09/15/2026
He left Silicon Valley to smoke halal Wagyu brisket in Texas. North Texas noticed. 🔥
Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi spent years as an engineer in the Bay Area. Then he traded it for a smoker, a pitmaster's schedule, and a restaurant in Irving, Texas called Kafi BBQ. The line on weekends tells you the rest of the story.
For a long time, halal and Texas barbecue did not live in the same sentence. Muslim families in the DFW area had to settle for chicken or skip the brisket entirely. Kafi BBQ changed that, with halal Wagyu brisket, ribs, and sausage, all smoked the slow way, no shortcuts.
We talked to Salahodeen about the switch from code to smoke, the learning curve of running a pit, and why he thinks halal barbecue was always going to work in Texas once somebody committed to doing it properly.
If you are anywhere near Dallas or Fort Worth, this one is worth the drive. Go early, and bring people who can eat.
Read the full story:
A former Silicon Valley engineer, Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi, is smoking halal Wagyu brisket in Irving, Texas at Kafi BBQ, and North Texas has taken notice.
