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Karam Grill

Karam Grill
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  • Karam Grill

    Post #1 - September 16th, 2018, 1:58 pm
    Post #1 - September 16th, 2018, 1:58 pm Post #1 - September 16th, 2018, 1:58 pm
    Following a lead from @chibbqking, I went to Karam Grill on my lunch break yesterday for a chicken shawarma sandwich. I don't want to go overboard based on one sandwich, but I was very impressed with the place.

    The 2 men working the front of house were extremely hospitable. They offered me tea and ice water while I was waiting for my sandwich to be made. Told me sandwich came with fries, and were very happy to substitute salad for the fries when I asked.

    As we chatted about different Middle Eastern restaurants, one of the men offered me a sample of both their chicken and beef shawarma. The chicken is well prepared and tasty, but the beef was amazing. It had an intense, rich, beefy flavor that I haven't found in other shawarmas [I'm beginning to understand why there's the amount of side-eye toward Pita Inn there is].

    My sandwich was very good. The chicken was wrapped up in a thin pita and there were some pickles wrapped in as well. They included one of their white sauces [but not the super garlic-y one. :( ]


    [I'm failing to embed the menu here, but there's a nice variety of food. Including lamb shanks! I'll have to check their's out soon.] There are also bountiful looking lunch specials Mon-Friday.

    Wanted to put this place on the radar; it's well worth checking out.

    Karam Grill
    4849 N Kedzie Ave
    (773) 942-6300

    Giovanna
    =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=

    "Enjoy every sandwich."

    -Warren Zevon
  • Post #2 - September 16th, 2018, 10:06 pm
    Post #2 - September 16th, 2018, 10:06 pm Post #2 - September 16th, 2018, 10:06 pm
    I went here back in July (I think), per the suggestion of Michael Gebert of Fooditor. I was also quite impressed, as were my dining companions. Companion 1 and I shared a kind of combination thing of beef shawarma, kefta, and lamb kebab. All were excellent renditions: the beef shawarma was beautifully textured and flavored perfectly, as was the kefta. The kebab was juicy, tender, and, again, perfectly marinated. The hummus and baba ghanoush were both palpably fresh and probably the best renditions I've had in town. Highly recommended.
    The best food is well-spiced and well-fattened.
  • Post #3 - October 13th, 2018, 3:08 pm
    Post #3 - October 13th, 2018, 3:08 pm Post #3 - October 13th, 2018, 3:08 pm
    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
  • Post #4 - October 14th, 2018, 8:57 am
    Post #4 - October 14th, 2018, 8:57 am Post #4 - October 14th, 2018, 8:57 am
    ronnie_suburban wrote:The herbaceous and crispy-light falafel was my favorite item.
    Karam lunch a few weeks ago. I liked, as did you, the falafel, found chicken shawarma on hummus tasty and dug the rice and gratis torshi.

    I noticed the same issue with the squeeze bottles, in particular the hot sauce. Having "tipped" about a million squeeze bottles of BBQ sauce in the last decade I simply waved the interactive manager over and made a cutting motion about halfway down the nozzle. He did the mohel thing with it in the kitchen, problem solved. Obviously he did not follow through keeping the other bottles tipped.

    I liked Karam Grill, maybe a little more than you but, as you say, with Kabobi and Bamyan Kabob so close it will be a while until I return.

    KaramGrill1.jpg Falafel

    KaramGrill2.jpg Chicken shawarma on Hummus

    KaramGrill3.jpg Torshi
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #5 - October 14th, 2018, 10:07 am
    Post #5 - October 14th, 2018, 10:07 am Post #5 - October 14th, 2018, 10:07 am
    I really liked the beef shawarma and the baba gannoush. But perhaps this reflects some inconsistency because my shawarma wasn't at all dry and the baba lightly smoky but by not means too smoky.

    On the other hand, the falafel, while delicious, was dense and slightly undercooked. The hummus - not for me. I loved how smooth and creamy it was, but I found the problem to be that they are likely using a very mediocre tahini and it really took away from the flavor (though I would have liked a little more garlic and lemon).

    I still think Salam is my go-to on that strip for these items, but I'll certainly be giving Karam another try, probably several.
  • Post #6 - October 14th, 2018, 2:46 pm
    Post #6 - October 14th, 2018, 2:46 pm Post #6 - October 14th, 2018, 2:46 pm
    I was looking forward to others sampling this place, to get a feel for the over-all quality.

    The torshi I was provided looked nothing like Wiv's. I went back one day for the lunch special and was pretty underwhelmed. The shawarma special had enough rice for a family of 8 but enough meat for, well, lunch. [Whatever the +/- about Pita Inn's lunch special, there's enough protein substances for 2-3 lunches, depending on how hungry I am.]

    The beef shawarma I had there on my first visit was superb. Will get that sandwich again soon.

    Hmmm. A small ethnic restaurant being inconsistent....

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Giovanna
    =o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=

    "Enjoy every sandwich."

    -Warren Zevon
  • Post #7 - February 25th, 2019, 11:12 am
    Post #7 - February 25th, 2019, 11:12 am Post #7 - February 25th, 2019, 11:12 am
    Update for anyone planning on going to what was formerly known as Karam Grill:
    - At some point in the last 3-4 months it became "Kabab House", or "IRAQI KABOB HOUSE", as it is known to Google and at least one reviewer. The phone # is the same.

    The Yelp page is still under the old name, but the website for the restaurant provided by Yelp (and phone #) is for Kebab House restaurant in Bensenville. The most logical inference is that Karam was sold to an owner of Kebab House Bensenville, or it was originally opened by someone related to that business, and they decided to rebrand it as a second location. The menu and food appears to be very close to how they were as Karam. Links below.

    Karam (the only page for now) Yelp!: http://www.yelp.com/biz/karam-grill-chicago-5
    Facebook of current business:http://www.facebook.com/kabab.house.16
    Eat24/GrubHub of current business:http://www.eat24.com/order-online/kabab-house-4849-n-kedzie-ave-chicago/1048998

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