Have a recommendation? We'd LOVE to hear it!
Salutations Readers!
Kalamazoo has good food.
Great food, in fact. We have made it our mission to check out all the local eateries one at a time - and more for our own poor memories than any other reason, we'll be chronicling our adventures in food here. And some places float our boats way more than others, which is why we have developed the very scientific five golden forks rating scale. Ok. It is not scientific at all. It is actually quite unscientific. But, it is something. And now, you can search all of our reviews by the forks rating. YAY!

But, wait! There's more!
Kalamazoo Foodies no longer just eat at restaurants then review them. There are recipes posted, some easy, some less easy, all delicious. There are, or will be, book reviews, the new Foodie Movie Review-y which will focus on movies about food or ones that have a lot of beautiful food in them. There are other food musings, and hopefully soon contests and so much more. But, Foodie Friends, it is all about food. Because we love it!
And, we want to hear from you!
We want to hear your comments on our recipes and reviews. We want to know where you love to eat. And, we are looking for GUEST bloggers to broaden our horizons a bit. And, if you haven't found us on Facebook, you should do that too. Like our page for other fun Foodies stuff like photos, polls, and more.

SO KALAMAZOO PATRONS - where do YOU love to eat? Because we'd love to check it out and share our thoughts here. Give us a comment below, and quickly! Our tummies are grumbling in anticipation.

A Note from the Foodies about our typical fair:
So, you may notice as you read our blog that we often order the same thing wherever we go. OK, maybe not quite, but we do often order similar things. Kristin has her caprese salads and mushroom dishes. Kate has her baked goat cheese and things with tofu. Well, readers, we wanted to let you know that this is absolutely intentional. A) We love those things, so why not order what you love? And, B) It is a lot easier to compare apples to apples than it is to compare apples to comquats. So, we like to order similar things to have a good sense of how to compare them. Just wanted to let you in on that little secret. Bon appetit!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Shawarma King on Westnedge

Kristin: Shawarma King Buffet
Before I begin, I would like to take you all through an excersize. Close your eyes, channel your inner Sean Connery, and say "Shawarama King." Ha. Awesome.
OoOoOoOkay. This is my first venture into the land of Lebanese dining, and sadly, it was pretty lask-luster. Hmph. Let's flesh this out step by step. The buffett was great in that I could try lots of different things that ordinarily I wouldn't have been able to. The humous was good but a little runny for my preference (went well with the frie
d pita chips though). The baba gannouj was very yummy-it reminded me of venison sausage to be honest. Probably the best thing was the Shawarma Chicken - a really unique flavor to me. The okra... okay not bad. The Beef Shawarma? Well that was just plain gross to me. So there were some good points... but none of the food was great enough that I'd bother to go back to Shawarma King. Sad day people.

one golden fork out of five

Kate: Shawarma King Buffet
Well, for all the talk this buffet got, it left a little to be desired. Now, don't get me wrong, it was alright, and it will, again, fill the middle eastern cuisine void caused when I moved away from Cbus. The hommous was pretty average, and the first round of falafel was good, but the second grab was a little bland. Now, I will give them the shawarma chicken. It was delicious, and I feel as though I should have followed the advice I was given on ordering the chicken shawarma sandwich, because it was definitely my favorite thing on the buffet. There were also some good green beans in a tomato sauce, yum!
Overall, not a bad experience, but nothing that blew my socks off. Though, they do offer the buffet-to-go which might be something to consider for the future...maybe.

two golden forks out of five

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3 comments:

timbo0812 said...

Having been a fan of middle-eastern cuisine for most of my life, I can sympathize with your disappointment of Shawarma King.

Middle-eastern fare is, and always will be, hit or miss: it is either quite fantastic, or quite uninteresting. There just doesn't seem to be a middle ground.

The problem is that the quality of the food will change day by day, depending on the mood (and, in some cases, the age) of the people preparing the food. My suggestion is go back and give Shawarma another try, possibly on a different day of the week then you went before.

Who knows? You may just be surprised!

August 28, 2008 at 1:05 AM
Kate L said...

Thanks for the comment. That has been my impression of middle eastern cuisine as well.

And, thanks for checking out our blog! Check back often for updates!

August 28, 2008 at 3:04 PM
Fred McTaggart said...

Hello,

I just happened upon your blog and love it. I'm a bit older than you two--have lived in Kalamazoo for nearly 35 years--but am still always on the lookout for ideas about where to find good food.

As for Shawarma King, my wife and I are regular carry-out customers of the Westnedge restaurant. We never go there for the buffet, even though it's probably a better deal than ordering from the menu. Donna always orders the shish tawook; I love the beef gallaya. We also order hommos, tabouli and garlic spicy potatoes (probably our favorite of all their dishes). Admittedly, the beef gallaya is always different depending on who is cooking for the night, but it's always full of lots of vegetables and a savory, spicy sauce. And for about $10, I usually get enough to last me three meals. Hommos and tabouli vary widely, but I like the style of Shawarma King's offerings--lots of garlic, lemon and olive oil. In fact, we have some in the refrigerator right now that I love as a spread on toast for lunch (hommos on the bottom, covered liberally with tabouli).

Anyway, I enjoy your blog and have gotten some ideas from it. If you're interested in wine, you might mosey over to my blog, www.artisanwine.blogspot.com, from time to time. Visitors and comments are always welcome.

Thanks,
Fred

November 22, 2008 at 11:48 AM

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