As promised, I went back to Shawarma King last Wednesday, May 27, for a guided tour and meal with owner Butros Qumseya, who requested I give his restaurant a second go after he read my negative review in the Feed a few weeks back.

Disclaimer: Food critics eat anonymously because the average restaurateur, if given the chance, would make sure that a critic had the best experience possible at his restaurant; one that the average diner would not have. Seeing as I promised Qumseya to come by when the shawarma might be juicier, I do know, for a fact, that I was treated differently the second time around than when I wandered in off the street a few weeks back. I agreed to a second visit in part because I felt guilty for slamming his restaurant when it already had—among other things—location going against it. (Case in point: When I showed up Wednesday morning, someone had sloppily vandalized Shawarma King’s storefront using acid, which left clearly visible grooves in the glass.) But more importantly, I wanted to see if Qumseya was blowing smoke about the shawarma being better right around lunchtime than during the late afternoon. Qumseya refused—not once, but twice—to accept my money. I paid nothing for my meal.

Read More “Shawarma King, Revisited” »

Last week I reviewed Shawarma King on Columbia Road NW. Long story short, I said I’d eaten better shawarma: The chicken was too dry, and I wanted someone to choose my toppings for me. (See full Shawarma King complaint here.)

I didn’t expect any noise–it was just a blurb, after all–but an error was edited into the review that made it seem as if I had actually eaten at Shawarma Spot on 18th St. NW. As a result, D.C. shawarma nuts have been calling Tim Carman every hour of the day and night for almost a week now, wanting to know which of the two restaurants I visited.

Read More “City Paper Review Is an Insult to the Shawarma King” »

My recent visit to Shawarma King, one of the new Middle Eastern sandwich joints in Adams Morgan, finally humbled me. As I sat there, chewing on yet another mediocre shawarma sandwich, its beef dry and its flavors as much sour as savory, I decided that I must be missing something. Or that my palate is too Americanized to appreciate this ubiquitous street food.

Read More “I’ve Eaten Enough Shawarma Now to Realize I Don’t Understand Shawarma” »

Adams Morgan has suddenly become Shawarma Central. Walid Abuelhawa’s Old City Café & Bakery has been a reliable source for the Middle Eastern sandwich for more than two years, but now the former Amsterdam Falafelshop chef has some competition from two new shops: The Shawarma King at 1654 Columbia Rd. NW (202-463-8330) and the Shawarma Spot in the former M’Dawg Haute Dog spot at 2418 18th St. NW. (202-332-3797).

Read More “Want Some Shawarma? Head to Adams Morgan.” »