King Kebab offers much more than food court convenience
The Lamb Shawarma is pictured from King Kebab.
The Organic Mixed Greens Mediterranean Salad from King Kebab.
The baklava from King Kebab.
?Ah, the food court. That magical place that triumphantly evokes the melting pot of the American dream just by its clashing smells. The place one typically only chooses for convenience’s sake while buying socks and certainly only outright craves in moments of deep self-loathing. The land of chain restaurants and pretzels and pretzel restaurant chains.
So it came as a delicious surprise to discover King Kebab in the Provo Towne Centre Mall, a place which completely blew apart my preconceived food court notions. Selling Middle Eastern and Mediterranean shawarma, gyros and falafel, the first thing I wanted to clarify as I placed my order was whether it was a chain.
“No, it’s family-owned,” my server responded. “It wouldn’t taste this good if it were a chain.”
Once I took a bite of my lamb and beef shawarma, I had to agree. The sauce had a terrific flavor, and the thin Lebanese pita wrap tasted fresh. It came with French fries inside, which I understand is traditional, and tasted good to me.
The falafel came in a thicker, Greek-style pita bread, which also tasted fresh and had the right consistency.
I am always on the search for great falafel — or any falafel — in Provo, and I can’t believe this place has been under my nose the whole time in the last two and a half years. Every time I went to the Cinemark, I could have had my favorite chickpea treat. Both the creamy sauce and the spicy sauce made it taste delicious.
We ordered a beef shish kebab on the side, which came with different sauces to dip in, but I preferred the meat in my shawarma, with the trappings with vegetables and bread. On its own, the meat was a bit too much of a good thing, and the consistency was a tad rubbery, which was not the case with the wrap.
The lemonades and desserts are also freshly made, including baklava and Belgian chocolate candy. The chocolate was rich and dark — as all chocolate should be.
I couldn’t believe how much food we ordered for the price — until I remembered I was in a food court. For a moment, though, I had been transported to the streets of Jerusalem, or at least New York City, where I have actually been, and where I first came to appreciate this particular kind of food.
In the Provo area, there are so few places to order a shawarma or a falafel wrap, discovering a new place is exciting.
And again, the location — the only location — for King Kebab is inside the Provo Towne Centre Mall. So there is no question that next time I find myself at the sad apex of hunger, laziness and already-being-at-the-mall, I will definitely be returning to King Kebab. But it’s much better than that: As my dining companion said as we finished our meal, “I would come back here just for this.”
And more than likely, the next time I eat at King Kebab it will be a special trip just to get my falafel fix.
And maybe on the side, I’ll go to a movie for convenience.
KING KEBAB
Where: 1200 Towne Centre Blvd., Provo
Prices: $1.59-$8.45
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Info: facebook.com/pages/King-Kebab/621878077869269