It’s about 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning and the streets are silent as I drive to my neighborhood IHOP in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
I’m drowsy as I park my car in the surprisingly packed parking lot. But as soon as I walk into the 24-hour breakfast chain, I quickly move from lethargy to excitement thanks to the hustle and bustle inside.
I maneuver through tables crowded with families chatting as they eagerly wait for their orders, working my way to a large group of college students that have taken over three long tables at the back of the restaurant.
Taking my place next to my friends, I join in the chorus of orders for pancakes, eggs, turkey bacon and hot coffee being called out as waiters and waitresses attend to each person in our very lively group.
As I wait for eggs (sunny side up for me) and pancakes that I plan to drench in maple syrup, I marvel at the dichotomy of the scene in front of me: the Muslim ummah (community) eating suhoor, the pre-dawn meal that begins the fast, there among a couple of lone diners scarfing down a very early breakfast and a group of late-night partygoers nursing a hangover with waffles and coffee.
This is what most IHOPs, Waffle Houses and other 24-hour restaurants look like during the holy month of Ramadan — Muslim Americans chowing down on an all-American breakfast in the wee hours before the sun rises and the day’s fast begins.
Ramadan, a Muslim holiday that spans the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, runs from April 2 to May 2 this year.
The month is dedicated to worship, charity and community. It welcomes Muslims to retreat from human and worldly desires and focus on renewing their Iman, or faith.
Muslims celebrate by abstaining from food, drink and sexual activity from sunrise to sunset, and typically join in communal prayer and pre-sunrise and post-sunset feasting. (There are exemptions from fasting due to health conditions and other circumstances.)
The tradition of dining out for that pre-sunrise feast is one I’ve participated in every Ramadan since middle school, whether it’s with my parents and sister, my friends or the wider community.
It is a way to celebrate my faith and cultural identity, as well as a time to bond with family and gather with the community over a Funny Face pancake combo.
What’s ‘more American than going out to IHOP’
The IHOP suhoor tradition is one of Maha Hussain’s favorite parts of the holiday.
Hussain, who attends Temple University in Philadelphia, grew up behind her mosque in South Brunswick, New Jersey.
After prayers at the mosque, she and her friends would eat iftar (the meal that breaks the fast) at the mosque, hang out at their homes and then head to IHOP around 1 a.m. for suhoor.
“It sort of just became a tradition that we do every year,” she shared. “So, it’s a large group of us, and every time we would go there, we would, of course, see all the other Muslims there having their suhoor.”
Hussain and her friends would sit family-style at the long tables, chat and eat till it was time to head back to the mosque for Fajr, the first of five daily prayers.
“My go-to order was the Belgian waffles,” she chuckled. “We would always feast every time we would go there. That was the main thing I would get. But we’d always get eggs, milkshakes, everything for the table too and everyone would just be eating.”
For Hussain’s mother, Afshan, IHOP suhoors allow her daughter to experience a tradition that she wasn’t able to participate in growing up.
With conservative immigrant parents, Afshan wasn’t allowed to go to various functions and outings. But after getting married, she and her husband started the tradition with friends and eventually made it a special outing with her children and extended family.
“It’s a new way of feeling connected to your religion and culture,” Afshan said. “I didn’t have that, and I want them [her children] to have it. It keeps her [Hussain] engaged with the community in a different way.”
She recalls taking Hussain to IHOP for suhoor for the first time when she was around 5 years old. She ate and then “adorably” fell asleep on the bench, Afshan recalled. When Hussain started fasting at about 9 years old, it became “a sort of reward for her to be able to have suhoor [with Funny Face pancakes] and enjoy the tradition.”
At 15, Hussain began going to suhoors with friends. Afshan was a bit hesitant at first to let her daughter go out without family but she said there was a level of comfort with the diverse set of Muslim friends she had.
“The first time I let her go, I was really nervous,” Afshan shared. “I followed in my car because she was my eldest child, and it was the first time I was allowing that.”
“I followed and I sort of watched the kids,” she continued. “It was a mixed group, boys and girls — I was never allowed to do that … But they were so wonderful. They stopped; they said hello to me, reassured me. And it gave me so much confidence to give her the freedom that she needs to feel like a normal teenager.”
Ensuring her daughter has traditions and stays connected to her faith is important to Afshan.
The Hussain family goes to IHOP suhoors once or twice during the holy month (Afshan’s go-to order is the garden omelet with a side of pancakes), and participates in other traditions like a sushi night for the first iftar.
“It’s human nature — you seek out affinity in other humans and celebration of holidays,” she said. “We miss out so much on Christmas that we sort of created our own things here — the ‘Eid fairy’ comes to my house for my little ones with these presents with glitter all over the fireplace. Whatever we can do to make it fun for them.”
Baltimore native and resident Zainab Chaudry started the IHOP tradition in college, going out at least once or twice every Ramadan.
Later when she got married, Chaudry and her husband continued the tradition, bringing her three nephews to the outing.
“We drive to IHOP and we order omelets and waffles and pancakes and tons of food, which we probably don’t finish all the time because you still have the hangover from iftar,” she shared, referring to the ”food coma” from the night before. “But it’s really fun; it’s a really cool bonding experience.”
Chaudry sees these outings as “the blending of our religious customs and our American heritage.”
“Are there many things that are more American than going out to IHOP?”
The Maryland director of CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) and her husband coordinate the outing so that they arrive early enough to be seated (in case it’s crowded and “hopping, no pun intended,” Chaudry said laughing), order food and eat comfortably before the cutoff time, or when the athan (the call to prayer) goes off on their phones.
There’s something special about participating in an American tradition while being Muslim and holding on to those values, Chaudry added.
“I think it just sends a clear message that we are Americans, and we are Muslims.”
It’s more significant this year, she explains, as the pandemic halted celebrations for the past two years.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why this year, these kinds of traditions, they’re even more special because not being able to participate in them in the last couple of years just makes us appreciate those opportunities to go out and spend quality time together and bond over these kinds of experiences all the more,” Chaudry said.
Other 24-hour restaurants to fuel up before the fast
For years, Rakesh Kumar has kept his eight IHOP franchises in New Jersey open 24/7 with guests coming from local mosques in the early morning hours during Ramadan.
He would have three cooks on staff and about four to six servers working overnight to accommodate the crowds.
But like many restaurants, the pandemic has led to staff shortages. So, for the past two years, he has cut back hours at his locations.
“Now we can’t … I don’t have enough employees who could work overnight, so we’re not able to do it this year,” Kumar said. “We couldn’t open 24/7; I would love to do it, seriously … It’s really a good experience during Ramadan.”
In Maryland, Chaudry said IHOPs are still open 24-hours, as are local diners so she’s not worried about finding her pancakes and eggs.
“We’re going to have options … the end goal is to go out and be able to have that dining experience, and just have suhoor at that time together and make memories,” she said.
Although IHOP is the go-to spot for many Muslims, Hussain and others also go to diners and other 24-hour breakfast chains to fuel up before the fast.
Since moving to Philadelphia, she has been surprised to find a lack of 24-hour IHOPs — she expected the city to have more options than her hometown. She and her friends on campus hope to keep the tradition at an all-night diner.
Back at home, Hussain would explore Rutgers University’s dining options as well as local diners like Omega Diner & Cafe in North Brunswick and The Edison Diner in Edison.
Komal Qureshi (no relation to me), who lives on Long Island, has never been to an IHOP suhoor. Denny’s and other local restaurants have been her go-to.
“Because I’m in New York, there are a lot of places that are open and specifically open for suhoor,” she explained.
Qureshi and her friends have a Whatsapp group where they recommend various restaurants open late and then decide on a spot to go to for suhoor. They carpool to the restaurant around 3 a.m., where they jot down their orders on the Notes app of their phones and designate one person to share their large order.
Among their favorite spots are Artichoke Basille’s Pizza and Creperie in the West Village. They would share a pie or two and grab a few crepes for suhoor.
“Not your traditional suhoor meals but they’re open late and super filling so we’d often go after Taraweeh,” Qureshi said. Taraweeh are special prayers offered during Ramadan as the Qur’an is read aloud throughout the month.
While Qureshi and her friends typically dine out for suhoor once or twice during Ramadan, this year they are making up for the last two years by enjoying multiple outings.
“We’re celebrating Ramadan — this is our holiday,” Qureshi said. “So, to do all this and go out of your way, especially so late and when everyone’s so tired … I’m putting in effort for my religion … For me, it’s important because I’m trying to make memories. I want to make sure that I make Ramadan special for me and for others.”
‘Loading up for the day’
Mohammad A. Malik opts for Waffle House for his suhoor spot as IHOP and other breakfast chains such as Denny’s and Cracker Barrel use a flat griddle where they cook bacon and other menu items, which could lead to contamination. (Muslims do not eat pork products and some eat halal or “permissible” meats only according to Islamic teachings.)
“Waffle House is actually different in that the kitchen is open, you can see what they’re doing, and they tend not to cross-contaminate,” he explained.
For the past four or five years, the Port St. Lucie, Florida, resident has gone breakfast chain with his wife and two children once during every Ramadan.
They make sure to be seated an hour before the sunrise. Malik orders waffles and hash browns (which have grown on him over the years, he said). His wife and children order eggs (which Malik is not a big fan of). Coffee is ordered for the table.
“My daughter brought it [Waffle House suhoor] up — she likes to be goofy sometimes — and we said, ‘Why not? We’ll try it,’ and then that’s something we started doing ever since,” Malik explained.
“My son is not too much of a suhoor guy,” he added. “He literally wakes up 10 minutes before suhoor and drinks water and that’s his fast. He can be a little ‘negative Nancy,’ but we have to kind of force him to come along for this tradition.”
The family drives about 30 minutes to their local Waffle Houses, which incidentally sit on the east and west sides of the same highway.
The hours of suhoor are a peaceful time, Malik reflected. It’s quiet on the roads and inside the restaurant.
For Malik, dining out for suhoor serves two purposes.
“One is, during Ramadan, I like to get up and pray tahajjud (extra voluntary night prayers) because I like the peacefulness and serenity of things,” he said. “And then I want my kids to experience that feeling of getting up early and being in the outdoors.”
“The second thing, it gives my wife a break,” he continued. “She doesn’t have to get up and make suhoor — my daughter will literally just go [to Waffle House] in her pajamas … and go enjoy a meal.”
Sameer Sarmast organizes his suhoors at local diners, specifically Suburban Diner in Paramus, New Jersey, with its private rooms for large parties.
Sarmast, who hosts a halal restaurant review show on YouTube called Sameer’s Eats, coordinates with a group of close friends and family for a sweet and savory suhoor.
Omelets, waffles, pancakes, crepes, fresh fruits, tea, coffee and more dishes are spread throughout their table.
“Loading up for the day,” Sarmast chuckles.
The Bergen County, New Jersey, resident goes to the diner for group suhoors once during the month-long holiday and at least three times with a smaller group.
For Sarmast, this year’s suhoor outings feel like a sense of normalcy returning to “what’s familiar.”
“What’s so special is just seeing people that we haven’t seen in a long time,” he said.
“I might not see these people on an everyday basis, but I’ve noticed when it comes to religious holidays that’s where you see more people … when you get people together and catch up and see how everyone’s doing.”
Hira Qureshi covers food and drink for South Jersey at the Courier Post, Burlington County Times and Daily Journal. She can be reached at HQureshi@gannettnj.com or 856-287-8106. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.
