A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Pamela's Punch: Try Shawafel
Food blog Pamela's Punch recently tried Shawafel (1322 H Street) and was very pleased. I have to agree. Shawafel serves up excellent Lebanese food at a very affordable price.
Good food but pricey. I have to drop $20 to get full, which seems a bit much-- and I'm not alone, the reviewer had to get a chicken shwarma + a veg platter, which is $18.50 pretax, without a drink.
I think Shawafel is great and no more expensive than other places nearby. My husband and I eat here regularly and get two shawarmas and a salad to share for $22. I think that's a good price for fresh ingredients.
Anon 9:56 -- Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you just eat a lot? At Shawafel, a shwarma platter, or a sandwich + a side of hummus or baba ghanouj, leaves me with leftovers; and as my waist will sadly testify, I eat a ton of food. And that's $12-$13.
Anon 11:59 -- Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you just don't exercise enough (hence a low metabolism)? I also spend $20 each time I visit Shawafel. Prices are expensive for the fairly small amount of food provided.
Anon 9:01pm -- there's no question I don't exercise enough. But that ain't why it only costs me $12-$13 to get full at Shawafel. Heck, it costs me $9 to get full at McDonalds. Spending $3 or $4 more than I do at McDonalds doesn't seem like a lot to me. But we're all different I guess.
Anon 9:56 here. 6'4", 175, 32" waist. I do exercise daily and am on a 2600 calorie/day diet-- I think it's reasonable to expect a ~700 calorie meal for less than $20. The falafel and shwarmas are pretty small, as are the plates for over $10.
It's high quality, I agree-- but the price keeps me from becoming a regular. For the price of fast food at Shawafel I can get a sit down entree at most places on H.
This is a fascinating conversation, actually. I love Shawafel's platters, and one of them feels like a meal to me - but it feels like a relatively virtuous meal, and I tend to always snack on a bit from the platter I get for my wife.
I'd be tempted to ask for a bit more on there, too, but I'm not positive it doesn't just cost a decent amount for their ingredients and for their floor space.
For me, it's worth it, and I'm surprised to hear there are folks who don't feel fully with anything less than two platters' worth of food, but I can sympathize a bit with the main complaint.
If you want to eat cheap then cook it yourself, or go home to mom. Not sure where all of these entitled people are coming from who seem to think that someone else is suppose to cook their meal with high quality food, and a nice atmosphere for nothing. Shawafel has an excellent product at a very good price. Love that cauliflower! end of rant.
^^^ I don't think anybody is showing some sense of over entitlement here. Why is it so outrageous to have a discussion about price vs. quantity?
For me, it's more a question of wanting the business to succeed but questioning if they can at the price points they are offering. When people feel shortchanged by the amount of food for money, they tend to not come back. Obviously you don't, which is great, but others do, which is a potential problem for Shawafel and worth a discussion.
15 comments:
hmmm Lebanese food! This post is bringing back memories of my Honeymoon in Dubai - we found the best Lebanese food in Dubai. Tasty it was to!!
Yeahhh Alberto!
Had the Shawafel a few days ago and it was $$$. An excellent lunch option on H St.
Good food but pricey. I have to drop $20 to get full, which seems a bit much-- and I'm not alone, the reviewer had to get a chicken shwarma + a veg platter, which is $18.50 pretax, without a drink.
I think Shawafel is great and no more expensive than other places nearby. My husband and I eat here regularly and get two shawarmas and a salad to share for $22. I think that's a good price for fresh ingredients.
Anon 9:56 -- Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you just eat a lot? At Shawafel, a shwarma platter, or a sandwich + a side of hummus or baba ghanouj, leaves me with leftovers; and as my waist will sadly testify, I eat a ton of food. And that's $12-$13.
Anon 11:59 -- Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you just don't exercise enough (hence a low metabolism)? I also spend $20 each time I visit Shawafel. Prices are expensive for the fairly small amount of food provided.
6'1", 175, 32" waist (HWP)
Anon 9:01pm -- there's no question I don't exercise enough. But that ain't why it only costs me $12-$13 to get full at Shawafel. Heck, it costs me $9 to get full at McDonalds. Spending $3 or $4 more than I do at McDonalds doesn't seem like a lot to me. But we're all different I guess.
Anon 9:56 here. 6'4", 175, 32" waist. I do exercise daily and am on a 2600 calorie/day diet-- I think it's reasonable to expect a ~700 calorie meal for less than $20. The falafel and shwarmas are pretty small, as are the plates for over $10.
It's high quality, I agree-- but the price keeps me from becoming a regular. For the price of fast food at Shawafel I can get a sit down entree at most places on H.
You're spending $9 to get full at McDonald's? God created the dollar menu for a reason...
I'm fat and get full off $9 at shawafel. 5'6" 150 lbs. 32" waist
This is a fascinating conversation, actually. I love Shawafel's platters, and one of them feels like a meal to me - but it feels like a relatively virtuous meal, and I tend to always snack on a bit from the platter I get for my wife.
I'd be tempted to ask for a bit more on there, too, but I'm not positive it doesn't just cost a decent amount for their ingredients and for their floor space.
For me, it's worth it, and I'm surprised to hear there are folks who don't feel fully with anything less than two platters' worth of food, but I can sympathize a bit with the main complaint.
Food's fantastic, though.
"fully" => "full"
If you want to eat cheap then cook it yourself, or go home to mom. Not sure where all of these entitled people are coming from who seem to think that someone else is suppose to cook their meal with high quality food, and a nice atmosphere for nothing.
Shawafel has an excellent product at a very good price. Love that cauliflower!
end of rant.
^^^ I don't think anybody is showing some sense of over entitlement here. Why is it so outrageous to have a discussion about price vs. quantity?
For me, it's more a question of wanting the business to succeed but questioning if they can at the price points they are offering. When people feel shortchanged by the amount of food for money, they tend to not come back. Obviously you don't, which is great, but others do, which is a potential problem for Shawafel and worth a discussion.
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