Karam

This is my favorite go-to place when I am craving rotisserie chicken. Chicken is fresh and juicy. You get a ton of sides, hummus, pickled vegetables, pita, this amazing white garlic sauce. A whole meal for 2 people with leftovers for less than $20. I have only gotten take out so I can't vouch for the ambiance of the place. Also, the people there are not rude, they are just direct. One of my favorite restaurants in the hood.

The problem here is you never know what you're going to get. One time they have beets in their sandwich, the next they don't. Sometimes they put this fatty mayonnaise like thing on your sandwich other times they don't. And the service is so rude, it's not like you feel you can ask for no beets or no unappetizing white stuff. One time I did ask for no pickled beets and they shot at me "we don't put beets in the sandwich." Really? I must have imagined it last time. Skip this place, there's a reason it's cheap.

I agree with the previous reviewer--this place doesn't look like much at first glance, but the food is terrific -- be sure to try their "garlic sauce" (basically garlic cloves pureed with lemon and maybe olive oil...mmm!); their lentil soup is OUT OF THIS WORLD. The service is friendly. The chicken is fine but a bit dry sometimes. They have an interesting lineup of beverages in the cooler in the back, too (including a rose-flavored beverage that my beau and I like.) This place is right next to the yellow line so is easy to get to. It's become a Brooklyn favorite.

I can't believe no one's reviewed Karam yet -- it is one of the biggest reasons I miss living in Bay Ridge. This place offers cheap but fantastic Lebanese food right outside the 86th Street R stop -- a total hole-in-the-wall open until really late at night. At first I was intimidated by all the men hanging around outside, but they were all friendly and helpful in suggesting what to order. Definitely check out the chicken shawarma plate / sandwich and the parsley-and-mint super-infused tabouleh. The meat kebabs are very tender and juicy, especially the lamb -- get them with light, fluffy, savory rice, pitas, and their creamy yogurt-cucumber sauce. The spinach and meat pies are crispy and crunchy -- flavorful with good texture, but a bit dry. I'm not sold on the falafel, nor have they ever had french fries when I've gone. They offer a nice selection of Middle Eastern sodas and bakery goods (baklava is only the tip of the selection). But oh -- how I could write sonnets praising the Lebanese garlic sauce, called toum, that they serve with the platters. The stuff is so spicy and garlicky and addictive. It's not for the faint of heart.