Zaina is just a beak better than Habashi House

When I called my order in to Zaina (25 East 12th Street) earlier this week, the man who answered asked when I wanted to pick up my sandwich.

“Ten minutes,” I suggested.

“No, that’s too long. It will all be gone by then. Hurry. Hurry,” he said before breaking into laughter.

It’s nice to see the to-go service at a restaurant come with a side of humor, but could the Shawarma chicken live up to the hype? That was the question in this week’s battle, which pitted Zaina’s sandiwch against the chicken gyro at Habashi House (309 Main), in the City Market.