Finishing Andy Shalal’s autobiographical book A Seat at the Table (OR Books, 2025), I said to myself, “This fellow tells a great story.” I should have said many great stories, because this eminently readable and highly enjoyable volume is brimming over with terrific tales.
Anas Shallal’s family moved to Washington D.C. from Iraq in 1966, when he was 11 years old. His father had accepted a position with the U.S. office of the Arab League. Like any 11-year-old would be, Anas was overwhelmed by his new life in a new place, where he did not know the habits and customs, and where he did not speak the language. He had to deal with teasing and name calling, nasty cracks about his lack of English, the “weirdness” of his name – kids called him “Anus” — his whole first year.
But like just about any 11-year-old in the same circumstances, he figured out how to stay quiet, out of the way, and reasonably safe while he learned the ropes. When somebody called him Andy one day, the name stuck.
After less than 2 years at the Arab League, Andy’s dad left his job and bought a pizza restaurant near where the family lived. Dad had no wish to be a restaurateur, but he had to support his family, and when the popular neighborhood dining spot became available, he purchased it. That was a fateful move for Andy, because working in a pizza joint launched him on a lifelong trajectory that took him into the restaurant business, political protest, support of the arts, involvement with all manner of brilliant, talented, cranky and committed people.
Andy was a smart kid and graduated from high school at age 15. He did what his parents expected by entering college to pursue a career in medicine. But he had no interest in doctoring and dropped out of school after a short time. On the loose, he had to make a living, and working at the Pizza Kaezano was a natural. And he found out pretty quickly that he loved it, putting in long hours perfecting his kitchen skills and the fine points of providing first-class service. He loved the art of satisfying customers’ needs, memorized the favorite dishes of the regulars, and chatted with them about their families. The skills he developed on that first job, he continued to cultivate as he went on to work in several first-class restaurants in and around Washington D.C., where he encountered people of position and power while serving them plates of escargot and exquisite lemon souffles.
Then Andy was ready for the next step, a restaurant of his own – or in this case, a restaurant in financial partnership with his father and brother. Skewers, serving Middle Eastern food, was in a townhouse in the heart of D.C., where bureaucrats and politicians and journalists and art collectors and non-profiteers could stop in for lunch. The Sallals added another restaurant on the floor above Skewers — Café Luna, serving the evening crowd.
At the same time that Shallal was running the restaurants, he was also becoming increasingly involved in citizen politics. He was more interested in the left shoulder of the road than the white line down the middle. He opposed the first Iraq war, got involved in Jerry Brown’s campaign for president, and at the request of a regular restaurant patron, Ralph Nader, hosted a hugely successful evening with Howard Zinn in a space on the top floor that he filled with books, dubbed Luna Books and Democracy Center. Andy began to envision how a restaurant could be something so much more than just a place to eat. Following that first event with Zinn, he produced a couple more — a production of Zinn’s play, Marx in Soho, and the launch of his autobiography, You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train.
Andy finally ended the business arrangement with his father and brother so he could operate on his own terms. His brain was bubbling over with new ideas for restaurants and theaters and gathering spaces for activists. When you read the book you’ll be amazed at his fecund mind, his ease in making friends of the famous as well as ordinary folks, his commitment to peace and justice and excellent comestibles. And you will surely appreciate the energy and experience and vision that brought Busboys and Poets into existence. And today there are several Busboys and Poets in the D.C. area.
A short review cannot do justice to the wealth of stories contained in this highly entertaining book nor to the spirit of the man who wrote it. At the end of the book, Andy writes:
I knew now that I had created something more than a restaurant. Busboys and
Poets would be a sanctuary for those that believe that a better world is possible.
not Black, not white, just human beings looking to connect with other like-minded
folk…
To be continued …
Andy Shallal is a guy you’d like to have a meal with.