Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Welcome to Ottawa Shawarma!
A funny thing happened a few years ago. A buddy of mine moved away from Ottawa. He got the big job in the Bay Area - Silicon Valley, Fat salary - Goodbye suckers! The following Christmas he caught a flight back home to spend the holidays with friends and family. I hadn’t seen him in six months. The first thing he said to me? “Man we got to get a shawarma! You don’t know how much I miss Lebanese! You have no idea how good you got it.”
Ottawa is blessed with great people from many backgrounds. One of those diverse groups is the Lebanese community. According to Statistics Canada’s 2001 census, Ottawa has the highest proportion of people of Arabic decent of any city in Canada. Somewhere along the way of integrating into Ottawa society, some people of the Lebanese community decided to open restaurants. These restaurants became famous for the shawarma, a combination of slow-roasted seasoned chicken or beef (lamb is rare in Ottawa) rolled into a piece of unleven pita bread with tomato, onions, garlic sauce and the signature topping: pickled turnips and beets. Ottawa and shawarma, a love story was born.
It seems that in the city core almost every street corner has a Lebanese restaurant. Now they are starting to appear more and more frequently in the suburbs too. Shawarma King, Shawarma Queen, Shawarma Station, Shawarma Place, Shawarma Shack. It goes on and on. I started calling these eateries shawarmaries.
I’ve eaten at so many of the years I couldn’t begin to count. Centretown, Lowertown, West End, East End, Gatineau, The Glebe. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted or anything, but like most Ottawans, I’ve acquired a taste for the stuff and get my fix when ever the urge strikes. And it strikes often.
Most are “ma-and-pa shops” run by the family. Their friends hang out. They laugh and tease each other in Lebanese, English, French or whatever is the language of the day. There’s a TV on, it’s blaring some Lebanese version of a music-video. The dour father keeps a careful eye on his beautiful daughter as she works the register. I smile at her when he lurks back into the kitchen.
However recently there may be a move towards consolidation. The first signs of “chain” are starting up. I’m all for the entrepreneurs who run these businesses to become a great success, but I’m scared that “chain” will mean “boring”. It would be a great loss if they hired any old person to work the counter or even worse, the kitchen. I don’t want to walk into Shawarma Heaven and be greeted by the pimply guy that just got fired from the McDonald’s down the street. I love the idiosyncrasies of the experience. I revel in the differences, the subtle nuances of flavour and most of all the great characters you meet.
So that’s what this website is all about, celebrating all the many shawarmaries across the city.
Ottawa is blessed with great people from many backgrounds. One of those diverse groups is the Lebanese community. According to Statistics Canada’s 2001 census, Ottawa has the highest proportion of people of Arabic decent of any city in Canada. Somewhere along the way of integrating into Ottawa society, some people of the Lebanese community decided to open restaurants. These restaurants became famous for the shawarma, a combination of slow-roasted seasoned chicken or beef (lamb is rare in Ottawa) rolled into a piece of unleven pita bread with tomato, onions, garlic sauce and the signature topping: pickled turnips and beets. Ottawa and shawarma, a love story was born.
It seems that in the city core almost every street corner has a Lebanese restaurant. Now they are starting to appear more and more frequently in the suburbs too. Shawarma King, Shawarma Queen, Shawarma Station, Shawarma Place, Shawarma Shack. It goes on and on. I started calling these eateries shawarmaries.
I’ve eaten at so many of the years I couldn’t begin to count. Centretown, Lowertown, West End, East End, Gatineau, The Glebe. I wouldn’t say I’m addicted or anything, but like most Ottawans, I’ve acquired a taste for the stuff and get my fix when ever the urge strikes. And it strikes often.
Most are “ma-and-pa shops” run by the family. Their friends hang out. They laugh and tease each other in Lebanese, English, French or whatever is the language of the day. There’s a TV on, it’s blaring some Lebanese version of a music-video. The dour father keeps a careful eye on his beautiful daughter as she works the register. I smile at her when he lurks back into the kitchen.
However recently there may be a move towards consolidation. The first signs of “chain” are starting up. I’m all for the entrepreneurs who run these businesses to become a great success, but I’m scared that “chain” will mean “boring”. It would be a great loss if they hired any old person to work the counter or even worse, the kitchen. I don’t want to walk into Shawarma Heaven and be greeted by the pimply guy that just got fired from the McDonald’s down the street. I love the idiosyncrasies of the experience. I revel in the differences, the subtle nuances of flavour and most of all the great characters you meet.
So that’s what this website is all about, celebrating all the many shawarmaries across the city.
# posted by Ottawa shawarma @ 10:06 AM 
