Food Corner Kabob House

by Gene W.

I am a Kabob snob. I love the authentic stuff. Shamshiry is the best Persian/Middle Eastern restaruant around. I of course, would love to try different places as well. In the Tysons/Vienna/McLean area, kabob restaurants are popping up like weeds. This place, Kabob House, is located in the Tysons Plaza, where Pier One, Marshalls, Sports Authority and CompUSA are located. This specific location once housed Chesapeake Bagel Bakery. The place isn't too big. Has about 10-12 tables with some booth seating too. I visited today, around 12.30pm on a Sunday so it wasn't too busy. The dude who took my order seemed new and his English wasn't too good (it doesn't matter) so he was struggling to take my order. Some other guy helped him out. I ordered to go. I usually like order 2 entrees so I can have one for lunch/dinner and one for leftovers for lunch at work tomorrow. I selected the Combo Kabob- chicken and shami/ground beef ($9.15) and the Veggie Kabob ($8.85). Seems a little more expensive than other places by a buck or two. So I am sitting there waiting on my take-out. And sitting and sitting. They have a flat screen tv high above the wall with a dvd player and some Afghani soap/musical/movie was playing pretty loud. And waiting. After 15 mins I got my food. I got 3 pieces of chicken and a short piece of shami/kubideh, side salad w/italian dressing(?), small bed of rice with a choice of: Sabzi/fried spinach, Kadu/sauteed pumpkin, Gulpi/Cauliflower, Cholle/Chick peas, and others. Most are stewed in some sauce, on top of the rice, and a huge piece of Fresh Afghan bread/pita. Looks more like an oval frisbee it was large. Same when for the veggie kabob of tomatos, green peppers and onion. The portions are definitely smaller than Friends, Moby Dick, and Shamshiry. This place is average to below average when compared to other kabob places. Heck even their Chatni sauce (japaleno-garlic yogurt based) wasn't average. Not even close to spicy. Boooooooo...I won't be coming back here again. But, I am glad I tried it so at least I know that this place is one to avoid in my book.  BLAH!Anyway, you can get items like kabob sanwiches ($6.25), special platters ($9.75-$11.75), entrees ($8.85-$11.50), kabobs ($9.75-$16.75) comes with rice, bread, salad, and Chatni sauce), vegetarian dishes ($8.85), salads ($8.85-$10.75), and side orders ($1.25-$5.50). I will label this place moderate cause after you get the meal and the soda, it will most likely cost you over $10. But you can certainly go under but not likely.Maybe I should get a Yelp! shirt so they know they will be reviewed. Heh heh...maybe better service and food too!___________________________________________Update 9.02.07: I went back to my friends at "Friend's Kabob" and ordered their kabobs again. I counted 6 pieces of chicken vs. this trifling place's 3 pieces. I will down grade Kabob House to 1 star now. (see my Friends Kabob review for updated pictures of the remodeled "hole in the wall".)

by o f.

It was OK........I liked their chick peas and their prices are pretty decent!

by Lilli M.

Mmm!  I like coming here for their sandwiches b/c the price is right ($6.25).   I came again today for their lamb kabob sandwich; tasty marinated meat and plenty of veggies (the standard lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers).  I wouldn't have minded a bit more meat but I'll grant you that the sandwich was pretty full as is.The cashier was very, very friendly towards me -- perhaps a bit overly friendly but hey, I guess if I was a guy working in an all-male environment, I'd get bored too.  Too bad he wasn't the food server, or I def would have tried to take advantage of that (JK).The only thing is, which I'm not sure is standard practice b/c I've been to other kabob places, is that they charge extra if you want green or yogurt sauce.  Like, your kabob sandwich already comes with sauce.  But if you want a little container of the green/white sauce (not sure if that's yogurt sauce or not), they'll charge you an extra 50 cents or so for it,.  That seems a little -- cheap? -- to me.  Again, I haven't seen that done in other kabob places but that doesn't mean it isn't so just take that with a grain of salt.Other than that, the kabob sandwich was very tasty and if it was just easier to get into this plaza -- you can't turn left on Route 7 if you're heading west, so you have to devise another clever means to get into this plaza -- I'd def be by more often.

by Angela G.

lots of veggie options = yay! pumpkin, spinach, potatoes, chickpeas, okra, eggplant, etc... you get to pick 3 and then either rice (good, but bland) or bread (toasty warm).  It's a bit pricey, but i personally think they give BIG portions.  Enough for two meals, for me anyway... service ambiance = meh. definitely nothing to write about. It's an "order at the counter" type place, though, so really, how much COULD there be to talk about?

by Jimena M.

***3.5***Came here after some xmas shopping and battling the horrific traffic that clogs every street in tysons this time of the year.  Needless to say I was hungry and frustrated.  Me get angry when hungry! The place was packed with afghanis so that's always a good sign.  I settled on the Shami Kabob (9.15). This is basically like kubideh.  I found it to be spiced a little too much. There was no heat, just too much cumin/coriander and something else I couldn't put my finger on. I had to have a bit of meat with salad or rice to tone down the spice.  The meat also tasted like lamb, even though the menu says it's ground beef. Maybe it was the spices?  It was aiight.  I did however enjoy the fluffy long grain basmati rice, their chick peas in a flavorful sauce, their salad was fresh and well dressed with a nice vinaigrette.  Finally, the bread was also warm and delicious.  I LOVE their chatni sauce, like a spicy yogurt that goes well with everything.  I had to ask for another one.  The guys doing the cooking were nice and got my food out quickly.  Thus my monster was tamed.  I will be back but after xmas cuz that f'ing traffic sux a$$. uh oh angers coming back..gotta go get lunch.

by Don C.

Eh, service was good and management seems nice, but that was pretty much it. Their food is good, but not worth their price. I think their portions are quite small, and they could definitely give more. At one point, they were even charging for extra sauce for the kabobs which really ticked me off. Most of their side orders are made from canned meats and beans. Not very fresh in my opinion.

by Percy W.

I lunched here a few weeks ago and I loved it!  The wait was horrendous at 12:30 and they have some operational issues but the food was delish.  I had a combo with the chicken and beef kebab.  They have a wide variety of fresh sides - I had curry potatoes.  Yum yum.  Bread and rice are excellent. I can't wait to go back but not during lunch hour - if you do, I suggest going at 11:30 or at 2.  I'm going to try to go to the Annandale location soon too.  I prefer this place to Kabob Palace but all three locations of Kabob House are a trek from DC/Arlington.

by Jeff W.

I've heard great things about Food Corner so I was hoping to find an exceptional afghan kabob place near work.  It's pretty good, but still not what I'm looking for.  For lunch, the prices are outstanding.  I got chicken and shami for $8.99.  The rice is just bland unseasoned basmati and the chickpea side was ok, but nowhere near as good as Kabob Palace or Ravi.As for the meats, Jimena is spot on regarding how excessively spiced it all is.  The seasoning is just far too intense and it overpowers any of the natural flavor of the meat, especially the shami.  Meats were cooked well but it just tasted so unbalanced and excessive.One really big highlight for me was the salad dressing.  As a KP regular, I know to always request no salad but here the salad is a plus.  The dressing is quite good and I wouldn't hesitate in accepting it again, over the possibility of more bland rice and average tasting chickpeas.In the grand scheme of kabobs, I find Food Corner to be maybe slightly above average.  For the immediate area, I'm not sure there are better afghan kabobs around.  But there are far better kabobs in northern VA and I'd choose almost all the nearby persian places (Amoo's, Shamshiry, Rose Kabob) over Food Corner.  Still, the value at lunch is undeniable.

by Justin R.

Ive been here several times and usually try the Chicken with bone. What I dont understand is everytime I have it, it tastes different. One time it was spicy, the other time it was average, another time it was great. Other than that, it's a really good place for Kabob. I have yet to try any of their other menu options so maybe I'll check it out next time.

by Stephen T.

I've been here a half-a-dozen times, half the times this place is amazing, the other half, the food is merely passable.I hypothesize it has to do with the people on duty, whenever the food is great, I have a older kinder gentleman at the helm, and the food is fantastic.  Everything is perfectly cooked, the bread is crispy on the outside, nice and chewy inside.However, I've also ate here when the kabobs were overcooked and dry, and bread undercooked.  But when this place gets it right, its very good.