shawarma

Shawarma King Vs Shawarma Spot Taste Off Entries 2 and 3

By Prince Of Petworth

You can read the first entry here. Entry two is from Robert:

“SHAWARMA KING
Some of the better shawarma I’ve had in DC. Although shawarma is often billed as fast food in the Middle East, here it took a little longer to prepare, but my patience paid off. One nice feature of Shawarma King was the option to have the shawarma made on pita or on a larger wrap – same price, which is $5.95. I went with the wrap because it allows you to take better advantage of the a la carte servings (I piled them on). There are 16 different toppings to choose from – all looking reasonably fresh, which included, Lebanese hot sauce, pickled peppers, pickled eggplant, a cucumber/yogurt sauce (similar to a tzatziki sauce), as well as hummus and a delicious sliced fried cauliflower. I’m assuming Shawarma King is Lebanese-owned and operated, because in preparing my wrap they also offered to tinfoil it and throw it on a panini-style grill (normally done over a flame, but this wasn’t an outdoor cart). The result was an incredible Shawarma that is definitely worthy of carry-out.

SHAWARMA SPOT

One of the biggest highlights of Shawarma Spot – or at least I was first sold on it from their suggestive declarative statement on their menu – was their fresh brick oven baked pita. Beyond that, I thought the shawarmas were standard fair. I was disappointed that the toppings bar only had 12 options (three of which were very pedestrian toppings for a shawarma spot: sliced tomatoes, old looking sliced lettuce, and mayo) and was not self-serve (I like to have some portion control… or lack thereof). Also, hummus and baba were not even options in the toppings bar – you have to specially request baba on your shawarma. Shawarma Spot does have a greater variety of menu options, such as salads (fatouch, tabbouleh) and manakeesh (bread topped with jebna, lahma bi’ajeen, or zaatar). But there were no falafel options whatsoever!

THE DECISION

In this shawarmoff, the winner is Shawarma King. You get the most value for your dollar with the King (the Spot’s chicken shawarma runs around $7.50 with tax included) and you have the ability to dish out as much of any of the 16 diverse toppings that you wish. Shawarma Spot’s space also seemed a bit cramped, and the messiness award would also go to the Spot – I had to resort to fork and knife… what an embarrassment.”

Entry 3 by Jeannie after the jump. (more…)

First Entry For Battle of The Shawarmas

By Prince Of Petworth

Last week I suggested a shawarma taste off between the two new spots that opened up in Adams Morgan – Shawarma King located at 1654 Columbia Road and Shawarma Spot located at 2418 18th Street. I didn’t think I’d be an impartial judge so I got a few volunteers to share their opinions with you. The first entry is from Jaime.

<href=”http:></href=”http:>Shawarma King:
When you walk in, you are greeted by bright orange walls and bright smiles from what seems to be a family-run business. They are still sporting a Christmas tree – it may be time to take that down. They offer small or large chicken, beef or falafel shawarmas in either a pita or a wrap. The menu is a little confusing. We opted for the wraps, but are still unsure if you can choose a small or large wrap or if the wrap is the large option. They called us up to the counter after about 5 minutes. We topped the shawarmas ourselves at the topping bar. They had lots of options – fried cauliflower, tahini, tomatoes, onions with sumac, sauces and much more. After that, the server took our sandwiches and warmed and pressed them in a panini maker. This made it a lot easier to eat. They tasted pretty good and the enthusiastic workers were sure to ask us if we enjoyed it. The wrap was more than enough food for one person. At only $5.95, it was a great value. This is an excellent addition to Adam’s Morgan.

Shawarma King PROS:
Enthusiastic Ownership
Put on your own toppings with more choices
Slightly Better Prices
CONS:
Confusing menu & process Continues after the jump. (more…)

Check It Out – Shawarma King Opens Up at 1654 Columbia Road

By Prince Of Petworth

Back in August we learned of the opening. The day has arrived and they beat the Shawarma Spot set to open up on 18th Street. It seems DC’s going Shawarma crazy. I was alerted by a commenter and checked it out this weekend. Because I am odd I tried the falafel and it was delicious. The owners are from Bethlehem so they got some Middle East shawarma cred. The grand opening is set for 2 weeks or so but the store will continue its soft opening until that point. Check out some interior photos and the menu after the jump. (more…)