened up about five years ago after Abdeljadbar moved from Palestine to St. Louis.
“I realized that there’s no Mediterranean food that’s, like, authentic,” Abdeljadbar said. “Nothing that had Shawarma off the spit, nothing that reminded me of back home, so I wanted to give an opportunity foreveryone to try what I grew up on.”
The reason Abdeljadbar decided to open his restaurant in the first place was to bring the joy of his country’s dishes to Missouri. Being born to a Muslim family in Palestine, he sometimes feels a disconnect from his heritage and religion. Golden Chicken helps to bridge that detachment, not just for Abdeljadbar, but for other people in similar situations as well.
“It gives the Muslims in the area a place to eat,” Abdeljadbar said. “We try to show that we are a diverse community, because if you look around the area, it’s not very diverse. We try to bring something new to the table. Hopefully everyone enjoys.”
Golden Chicken has been getting lots of new customers lately due to going viral a few times on TikTok. They accept this love with open arms, and returning customers are glad to see the restaurant’s outstanding cuisine getting the recognition it deserves.
“I’ve known about Golden Chicken for about four years now,” returning customer Dania Qadwri said. “I’m Middle Eastern, and they’re a Middle Eastern restaurant, so they have all the foods that I had back home. It’s just awesome. It’s amazing. It’s very welcoming, [the staff] are very helpful, sweet and kind. Whatever you get, you’ll like.”
The praise and dedication of the customers and community as well as the hard work of the staff is what keeps Golden Chicken afloat.
“Honestly, from the day I opened, just the support that everyone– even in the community from the city or anywhere in the St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters counties– the love and support that everyone showed us, that’s the best,” Abdeljadbar said. “It makes everything worth the time.”
(Story by Riley Jenson)
Get a taste of Jalisco at home at Casa Mia in St. Peters
Casa Mia is a Mexican style restaurant that originates from Jalisco, Mexico. It is located in St. Peters, which is the first location made, and the second location is in Newtown.
“My mother and father-in law worked for 20 years at Golden Corral on Zumbehl, and they opened up this restaurant seven years ago because they were done working for corporate, so they took a chance and we’ve been here for seven years,” manager Andrea Hartman said.
Casa Mia has rarely disappointed, as it has 4.4 stars on google. Some may find it scary to try new restaurants for the first time, but there is a good chance that many customers will want to go back to Casa Mia after their first visit.
“The food is very authentic, we heard good reviews about it before we came here,” customer Dave Guntli said.
The food is very authentic. There is a wide variety of food to choose from, ranging from street tacos and fajitas to a lot of other authentic dishes like lengua.
“The portions are really good and there are a lot of options on the menu,” senior Elizibella Guntli said.
The environment is also a big part of what makes Casa Mia unique, and the type of food they serve plays a huge role in its style of restaurant, even from the outside looking in.
“I would say it’s different than other Mexican restaurants, we’re a little more modern,” Hartman said, “I wouldn’t say Tex-Mexy, but we have different things on the menu that are different from other places around here.”
The loving community is what makes Casa Mia so special, and the food ties it all together to make the perfect restaurant atmosphere.
“I would say, the vibe, the atmosphere, and our specialty homemade cocktails [make it special], they’re fresh made to order,” Hartman said.
(Story by Ashlyn Thies)
