Shafaa Halal Foods ~ 12211 Hawthorne Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250 ~ (310) 675-3400 (TACO Guide)
Some of the tastiest food comes from some of the most unkempt places. Shafaa Turkish restaurant bucks this trend. They invested some time and care in their recipes, just as they have invested some serious bucks in the decor and the building itself. The outside presents the streetside viewer with intricate arabesque design on the columns, arches, and other surfaces of the facade.
Inside, the one encounters walls draped in fabric, censers and tassels hanging from the ceilings and walls, small cut-glass (or is it Lucite?) chandeliers, fringed bolsters and pillows in some of the booths. You know how much it probably cost to flameproof all of that fabric hanging on the walls? I assume it is flameproofed, per municipal codes. To make a long story short, this place is nicer that most places with comparable menu prices.