Karam Grill was hit or miss for me, especially compared to other, nearby places. The herbaceous and crispy-light falafel was my favorite item. Lamb Kabob was juicy, tender enough and very lamby, which I liked. Chicken Shawarma had nice flavor and wasn't too dry. Rice served with the plates was just right - tender individual grains, and not the least bit mushy.
On the downside, Beef Shawarma was dry, hard in texture and bland. Lentil soup was pasty-thick, elastic and almost gelatinous. Hummus had a perfectly creamy texture but lacked acidity, garlic and salinity. Save for an unfortunate off-note I could not quite identify, it was essentially flavorless. Baba Ghannouj was very smoky, which isn't my thing, though I realize others may like that.
We were served 3 small squeeze bottles of sauces with our food: tahina, garlic and hot. The first 2 were very mild in flavor. The hot sauce seemed like sambal oelek directly from the jar. The nozzles on the squeeze bottles were very narrow, which made it impossible to dispense the hot sauce without removing the nozzle. The salt in the shaker on our table had hardened into a single mass. I noticed a customer at another table having the same problem with the sugar.
Service was nice but a bit slow at times, awkward and somewhat bumbling. We were comped hot tea, which was a nice gesture but even after I'd declined, they brought it anyway. I left it untouched and felt wasteful just leaving it there. We were brought water after we had gotten up to dispense our own from the jug by register. It wasn't until our server eventually brought it that we realized the jug (with accompanying foam cups) was for take-out customers to have while they waited.
I left full but pretty unsatisfied. It was a lot of food for ~$50, and we took leftovers, hoping that someone at home might enjoy them. I'm glad I tried Karam Grill but I can't foresee a circumstance where I'd bypass Kabobi, approximately one block south, to eat there again.
=R=
Same planet, different world