Shamshiry Express

The fourth installment of my "Kabob Kompendium" profiling various joints in the region that can be broken down into a set of common criteria: 1)ethnic focus 2) kabobs 3)side dishes 4)rice 5)condiments 6)bread 7)dining experience 8) unique dishes 9)x-factor(s).1)Ethnic focus: PersianThe hallmark for Persian cuisine for me is the unique preparations of their rice dishes, with combinations of fruits and nuts or herbs and legumes, and they have a rotating set of daily specials showcasing these rice dishes depending on which day of the week you are coming in, as opposed to the parent restaurant where all options are available on any given day. 2) Side dishes: one gets a quarter wedge or a raw onion and a charred tomato so nothing too exciting here. The tomato makes sense to me since it adds a tart note that can be mixed into the rice, but I haven't quite figured out how to make do with the raw onion other than for a good cry over the lack of better side dishes. Fellow Persian yelpers feel free to enlighten me.3) Rice: well cooked fluffy basmati rice w/ a touch of saffron. The flavored rice specials are good but not exceptional compared to other Persian joints I've frequented. They definitely do not skimp on quantity so one can definitely easily make a single entree stretch to 2 meals to go easy on the wallet. I've been told one can request the desirable crispy panfried rice at the bottom of the cooking vessel aka tahdig (the Taye Diggs of rice, haha) so bonus points to make up for the sad side dishes.5) Condiments: no yogurt sauce (although perhaps on request?) but there is a spicy jalapeno relish which adds a spice note but lacking umami so one is left with an abundance of carbs from the mountain of rice and the complimentary pita bread, with a paucity of seasoning.6) Bread- ultra thin pita with a nice crisp on the edges with good central chew, but sorely in need of flavor either in the form of wrapping it with meat or a good dipping sauce7) Dining experience- take out only, but accepts call ahead orders which are promptly made to order in 10-15minutes8) Unique dishes: the daily specials and the ever-so intriguing "Tongue Sandwich" prominently displayed on their wall menu...so many questions, what animal, what style of preparation, what condiments, what type of bread. Cat got your tongue or curiosity may have killed the cat? Perhaps I will experience both upon making this order.9) X-factor: While I am no self-proclaimed expert on takeout Persian food, I do consider myself a bonafide bargain hunter on good lunch deals, and the daily special is definitely excellent value for quantity with respect to quality. While some 4.5 star experiences are downgraded due to upcharge in price, this one is a 3.5 star food experience elevated to 4 stars based on value and prompt service.Looking forward to checking out their actual restaurant to weigh in on their sit-in dining experience.

This is a no-frills, high quality, take out kabob shop. I only typically get the koobideh, which includes two skewers of beef, a roasted half tomato, and plethora of rice to soak up the juicy fat and butter. It's reasonably priced and provides good value for the meal you're getting. The take out container is stuffed and the meat is succulent. Highly recommended.

Shamshiry Express (SE) to get your ground beef Kabab and rice. Every time we have a potluck I always come to SE and get about 20 orders of them. Not a bad deal at all but sometimes they don't give you enough rice, sauce, and bread so be sure to check. Staff is very nice and always get a nice tip from me. Sometimes they will help you take your stuff to your car but majority of the time you have to do it yourself which is fine. I keep coming back here for whenever I have big orders.

I cannot say enough about my positive experience at this carry out restaurant. The gentleman at the front was so hospitable he even offered me hot tea to enjoy while I waited for my food to be prepared fresh. The inside is not much to look at to be honest but, most of the best places to get delicious food carry out aren't the best aesthetically! I went around 2:30 PM and there was another customer inside and he was paying and picking up his order and brought in fresh baklava and offered it to the man behind the counter as well as me... at that point I was like oh yea.. I knew this place was going to be a regular stop when I'm in the Tysons area. I drove my food back to my home over an hour in traffic before we got to enjoy it and it was still hot and it absolutely exceeded my expectations. I will be going back here and he even gave me some of the burnt rice(tahdig) that I love so much.

Not surprisingly, this is the same food as Shamshiry just at a discounted price (conceivably because the Express restaurant doesn't have any seating inside so you have to take your food to go).If you're a professional kabob-eater like some of my friends claim to be, you may want to get a raw egg on the side (and add it to your rice right when your entree comes out, allowing the heat to cook the egg) which you really can't do at Shamshiry Express.I am also giving it 4 stars because although the food is comparable to Shamshiry, there have been two occasions (out of maybe 20 times that I've called, so not that often - just 10% in my experience) where the phone just rang and no one would pick up so I could place the to-go/carry-out order. In both these instances I ended up just placing the to-go order at the main restaurant which cost me a few dollars more but wasn't a big inconvenience since the restaurants are located within a half mile of one another on the same street.

It is not the same as Shamshiry in Tysons!!! I assumed that food quality, service and cleanliness would be the same thinking that this location was operated by same owners. If it is, it was quite disappointing! The menu board vague with no description of food items. When I asked for a menu so I can add to my order the lady just said that they were out of menus and Just pointed to the non descriptive menu board above.The place looks like a stock room as it had boxes of floor to ceiling. I was already uneasy to pick up my phone order and was further dismayed to see that lady at the counter had taken her mask off as she was taking trays of what looked like catering orders into a storage bin. When I asked if they are preparing my food with no mask on, she told me that chef wears mask as she points in the direction of the kitchen which didn't give me much confidence since I couldn't see passed the boxes.When I got my Lamb kebob salad, it had one cube of feta cheese, a tablespoon of dressing in a condiment cup. Salad was good but not worth almost $18.00. Will never visit this place again!

Shamshiry express is a take-out only kabob place hidden in a strip mall on Tyco road. I got the daily special which was shirin polo chicken. The bone-in chicken had nice saffron flavor, the rice had nice orange, pistachio flavor, the bread was decent. All that was missing was the yogurt sauce that all kabob places should have. Also the meal came with a spicy cilantro sauce and a raw onion. Both seemed out of place with this entree. My coworker Allen got the chicken kabobs, came with the same sauce, raw onion and still no yogurt sauce.

What was once my go to place for kabobs, I am saddened at my most recent experiences. 1) The prices went up for 1/2 rice 1/2 salad. Why I don't know, neither cost much.2) The bread is handled by the cashier who handles your money.3) I ordered carry out, and it took another half an hour after I arrived for it to be ready. I had no other customers in front of me. No apology or re numeration given.4) The staff seem to change every time I try to see if this place has gotten better.

The service was significantly delayed. I stood at the counter, waiting to pay, as the cashiers were distracted, chatting and laughing in the back, completely unaware of my presence. including that the quality of my order was disappointing, with the chicken being partially burned and having an unpleasant taste.

It was my first time in Shamshiry, a friend of mine told me about it but unfortunately I got disappointed by their services. The waiter who was an Iranian waiter treated us in a very discriminated way and ignored our order so I had to call another waiter and placed my order. It took about 30 minutes to get an Ice cream. I don't recommend this restaurant to any of my friends.