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The Ayuby family wants to make Fort Washington the kabob capital of the metro area.
For years, Crystal City, Va., has reigned as home of the best Washington, D.C.-area kabob restaurants. In November, the Ayubys opened Crown Fried Chicken & Kabob House off of Indian Head Highway in Fort Washington, hoping to share their kabob expertise with an area largely unfamiliar with the traditional Afghan dish.
The menu isn't all kabob – Crown's fried chicken has a southern-style touch that separates it from chain chicken places.
Aliya Ayuby, who runs Crown with her father, Rahmutulla, the head cook; her mother, Sadika, the official kabob specialist; and her brother Raheem, who works behind the counter, said many restaurants that offer kabob are imitators.
Their chicken is often dyed a red color to give it an authentic kabob look, and it lacks the spices that make a true kabob, Aliya Ayuby said.
"So they have the color, but they don't have the flavor," she said on a recent night as lines of costumers formed at dinnertime.
Sadika Ayuby brings a lifetime of kabob know-how to Crown's, her daughter said.
"It's all about the person who cooks it," said Aliya Ayuby, 22, who lives in Accokeek and goes to medical school. "The person has to know what she's doing. She has to have passion for it."
The key to a good kabob is no secret, Aliya Ayuby said: plenty of olive oil, a fine mix of spices such as dried grape seed and lemon juice that adds moisture and kick to the meat.
Crown's menu includes a variety of kabobs, including lamb kabob ($9.75), lamb shop kabob ($12.99) and boneless chicken kabob ($8.50). Kabobs are served with a generous portion of tasty rice, a side order and chick peas that go perfectly with a side of warm bread.
Crown's chicken menu is extensive. Customers can choose the two-piece ($4.50), five-piece ($7.50), 10-piece ($12.99) and the 20-piece ($23.95), among other portion sizes. There's also the hot wings (five pieces for $4.99 up to 20 pieces for $11.99) served with french fries, and the kabob sandwich ($5.99), with a choice of seekh kabob, chicken or lamb.
For those who consider fried chicken an every-meal food, there's Crown's chicken and waffles. One waffle with four wings is $5.99, a waffle with six wings is $7.99 and a waffle with 10 wings is $9.50.
Customers from southern Prince George's County said they were excited to have a kabob house in their backyard. Several customers said they used to drive to Crystal City for their kabobs.
Jody Mesesso, a longtime Fort Washington resident, had just finished her first lamb kabob at Crown's, and she said it wouldn't be her last.
"It was tasty," said Mesesso, accompanied by her husband, Joseph. "And they have filling portions, for sure."
Wayne Miggins scanned the Crown menu before stepping in line on a recent evening, and marveled at the restaurant's early success.
"This place has opened the doors and just taken off," said Miggins of Fort Washington.
After his wife brought home Crown's spicy buffalo wings in early November, Fort Washington resident James Reid said he craved the wings for days, so he stopped in during a Tuesday dinner rush. This time, Reid said he would try the regular wings.
"They were cooked well and nice and tender," he said. "And the sauce – well, the sauce was great."
Crown Fried Chicken & Kabob House
11911 Livingston Road,
Fort Washington
Phone: 301-203-0010
Web site: www.crownchicken
andkabob.com
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to midnight
