Tips for Dining, Eating, and Food Shopping in DC/Baltimore and Suburban Virginia
Start New ThreadI happened upon Urfa Tomato Kebab in Chinatown. It is a small, Turkish Doener Kebab place. I had the basic Doener and loved it. It's not the best one I've ever had, but the best one, and one of the very few, that I have had in the DC area. It's worth a try if you like Doener.
By ChewFun
on Jul 26, 2009 05:54 PM
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A very very strong second to this recommendation. I just sampled the basic Istanbul doner, and I was extremely impressed. This is definitely the best Middle Eastern sandwich (felafel, schawarma-type) that I have had in DC. The bread was fresh and delicious, the meat was amazing (none of that sketchy gyro meat stuff, but instead seemed to be high quality beef and lamb), the vegetables were fresh, and the sauces were subtly flavored. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to go back and try the hummus.
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Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to return yet.
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I thought it was pretty good, but both times we were there they were quite rude.
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They weren't rude to us at all, though they weren't busy or anything so maybe they had the time to be nice.
Frankly, even if they had been rude to me, I loved the sandwich so much it wouldn't matter! I really think it's exceptional for DC.
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Going to have to disagree strongly here... love doner kabobs, but will never return here. Went with my BF with high hopes since we live nearby, but we didn't even finish our meals and just threw them out. Bad meat, bad bread, extremely poor service. Super sketchy all around.
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Sorry that you had a bad experience. I have not had a chance to go back yet. I did say in my original post that it was not the end all be all of doener. Also, I went on a Sunday at 6:30 p.m. and there was just one other customer. They were very nice
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I had the doner with the fries inside. It was pretty tasty, but nothing special. I did however really like the tomato-ey sauce that came with it. Really flavorful. I prefer the doner at Cafe 8; not the usual streetfood but still flavorful.
I went to Urfa for lunch on a Tuesday just as they opened and was served promptly and courteously.
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Monkey, I am curious about both sandwiches you mentioned--the one with the fries on top and the other one. Was the one w/ the tomato sauce really spicy? I read that it comes with yogurt and spicy sauce. Is it the one you had? Am not familiar w/ Cafe 8, but am curious about that too. Merci.
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I work nearby and totally agree with your assessment. .
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I think timing might be key here. I live near by, and around lunch and early evening have found these to be pretty good. Not amazing, and lots of bread to meat, but good sauces and overall tasty. But, we once ordered delivery fairly late, at like 9pm or so, and everything was stale and awful, nearly inedible. Once my husband went in there, waited around for 5 min or so, and no one seemed to be there, no one came out to take his order. Overall, this place has potential but is woefully inconsistent.
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This is very sad news. I will have to try it again and see if it knocks my socks off like last time.
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I went here yesterday for the first time - had the "Athens" doner, which included feta cheese. For me, it was so-so. The bread was fresh and good, but it would have been better had it been hot. I liked both the sauces very much and the toppings were fresh. The meat was pretty dried out and awful. The service was fine - I was there during a slow time (about 6:00 p.m.). I doubt I'll go back anytime soon - mostly because a place I like better (China Express) is next door. Still, additional places to grab a decent and inexpensive (about $7.00) meal are always welcome.
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Opinions here seem pretty split. I'm now on the fence as to whether this place is worth trying. If the meat is as bad as some people have said, it may not be worth it.
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I say it is worth trying but then I've only been once. It is not good enough for a special trip.
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Thanks, ChewFun. I definitely wouldn't make a special trip there. With two of my favorite places nearby--Jaleo & Teaism--it may be a while before I make it to Urfa TK.
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Went back and had the doner kebab last night. Not good. The previously amazing spicy sauce had a very strong unpleasant chemically flavor, the bread was soggy in parts, the butter/oil pooling in the bottom of the sandwich kind of grossed me out. Too bad, this place had real potential. I withdraw my recommendation!
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I was in the neighborhood today and skipped it. I went to Nando's Piri Piri. That place was pretty good.
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