For decades — decades — Tania’s Pizza in a Royal Oak party store has quietly assembled one of metro Detroit’s top pizzas, becoming something of an institution for its incredible stuffed pies.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kebab, a carryout restaurant in a Berkley Mobil gas station, grew in recent decades to become a nationally lauded shawarma spot, which largely owed to the work of its chef, Kal Al-Amara. He now runs the awesome Kal’s Lunch Bowl in Royal Oak.
Folks, the universe has smiled upon us: the two restaurants at the top of Detroit’s shawarma and pizza games have teamed up, creating a dish that deserves to be in the region’s best slice conversation — the stuffed shawarma pizza. Kal’s makes the chicken or beef shawarma, and Tania’s stuffs it between its garlic-butter crusts with a combo garlic-red sauce and pickles in the chicken pie, or, in the beef version, garlic-red sauce, onion, tomatoes, and beets.
The Tania’s-Kal’s stuffed shawarma pizza ascends to the same high echelon of Detroit slices as all the kings — the Salami Kilpatrick from Pie-Sci, anything from Loui’s, the eponymous pizza from Supino, and the dill pickle soup pizza from HenriettaHaus. That’s high praise.
Like several of the pizzas on that list, it’s only available from time to time, so you’re going to want to call Tania’s for availability, or visit Kal’s in the Royal Oak Farmers Market on Saturdays, when slices are often available.
For those who aren’t familiar with the duo, Tania’s is about to celebrate its 38th birthday, and is helmed by brother and sister Amos Sheena and Tania Nonah, and her husband. As Sheena tells the story, their dad was in between jobs, delivering pizza for Domino’s when the party store less than a mile from their house went up for sale.
He knew the convenience store biz so he bought it. The family is Chaldean, or Iraqi Christian, and they loved a portable dish like a meat pie, Sheena explained, and they loved pizza, so the stuffed pizza concept was born.
A double crust runs the risk of drowning out the filling, but Tania’s beats that pitfall with a buttery garlic crust that enhances what’s sandwiched inside. Moreover, they cram so much cheese, sauce, and other toppings in that it practically demands two crusts. It also makes for a hefty pie. For reference, I can finish three slices of Loui’s Detroit-style pizza. Tania’s stopped me at two-and-a-half slices.
The shop is in a neighborhood in Royal Oak, and it seems everyone who grew up in the area who ate pizza knows and loves it. Sheena says folks who have moved away come back to town to visit and make Tania’s their first stop from the airport.
The shop has always toyed with inventive toppings — at times making everything from coney dog to Thanksgiving dinner pizzas — so when Sheena’s cousin’s husband, Al-Amara, opened Kal’s, a shawarma pie was a natural fit.
For those unfamiliar with Kal’s, Al-Amara grew Mr. Kebab in the Mobil at 12 Mile and Collidge roads until June 2020 when he decided to retire. But he was soon cajoled back into the mix by noted Royal Oak restaurateur Seymour Shwartz, and Kal’s is now humming out of an unassuming carryout window at the Royal Oak Farmers Market, though, unlike the market, it’s open seven days per week.
The pies’ red sauce-garlic sauce is bright and fragrant, there’s definitely synergy in the garlic and pizza sauce, which makes sense. Pickles and red sauce seemed like an odd combination but look it works, perhaps because Middle Eastern pickles are a bit different from U.S.-style. One can also get the pizzas with just garlic sauce, though that really misses out on a dimension.
Tania’s stuffs an enormous amount of chicken or beef into the pie, which Al-Amara says is staying with tradition — Middle Eastern restaurants are known for their abundant plates.
The pizza is not on the menu at either restaurant, but instead is more of a special run from time to time, so call ahead if you’re looking for one.
