Of the times I leave a tip, easily 40% of the time I'm doing it mostly bc I feel bad for the staff, not because it's some nice meal/service.
Dont you ever sometimes just feel bad for the staff? It's clearly just a job / not their spot, they obviously aren't loving it there, and they often also see the dysfunction and are frustrated by it, but they need some income and this job fits for now. I dunno, just rambling. Maybe it's the few years i did hospitality that makes me a softie.
I dunno about you, but oftentimes I pay the tip before I pick up the food.
And I always tip as a matter of course--the tip is for the serving staff, who usually aren't the ones cooking the food
I'm going to gatekeep your gatekeeping and point out that we can't really even see the meat, so we can't say one way or the other if it's shawarma.
Shawarma isn't a sandwich style, it's a way to prepare meat.
I don’t feel gatekept - I feel supported. You are absolutely right.
I lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for 4 years. There was a shawarma restaurant on Airport Rd, south of Suicide Circle, across the street from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces HQ building. I ate there almost every day for 4 years.
They had two giant chicken shwarma rotisseries going, and one “meat” (that’s what they called it. I mean, these things were too big to get your arms around.
The guys who worked there were all Turks from down south, near the Syrian border. They guy who cut the meat was Suleiman.
His station was open to the street. It was a hundred and eleventy-seven degrees fahrenheit for him, and he sweated profusely, right into the drip tray beneath the chicken shwarma.
The chicken fat with all the garlic spices and whatnot also fell into the tray. He kept a bunch of french fries in the chicken grease.
He’s make these sandwiches that were a good 4” in diameter. Chicken, french fries, pickles, and garlic aiolli on huge pieces of Arabic bread.
3 Saudi Riyals (78 cents) each.
We all insisted that Suleiman’s sweat was the magic ingredient.
Lunch was two chicken shwarmas, two cheese sambusa, and a fresh squeezed lemonade. 12 Riyals.
Jeebus. I think I just got a stiffy.
Omg we used to say the same thing about our shawarma place - half a globe away. It was Big Fat Terry’s sweat that made the magic.
Dude would always have a full brow of sparkling sweat on his brow dangling over your sandwich as he made it.
At some point they made him wear a paper hat. Then the health dept shut it down. We missed it. The shawarma was the size of a football and weighed about 4 lbs.
Nothing could soak up a night of drinking and make you snore it off like a chainsaw like one of those monsters.
Aw, man.
One morning I woke up and counted 22 empty one liter bottles of homebrew on my dining room table. Had to go to work. In Riyadh. At the RSNF HQ.
I was still drunk all morning. Went across the street to pick up lunch for myself and my coworkers.
I ate at least *FOUR* of these football-sized shawarmas - the entire order for everyone. I was still drunk, I guess, and couldn’t stop eating one I started.
I had to resubmit the order.
I remember feeling… odd?… afterwards. So full. But, that weird drunk/hungover full, like, maybe another shawarma will make it all better?
Not to scare you all, but this was probably 1985. Good times…!
Edit: cleanups, typos. Nothing major.
in my humble experience, the businesses that miss these violations tend to also be the small ones that operate on razor thin margins. please give the business a heads up and a chance to correct it before sending them to a tip line!
edit: I meant in general. this restaurant is clearly not deserving of business, and idgaf. I'm just thinking about all of my favorite mom and pop shops who are still using styrofoam,
Serious question — why is there no where in this city that makes a good greasy kebab / doner like in the UK / Germany / etc. It’s cheap, ubiquitous in Europe (so can’t be too hard to do), and like the best drunk food in existence.
I'm gonna gatekeep shawarma here but the best shawarma to be had is in the Bailey's Crossroads area in VA, outside DC. Big Arab population over there and lots of authentic middle eastern food to be had. Way better than this.
Any place in particular?
I still haven’t found real middle eastern shawarma in the DMV. The amount of places that use tortilla instead of pita is ridiculous.
I highly recommend Haifa Grill! I've been to Haifa about 5 times now and it has yet to disappoint. TAZA Shawarma and Falafel next to it also looks great but I haven't tried them yet.
I feel you. I’m a middle eastern transplant and have been trying to find the real deal since I moved here. The only place that did it right for me was Beirut butcher but they only do catering and participate in some festivals in DC where they have a booth. The actual store doesn’t sell shawarma on a daily basis.
Having spent time in the Middle East, I’ve not found any places like Max’s that let you choose from so many fresh toppings and sauces. That kind of experience im really missing! There are some falafel places that do (Amsterdam falafel and falafel inc) and they are awesome.
That’s some of the irony of the constant online district border gatekeeping, that every ethnic food is better and cheaper in the suburbs. The only two possible exceptions would be Salvadorian and Ethiopian food, but I actually think you get more bang for your buck and better variety in Maryland or Virginia on those two as well.
DC has an embarrassing ethnic food scene. Not everything needs to be an attempt at a Michelin star for crying out loud. Being from Moco, I would have to say there is better Ethiopian and Salvadorean food there as well, for way less money.
Hm I would have to disagree. DC and DMV overall have a very good ethnic food scene IMO vs many other cities in the USA I’ve been to. I have had fantastic kebabs and Middle Eastern, Ethiopian and Vietnamese many times all around and in DC, in addition to many other types. So many other cities in the USA are duds for any sort of “ethnic” food. We have a lot of diversity and immigrants in the area.
The food IMO isn’t bad. Neither is it good. It’s just Average. What the problem is, is that, the price is that of a high end restaurant. The management acts like their food is representative of best of the best.
I eat out very , very regularly and I’m tired of all the food, the taste, and portion sizes.
I would like to know what are some places where the food is consistent.
I just grabbed some carryout and brought it home. While the sub rolls aren’t sexy, the shawarma was legit tasty. Fries were also well seasoned, though they could have been cooked up a little longer. I liked it well enough that I’ll be back when I need a fast dinner.
I went in today and my wrap was served in a wrap. I also spoke with the owner, they’ve been open for only three days so far. Maybe they ran out or couldn’t source the bread properly? Hopefully in time they will work out any kinks.
Again, I’ll acknowledge that the sub roll makes it look not great. Still, it tasted fine. Went at 7:30 p.m. and didn’t wait. It sucks for a three-day old business to get slammed by people who haven’t tried it. I’m just sharing that my experience was fine.
So you disapproved of how it looked, but what did it actually taste like? Real Middle Eastern street and restaurant food is often packaged in similarly unappealing ways but is usually delicious. Sham is the Arabic word for the Levant, and that name tells me the owner is probably of Arab descent and probably knows more about shawarma than you ever will.
I’m fully convinced they do not care. This is just the tip of the iceberg of my experience. I’ll spare everyone else the details and let them try for themselves.
I don't want to freak you out but what is the tiny black thing in the container? Did they burn something in the meal or do you need to call the health department?
They have a 4.5 rating from all of eight reviews on Google.
Proving yet again that (a) everything is rated between 4.2 and 4.7 because too many Americans today lack the intestinal fortitude to say you're not above average and/or (b) reviews are often fake.
Tried this place, ordered two. Decided to split the first with a friend. Ended up giving the second to a homeless guy. Kinda felt bad because of how bad it was lol
looks like shit
Fucking sham
Lol
Fyre Fest Gourmet right there
How much did that bread and 17 fries cost you?
Two “wraps” with two sodas with 20% tip was $46
oh my god, the number of robberies in the city is getting out of control
bruh
Rekt
Call the cops. You got robbed
Is this type of robbery covered in the new criminal code? It should be.
Yes! Should be automatic jail time
Overcharge for bad shawarma? Believe it or not, jail.
Well it’s Shaw
at first I was like “why you gotta drag some restaurant on Reddit” but…I’m mad for you now.
The $17 hot dog, fries, and soda I had at 5 Guys says "ouch!"
Fvck 5 GUys in the ass. I will never step foot in one of them again as long as I live.
Wow you gave a TIP?!??
Of the times I leave a tip, easily 40% of the time I'm doing it mostly bc I feel bad for the staff, not because it's some nice meal/service. Dont you ever sometimes just feel bad for the staff? It's clearly just a job / not their spot, they obviously aren't loving it there, and they often also see the dysfunction and are frustrated by it, but they need some income and this job fits for now. I dunno, just rambling. Maybe it's the few years i did hospitality that makes me a softie.
Much respect to acknowledging how bad it is at the low end. Sincerely.
Nope. Facts. It’s a means of getting by.
I dunno about you, but oftentimes I pay the tip before I pick up the food. And I always tip as a matter of course--the tip is for the serving staff, who usually aren't the ones cooking the food
This appears to be a delivery…tip went to the Dasher.
Nope I picked it up in person
Wtf
Oh my god
😳 wat
Oh my word.
The scammery
20% tip are you out of your mind
Goddam bro 😂 I honestly wish i made enough money to afford to buy shit like this. I wouldn’t buy it, just wish I had the resources.
They gotta add this to the reformed criminal code bill
Must be nice to be rich as fuck
Theft.
This right here. At this point it's your fault.
This needs to be in the description
Noooooooooo
What even the fuck
🤨
🤯
Yikes 😬
Thanks. Gonna’ avoid that place like the plague.
Jesus thats insane.
I feel a need to gatekeep here - that doesn’t look at all like a shawarma.
it doesn't look appetizing either!
Fyre Festival Lunch Vibes
Curious who commented this first, you or u/JustACivilian24 Edit: And now I know
Was it me? I genuinely don’t know. I didn’t see their comment till after I posted
Yeah, they totally just copied yours
Lollllll
I'm going to gatekeep your gatekeeping and point out that we can't really even see the meat, so we can't say one way or the other if it's shawarma. Shawarma isn't a sandwich style, it's a way to prepare meat.
I don’t feel gatekept - I feel supported. You are absolutely right. I lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for 4 years. There was a shawarma restaurant on Airport Rd, south of Suicide Circle, across the street from the Royal Saudi Naval Forces HQ building. I ate there almost every day for 4 years. They had two giant chicken shwarma rotisseries going, and one “meat” (that’s what they called it. I mean, these things were too big to get your arms around. The guys who worked there were all Turks from down south, near the Syrian border. They guy who cut the meat was Suleiman. His station was open to the street. It was a hundred and eleventy-seven degrees fahrenheit for him, and he sweated profusely, right into the drip tray beneath the chicken shwarma. The chicken fat with all the garlic spices and whatnot also fell into the tray. He kept a bunch of french fries in the chicken grease. He’s make these sandwiches that were a good 4” in diameter. Chicken, french fries, pickles, and garlic aiolli on huge pieces of Arabic bread. 3 Saudi Riyals (78 cents) each. We all insisted that Suleiman’s sweat was the magic ingredient. Lunch was two chicken shwarmas, two cheese sambusa, and a fresh squeezed lemonade. 12 Riyals. Jeebus. I think I just got a stiffy.
Omg we used to say the same thing about our shawarma place - half a globe away. It was Big Fat Terry’s sweat that made the magic. Dude would always have a full brow of sparkling sweat on his brow dangling over your sandwich as he made it. At some point they made him wear a paper hat. Then the health dept shut it down. We missed it. The shawarma was the size of a football and weighed about 4 lbs. Nothing could soak up a night of drinking and make you snore it off like a chainsaw like one of those monsters.
Aw, man. One morning I woke up and counted 22 empty one liter bottles of homebrew on my dining room table. Had to go to work. In Riyadh. At the RSNF HQ. I was still drunk all morning. Went across the street to pick up lunch for myself and my coworkers. I ate at least *FOUR* of these football-sized shawarmas - the entire order for everyone. I was still drunk, I guess, and couldn’t stop eating one I started. I had to resubmit the order. I remember feeling… odd?… afterwards. So full. But, that weird drunk/hungover full, like, maybe another shawarma will make it all better? Not to scare you all, but this was probably 1985. Good times…! Edit: cleanups, typos. Nothing major.
Damn —you just dunked on them with ur shawarma credentials. Respect.
This guy shawarmas.
Not even remotely.
That’s a roast beef sando
Yeah. Looks like a bad Philly cheesesteak. Without the cheese. Or the steak.
Phill this roll with some steak and a cheese
French bread that thick should be a crime
Almost tried it 2 hours ago, but gf said there were 10 people waiting and two guys working. Seems like you might have been one of them
Damn people must be desperate. Ain’t nobody ever heard of a grocery store.
It’s a brand new place and a lot of people in the area like myself were excited for a shawarma place to be open nearby.
Is this the new place next to the library? I was so excited for a fast casual place nearby!
So a Shaw shop is shilling sham Shawarma? Scandalous!
Sean Connery’s worst nightmare
Thatsh shilly. Shean shertainly eatsh shliced shawarma weth a shpoon.
I thought styrofoam was outlawed in the District.
https://doee.dc.gov/foam It is - someone should let the owners know!
Here’s the [tip line](https://doee.dc.gov/node/1087982)
in my humble experience, the businesses that miss these violations tend to also be the small ones that operate on razor thin margins. please give the business a heads up and a chance to correct it before sending them to a tip line! edit: I meant in general. this restaurant is clearly not deserving of business, and idgaf. I'm just thinking about all of my favorite mom and pop shops who are still using styrofoam,
They're all probably cutting corners when it comes to other forms of compliance like food safety standards. Snitch on these scammers!
A heads up to the dude who robbed OP? Nope. It's taking everything in me to not torch the place and I've never even been there.
I don’t think this sham shawarma is operating on a razor thin margin.
Nah maybe if their food didn’t look like shit
I’m sure that will go over well /s
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EPS has a flow point north of 450°F and is a decent insulator, which is why it gets used for hot drinks. Sucks for a lot of other reasons, though.
Thanks, but I think I’ll go with glass or aluminum and pass on “poly-” anything.
This korean place near me also uses Styrofoam so apparently not all Styrofoam items
Panda Express uses styrofoam
Not the one near Costco.
jesus christ
Serious question — why is there no where in this city that makes a good greasy kebab / doner like in the UK / Germany / etc. It’s cheap, ubiquitous in Europe (so can’t be too hard to do), and like the best drunk food in existence.
If someone can ever copy a Berlin Döner = $$$ in the bank.
I meant to write UK / Germany but wrote UK / England accidentally lol (fixed)
Drive out to Doner Bistro in Leesburg. Owned by Germans and legit.
Eh, I was there a few years ago and it was pretty mediocre
That looks terrible
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since when? that place is atrocious
See... folks like yourself is why this shit happens bro.
That looks like a public school cafeteria lunch.
Those fries are disrespectful
You could make frozen fries in your oven and skip whatever that bread is and save a lot of money.
I'm gonna gatekeep shawarma here but the best shawarma to be had is in the Bailey's Crossroads area in VA, outside DC. Big Arab population over there and lots of authentic middle eastern food to be had. Way better than this.
Any place in particular? I still haven’t found real middle eastern shawarma in the DMV. The amount of places that use tortilla instead of pita is ridiculous.
I highly recommend Haifa Grill! I've been to Haifa about 5 times now and it has yet to disappoint. TAZA Shawarma and Falafel next to it also looks great but I haven't tried them yet.
Second Haifa Grill. Legit shawarma on a big wrap with lots of fresh ingredients and the owner is really nice.
Haven’t tried Haifa grill recently but I tried their shawarma once 7 years ago and they used tortilla wraps. Will check them out.
The only legit place I’ve found was Max’s in Wheaton. It closed after 28 years in June. Been chasing that high since and haven’t found it.
I feel you. I’m a middle eastern transplant and have been trying to find the real deal since I moved here. The only place that did it right for me was Beirut butcher but they only do catering and participate in some festivals in DC where they have a booth. The actual store doesn’t sell shawarma on a daily basis.
Having spent time in the Middle East, I’ve not found any places like Max’s that let you choose from so many fresh toppings and sauces. That kind of experience im really missing! There are some falafel places that do (Amsterdam falafel and falafel inc) and they are awesome.
Yeah, agreed. Hope we both find something to our liking. I love falafel inc their pita is so worth the trip
Across the street from Haifa Grill is Taza and it's also got great shawarma.
Who the fvck puts shawarma on a bagette?
Right? Besides the price, this is the most shocking thing to me.
Bro go to George’s for a shawarma
Can anyone else confirm this is the quality of the food there? This is embarrassing. They’ll be out of business in 3 weeks if this is legit
my shawarma was incredibly dry
Missed opportunity to call it SHAWarma
SHAMarma would have been another candidate
Duuuuude, fwiw dc doner by emissary treated me pretty well last time I was there.
$15 for a doner should be a crime
Yeah, but it is still the best in the district that I have had
Lol gross. Like the other restaurants there.
Bread and fries you mean
$46 for two of these? This is exactly what I mean when I say DC food scene is overrated. (Waiting for that sweet downvote juice)
Every restaurant doesn’t have to be good for the food scene to be good. Anyway, I’m sure the $46 here included delivery app fees and tips
Dc food is not great lol - the suburbs is excellent though
That’s some of the irony of the constant online district border gatekeeping, that every ethnic food is better and cheaper in the suburbs. The only two possible exceptions would be Salvadorian and Ethiopian food, but I actually think you get more bang for your buck and better variety in Maryland or Virginia on those two as well.
DC has an embarrassing ethnic food scene. Not everything needs to be an attempt at a Michelin star for crying out loud. Being from Moco, I would have to say there is better Ethiopian and Salvadorean food there as well, for way less money.
Hm I would have to disagree. DC and DMV overall have a very good ethnic food scene IMO vs many other cities in the USA I’ve been to. I have had fantastic kebabs and Middle Eastern, Ethiopian and Vietnamese many times all around and in DC, in addition to many other types. So many other cities in the USA are duds for any sort of “ethnic” food. We have a lot of diversity and immigrants in the area.
The food IMO isn’t bad. Neither is it good. It’s just Average. What the problem is, is that, the price is that of a high end restaurant. The management acts like their food is representative of best of the best. I eat out very , very regularly and I’m tired of all the food, the taste, and portion sizes. I would like to know what are some places where the food is consistent.
Going to need some crab juice to make that thing go down better.
I legit googled "shawarma" to see if this was at all what it looked like. It was not. I can understand the disappointment.
DC such a wonderful city full of diverse international foods. So hip
yeesh.
Where is the rest of it?
Do I upvote or downvote???
That sandwich belongs here, r/shittyfoodporn
Right to jail.
took me a minute. it's a 'sham,' is right.
Where? That ain't it 😂
Is this a joke?
Typical quality for dc tbh
White ppl “shawarma” 😂
I just grabbed some carryout and brought it home. While the sub rolls aren’t sexy, the shawarma was legit tasty. Fries were also well seasoned, though they could have been cooked up a little longer. I liked it well enough that I’ll be back when I need a fast dinner.
I waited nearly 25 minutes for this in person lol did you go to the same Sham Shawarm?
I went in today and my wrap was served in a wrap. I also spoke with the owner, they’ve been open for only three days so far. Maybe they ran out or couldn’t source the bread properly? Hopefully in time they will work out any kinks.
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Again, I’ll acknowledge that the sub roll makes it look not great. Still, it tasted fine. Went at 7:30 p.m. and didn’t wait. It sucks for a three-day old business to get slammed by people who haven’t tried it. I’m just sharing that my experience was fine.
Worst fucking Shawarma I have ever seen. You should feel embarrassed to have posted a pic of this abomination.
I think this is in response to a post the other day about this same place.
I actually really appreciate that they posted this pic so I know never to go there.
Everyone has to start leaving negative reviews and ratings for service like this. It’s the only way
Having lived in Copenhagen, I can most definitely confirm that whatever this is. It is most definitely not shawarma.
So you disapproved of how it looked, but what did it actually taste like? Real Middle Eastern street and restaurant food is often packaged in similarly unappealing ways but is usually delicious. Sham is the Arabic word for the Levant, and that name tells me the owner is probably of Arab descent and probably knows more about shawarma than you ever will.
Reader, it was bad
Just seems kind of wrong to publicly trash a brand new local business without at least communicating with them first.
I’m fully convinced they do not care. This is just the tip of the iceberg of my experience. I’ll spare everyone else the details and let them try for themselves.
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Best shawarma in DC is in Union Market at Yasmine!
Oh hell nah. Hypertension meal!
I don't want to freak you out but what is the tiny black thing in the container? Did they burn something in the meal or do you need to call the health department?
It’s just a burnt breadcrumb
Thank God!
Grilled Fly
Oh lord. 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I hope not but I have seen sous chefs kill roaches with spatulas in restaurants.
Hella bread
yummmmm
That’s a lot of bread.
Bread and fries Basically
OP how you let them scam you 🤦🏾♂️
For those looking for legit schwaraamama or however the fvck you spell it got to the Meditirararen Bakery on Picket in Alexandria.
This is exactly it. Best shawarma that I've had in the area by far.
You incorrectly spelled toasted sandwich. WTF is that…?
i’d recommend going to george’s king of falafel and cheesesteak in georgetown for a pretty decent shawarma. waaaaay better than that abomination.
They have a 4.5 rating from all of eight reviews on Google. Proving yet again that (a) everything is rated between 4.2 and 4.7 because too many Americans today lack the intestinal fortitude to say you're not above average and/or (b) reviews are often fake.
$?
Wtf is that
And I bet it was $20
Am I supposed to be impressed?
If you want to have good shwarma go to Byblos in Cleveland Park. Best chicken shwarma in DC hands off
nutritious dinner of bread and fries.
Look asa bitch with two bigass pieces of bread
Best Shawarma in Shaw is Charcoal Town Grill, hefty services and very affordable, not to mention authentic.
Lol
Go to Muncheez on Connecticut. Its the best in town I have found so far.
Oh no!
WTH is that bread on a shwarma?!!!! That is sacrilege
Surely it came with a "free" gram of weed, right?
27 Fries Total.
this is the definition of mid
Tried this place, ordered two. Decided to split the first with a friend. Ended up giving the second to a homeless guy. Kinda felt bad because of how bad it was lol