Muslim market

The Muslim community in Shreveport can no longer be ignored. When a community can support a grocery store, it's stable and probably growing.

Two new Lebanese restaurants have opened in town in recent weeks, and one, Mona's (just off Line Ave.) also has a grocery store component. I love Middle Eastern food, so we checked it out for dinner and wandered through the exotic spices and cheeses in the store section.

Much to my surprise there was a bag of marshmallows labeled "halal." I stopped and waved them at my fiance -- he should be used to me getting excited about semi-obscure religious customs. Halal is the Muslim version of kosher. As Jews in Shreveport will tell you, it can be difficult to keep kosher here, since there's no kosher grocery store.

Until now, I don't know if you could get anything that was officially halal. Now, you can at least get marshmallows, and I'm guessing other products will follow.