Cairo Kebab

-Grubbing in Chicago  
Egyptian Food in University Village

There’s a popular social media account attempting to go around town and eat the cuisine of all 195 recognized countries around the world. It’s not possible to find food from all of them but as regular readers know there’s a ton of international eating options to be found around the Chicagoland area. Today we’re heading off to one of them near UIC - Cairo Kebab is the city’s only Egyptian restaurant.

Locals Favorite in University Village 

Cairo Kebab made the right call when they decided to move from their old location on Fullerton in Lincoln Park over to Maxwell street near UIC. I drove by their old location often and never saw people inside but it’s been busy with a diverse clientele on my two visits to their current address. Egyptian food relies heavily on vegetables and legumes but it’s also influenced by the Ottoman empire as well Lebanon and Syria. All of this influence can be seen on their menu which has hummus, falafel, shawarma, kebabs, and baklava among other things. But I zoomed in on two beloved Egyptian dishes. First up is the Hawawshi sandwich - a popular street food in Cairo and elsewhere around Egypt. It starts with pita stuffed with a mixture of ground beef mixed with onions, garlic, hot peppers, fresh herbs and spices. Hawawshi is said to have been invented in 1971 by an Egyptian butcher named Ahmed al-Hawawsh who sold them from a stall in Cairo before they eventually spread through the rest of Egypt. But food origin stories are always murky and Hawawshi is pretty similar to the Lebanese stuffed pita called Arayes which is said to have originated in ancient Middle Eastern cultures. So it’s more likely that Hawawshi is a rendition of Arayes but what I liked about the Hawawshi here was the flavorful combination of steamed beef and onions. It tasted like a well seasoned beirock.

Hawawshi at Cairo Kebab

Koshary, Egypt’s national dish, is the other menu item that caught my eye. This Egyptian staple mixes pasta, fried rice, vermicelli, lentils, and chickpeas with a garlicky tomato sauce. It comes topped with crispy fried onions plus the option to add garlic vinegar and hot sauce. I have no other experience with this dish to compare with the version I’ve had at Cairo Kebab but if online reviews are to be believed this is one of the best versions you can find in the States. Despite the overload of carbs I thought it was pretty great. It’s almost like a recipe out of one of those spiral bound church cookbooks and the likes except with lots of flavor. Both of the sauces offered on the side are outstanding with the hot sauce packing some real deal heat. It’s one of the better versions that I’ve found around town.

Koshary at Cairo Kebab

Cairo Kebab
730 W Maxwell St
Chicago, IL 60607
(224) 521-0649
Website