Shawerma King closed

Sad to say, but by all appearances Schwarma King is closed. I'm going to do some investigating tomorrow afternoon.

Yeah, I noticed this this afternoon as well--a big For Rent sign on the door. Interestingly, it looked like there were people playing cards or something in the adjacent space to which Shawerma King was recently expanded. Do report if you find anything. I meant to stop in on my way home, but went a different route and forgot.

Also along that stretch of Kedzie, Markellos Bakery (III) has closed, and they are selling off their baking equipment if anyone is in need.

Oh, and CMC, I'm changing the spelling in the subject line...there are about 100 ways of spelling shawerma, but Shawerma King uses this one, and it should make the thread easier to find in the future.

Cheers,

Aaron

Well, I am devastated at the loss of Shawerma King. I just got a kefta kabob sandwich there about two weeks ago, and it was so good. The guy there was always extremely nice. One time I even saw him give free food to a beggar who came into the shop.

The man was, as far as I'm concerned, a saint. It's really a shame. I still haven't gotten down to ask around to see if I can find out what happened.

I imagine it could have to do with the failure of his expanded menu. I think he was hoping to turn his place into more of a full scale operation and when that didn't happen maybe he decided to pack it in. I know he scaled back the menu pretty quickly after expanding it and not drawing in significantly more customers.

Also, I know he lived pretty far from Albany Park (Schaumburg) so that drive could have worn on him especially if the business wasn't picking up like he wanted it to.

What I'm about to say I type with an extremely heavy heart and deep sadness. Shwarma King is closed because the man known simply to many as the King but as a friend to others died of a heart attack in the past week or so. This is a huge loss in so many ways. He will be missed.

This is very sad news indeed. He was always a gentleman. I'd been enjoying his food for over ten years, since he owned Aladdin on Lincoln and Belden. Thank you for sharing the news; my wife and I mourn his passing.

I'd been speculating in my mind what may have happened to his business. I never considered death of the man. He was such an elegant person, very pleasantly polite and had a demeanor which suggested he had been living life on a grander scale earlier. How he ended up on Kedzie Avenue making shwarma sandwiches was probably an interesting story.

He was of the school of whatever I do, I do very well. He certainly did a very good variation of the chicken shwarma sandwich with the garlic sauce.

The King as well as his sandwich are gone too soon.

The King is Dead. Long live the King.

Cathy2 wrote:He was such an elegant person, very pleasantly polite and had a demeanor which suggested he had been living life on a grander scale earlier. How he ended up on Kedzie Avenue making shwarma sandwiches was probably an interesting story.

He was of the school of whatever I do, I do very well. He certainly did a very good variation of the chicken shwarma sandwich with the garlic sauce.

Cathy,

Very perceptive. You are probably correct.

Though, I didn't get there as often as I would have liked, he made great sandwiches.

Very sad news.

Al

Cathy2 wrote:I'd been speculating in my mind what may have happened to his business. I never considered death of the man. He was such an elegant person, very pleasantly polite and had a demeanor which suggested he had been living life on a grander scale earlier. How he ended up on Kedzie Avenue making shwarma sandwiches was probably an interesting story.

He was of the school of whatever I do, I do very well.

This sounds very much like Ben Kingsley's character, Behrani, in the film House of Sand and Fog.

Erik M.

We need to establish an LTH Hall-of-Fame to go with our snazzy new calendar.

LTH,

I wrote the following after my first visit to Shawerma King. He will be missed.

Enjoy,
Gary
--

9/04/02

I was thinking of piggybacking this post onto Rob's 'I need a new Middle Eastern place', but I realized that Shawerma King does not have any of the attributes that he is looking for, except one, absolutely delicious shawerma. In light of Harry V's enjoyably literate post, I will try not to drift off into my usual hyperbole laden prose, though it will be difficult.

A few weeks ago I was about have lunch at Salaam when Shawerma King, which is across the street, caught my eye. I seemed to remember a tangential Chowhound reference to SK, but could not place the poster or even if it was a positive review, but I thought why not give it a try.

When I walked in my first impulse was to turn around and head back to Salaam, SK is not all that inviting, two spinning shawerma rotisseries in back of a chest high counter, a refrigerated case with premade salads, humus etc and a clear(ish) plastic tarp separating the order area from an eating area with a few Formica topped tables. It's not that I cared about the lack of ambiance, but, in my estimation, premade salads in little plastic containers are an indication of mediocre food. In this instance, I was very wrong.

The two-shawerma choices are beef or chicken, my typical shawerma order is beef, but the chicken seemed to be calling me, so one chicken shawerma it was. The man behind the counter seemed a bit disinterested in both me and my order, once again making me wish I had chosen Salaam, but for $2.75 I felt I could afford to at least try the sandwich. As soon as I ordered things immediately changed for the better, out of the dining area, through the plastic tarp, which was cut in the middle like a set of swinging doors, came, what could only have been the owner.

As soon as he was behind the counter he checked my order, then washed his hands, always a good sign, then proceeded to make the absolute best chicken shawerma I have ever had the pleasure to eat, and now firmly in my top ten sandwich list. (When I get around to making one up)

First he 'toasted' the pita by holding it up to the element on the rotisserie, then sliced meat directly into the pita he then added a bit of very thin sliced red onion and yogurt garlic sauce.

When I bit into the sandwich I got a hit of garlic, and just the faintest hint of curry, not really curry, but a deep rich flavor reminiscent of Indian curry. The meat was juicy, flavorful and the sauce, red onion perfectly complimented the meat. The sandwich was rolled tight in a paper wrap and quite hot.

The chicken on the shawerma cooker was a deep yellow color, which turned out to be saffron, real saffron, not annatto, this accounted for the deep rich, fragrant flavor.

Outstanding sandwich, just about perfect.

When I was leaving he gave me a taste of the beef, really good as well. He sprinkled sumac on the beef, which brought out the flavor.

When he gave me a taste of the beef, he did not just clump it on sandwich wrap. He carefully cut out a circle of pita, toasted it, then layered on a bit of meat, thin sliced red onion, then sprinkled with sumac.

Great sandwich, excellent attention to detail. I have been back twice since my first visit and am still head over heels for the chicken shawerma sandwich.

Shawerma King
4639 N Kedize
Chicago, IL 60625

Wow! That is sad news. I never ate at Shwerma King, because it is across the street from my favorite Middle Eastern dive, Salam. Best hummus in Chicago.

We haven't gone to Salam as often as we used to since our move to Skokie a few years ago. My husband recently met a friend there for dinner, and the proprietor asked him (somewhat suspiciously), "Where's your wife?" When he learned that I was home watching my son, he gave -- that's right, GAVE -- him an entire carryout dinner for me of my favorite Shish Taouk plus salad, hummus, rice, etc.

Salam
(773) 583-0776
4636 N Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60625

Franabanana wrote:Wow! That is sad news. I never ate at Shwerma King, because it is across the street from my favorite Middle Eastern dive, Salam. Best hummus in Chicago.

We haven't gone to Salam as often as we used to since our move to Skokie a few years ago. My husband recently met a friend there for dinner, and the proprietor asked him (somewhat suspiciously), "Where's your wife?" When he learned that I was home watching my son, he gave -- that's right, GAVE -- him an entire carryout dinner for me of my favorite Shish Taouk plus salad, hummus, rice, etc.

One of my favourite ways to breakfast is with Salam's mosabaha, torshi, olives, and warm pita. Have you tried their mosabaha, Franabanana? Mosabaha is a deconstructed hummous of sorts, with the whole chick peas playing a very formidable role in the mix. At Salam, they manage to punch it up quite a bit with ground sumac, garlic, green chile paste, and a very healthy slug of olive oil. To my palate, it has a much more satisfying interplay of texture and taste than does the hummous. Personally, I find their hummous to be quite flat. Not only do I find it wanting for additional citric tartness, but I also find the texture and taste of it to be sorely compromised by the use of canned chick peas. In my book--which was scribed during my years in The Gulf region--properly-fashioned hummous begins with reconstituted, not canned, chick peas. What can I say? I am picky. The mosabaha is my compromise.

You are so right to highlight the friendliness and generosity of the gentlemen that are employed there. It doesn't take long for them to take a shine to you, either. The day I knew that I had arrived was the day that I was presented with a platter of roasted bones to chew on.


torshi lift, cracked green olives, salata baladi, hummous with shawerma, and pita.


Regards,
Erik M.

Hi,

Today, while waiting forever for my chicken at Hecky's, I wormed my way into a conversation about BBQ. After some exchange of information, where I gave them LTHforum cards, one guy suggested I should be on 'Check Please.' I wasn't so sure I was interested and noted some restaurants food declined after the exposure. His friend commented how difficult it was to get to Noon O Kebab after CP exposure. Yes! Especially when there were other worthy restaurants down the street just waiting for business and largely ignored.

The conversation shifted to Middle Eastern in the Kedzie and Lawrence area. I brought up Noor commenting their falafel is made of fava beans rather than chickpeas. One guy advised fava bean falafel is Egyptian. I didn't hear it clearly, then he repeated and advised he is Egyptian himself. I then inquired if he knew Shwarma King, before he could answer his friend said they've been there many times. I advised the King is dead, which the Egyptian knew because he was a friend of his family. I advised on LTHforum it became a point of discussion, we all thought he was a wonderful man. I then learned something surprising: Shwerma King's brother is the owner of the Pita Inn.

Since Shwerma King died in December, there has been quite a bit of interest in the space his business occupied. It was suggested there was more interest in the space than in mourning the man. Some businesses located nearby were concerned Pita Inn might stake a new location there; which I doubt due to space size and parking challenges.

While we were on the topic of Pita Inn, I had an opportunity to confirm a theory about the place. Since the opening 16 months ago of the Milwaukee Ave location, the menu has been revised and the prices went up somewhat. I inquired if the next generation was now running the Pita Inns. This gentleman confirmed the owners son is now running the operations; who has an MBA from Northwestern.

I did offer our condolences be expressed to the Shwerma King's family.

Regards,

Somethins IS happening inside the space. It looks like it could be a bakery of sorts as there are lots of trays and bakery looking shelving--but thats just from the little I could see past the window coverings.

One guy advised fava bean falafel is Egyptian.

That I did -- in Egypt it is called 'tamiya'.

It was suggested there was more interest in the space...

As I understand it, Salaam is moving into that space or perhaps procured it.

ciao,

~ayman

Welcome Ayman,

I hope my report was faithful to our conversation today. It was nice meeting you and your friend. Though I continue to be quite surprised by your news Shwerma King and Pita Inn were brothers.

Best regards,

ayman wrote:

One guy advised fava bean falafel is Egyptian.

That I did -- in Egypt it is called 'tamiya'.

It was suggested there was more interest in the space...

Not to toot my own horn (of course, horn tooting always follows such disclaimers) but the same information was covered on the original thread about City Noor:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=980&highlight=noor+fava

Now, Ayman, where else can one get Egyptian food in Chicago?

rien

Hi,

The only thing to be careful of at City Noor is the cook is not Egyptian. One of the original hires was Egyptian, whom RST met immediately, but was quickly replaced for whatever reasons.

Noor herself is not Egyptian either. The falafel may be in the Egyptian style, however I believe that is about where the Egyptian connection ends.

Though I agree with Rien question: where do you get Egyptian food in the Chicago area?

Cathy2 wrote:where do you get Egyptian food in the Chicago area?

That is a very good question actually. Most of the Arab community here in Chicago is from Palestine or Lebanon. I've not been to Noor yet, but the only Egyptian Falafel I've seen here was at Souk (1552 North Milwaukee Avenue) a few years back, and it was served with a miso dipping thing. I recall the falafel being pretty authentic albeit pricey.

Rumor has it there are a few Egyptian places in Bridgeview as well as the Nefertiti Cafe here in Chicago. I guess I have some work cut out for me.

ayman wrote:As I understand it, Salaam is moving into that space or perhaps procured it.

My conversation with one of the countermen at Salam the other day suggests otherwise, at this point. He admitted that the owner of Salam tried to secure the Shawerma King space, but "something happened and it didn't work." Another counterman that was standing within earshot chimed in, saying, "If we need more space we should expand from side to side. That is what makes sense."

Regards,
Erik M.

I'm glad to have made it to Shwarma King before it closed.

So now, where is the best shwarma in the city? If someone could point me to the thread, that is... I've had a great one at taste of Lebanon (most other things on their menu are mediocre or worse)

Salaam, hands down, has the best shwarma as far as I'm concerned. I believe that they alternately layer lamb and beef, though I could be wrong. Very well spiced and not overly cooked.

PS, the Nile in HP is Egyptian. Haven't been there for a long while, but they used to have good whole fish preps (unusual for such places here in Chicago) and killer fattah.

What about the famed Egyptian-themed smoking cafes of Lawrence Ave.: Luxor, Nefertiti and Pharoahs? The guys smoking and playing cards all look like Omar Shariff. Very cool. Food selections are rather limited, however.

Is the Nile in HP related to the Nile on 63rd? The Nile on 63rd is outstanding.

The beef schwarma at Salaam is good. But I was disappointed with the chicken--pretty boring.

Re the Nile, there are several ME places named Nile in Chicago according to the listings. In addition to the ones discussed already, there is one in Bridgeview and (possibly) one on Kedzie near Lawrence. I have no idea which, if any, are related.

Hi,

This evening I visited the new Pita Inn on Dempster with an old friend. We had not seen each other for an entire week, so we had plenty to catch up. In face, we ended up closing the place.

I met the owner of Pita Inn who was seated nearby. He wanted to know how long ago was my first visit to Pita Inn. I guessed it was '87 or '88, though it may have been earlier.

I asked him something I had long wanted to ask: was Shawerma King his brother? He seemed surprised, because he never knew of any brother. I continued asking, because I remember Shawerma King mentioning he was a relative. I commented how he artfully arranged his shawerma sandwiches. I commented how regal he was. The lightbulb went off, Shawerma King was his cousin, not his brother. He was only 47-years-old when he died driving his car home. I fully recalled the circumstances, what surprised me was his age. I was certain he was much older, though sometimes people don't age as well.

For a moment this evening, Shawerma King was alive at least in my memory once more.

Regards,