Ottawa Shawarma

Stuart’s Place

2006-09-14T13:29:00.000-07:00

Billing’s Bridge Plaza, 2323 Riverside Dr.
September 12th, 2006

Shawarma: 2/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 2/5

Did you know that from my seat in the Billing’s Bridge food court I can see two McDonald’s restaurants? One I can see out the front windows in the parking lot. The other is right here in the mall.

The food court at Billing’s Bridge Plaza has other chain fast food places that you expect to find in a mall: a Timmy Ho’s and a New York Fries on one side. On the other side, you have the McDonald’s, followed by a Subway, then Manchu Wok, then Teriyaki Experience. But at the far end is a place you probably never heard of before: Stuart’s Place.

So here in a mall, amongst a Zellers, a Loblaws, an LCBO and a Hallmark store, is this little ma and pa shop. I thought I would have to try them out. I ordered some food and took a seat at the far and quiet end of the food court.

I ordered a mixed platter, but when I finally got to my seat, I realized that it was beef only. Already disappointed, I found out that the beef wasn’t the best. It was far too overcooked. It was tough and lacked flavour. Thankfully it was doused in a sesame sauce that resuscitated it enough to give it the faintest pulse. Maybe that’s why I got no chicken; they were trying to get rid of the beef.

The hummus tasted just like ground up chick-peas. And the rice dish was really just rice. The tabouli was fresh, but the funny thing about tabouli is that it gets better when it sits for a while, so the flavours can blend. The platter so far wasn’t promising.

I had seen some other salads on their counter which they gladly gave me the choice, which was nice. I was interested in some red looking stuff. I asked for a small sample. The lady added on a good mound. It was a stewed tomato based lentil dish. It’s nice to try new things, but wouldn’t bother with it again.

The people at the counter had been nice. I certainly got better service here than I would have gotten at the McDonald’s a few doors down. I’d hate to start my thoughts on Stuart’s with a “hey they are in a mall! That’s cool!” and end it with an “I’m eating a shawarma in a mall! That’s crap!”, but it’s true, in comparison to other shawarma places in the city, it’s hard for this place to match the atmosphere.

If you’re in the Billings Bridge Plaza, looking for some fast food, then Stuart’s is probably your best bet. But don’t expect the best Lebanese food. If you don’t happen to be starving while you happen to be at this mall, save your shawarma desires for some other time.

Shawarma Palace

2006-08-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

464 Rideau Street
August 20th, 2006

Shawarma: 5/5
Mesa: 5/5
Experience: 3/5

Sometimes hype is a big burden. Sometimes a thing gets so hyped that it can’t possibly live up to its own reputation.

“Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil by the pale moonlight?”

I remember seeing Batman in 1989. It was probably the most hyped movie ever. I waited months for the line-ups to die down. Then I finally got my chance. I took my seat and was thoroughly disappointed. It wasn’t a bad film, but with all that hype I was expecting a life changing, mind blowing experience. It was a fine 3-star film. That’s it. Now finish your popcorn and go home.

The batmobile lost a wheel and Robin laid an egg.

The word on the street for some time has been “have you tried Shawarma Palace on Rideau?” (for a look at some reviews go here). It even started showing up in local “best of” rankings. It seemed that if you wanted to try a good shawarma in Ottawa, this was the place to go. But could it live up to all the hype?

On a rainy Sunday August evening my girlfriend and I stopped by to pick up some dinner. You would expect a place like this to be dead at that time, but not Shawarma Palace. It was packed. There were whole families seated at the many tables enjoying platters of great looking Lebanese food. And there was a line-up for the counter. The world of mouth must be catching on.

We brought the food back to my girlfriend’s place and sit down to enjoy.

The meat was awesome. The beef was top notch, full of wonderful tastes. My girlfriend stated “this is probably the best shawarma I’ve ever had”. I had to agree with her. The chicken was also really good, though maybe not “best ever”. The garlic sauce and sesame sauce provided on the meats were just more goodness.

The rest of the platters were also excellent. We had a choice between white and brown rice. We got one of each. The white is fine if usual for a shawarma platter. But the brown was different. It had more flavour and it stood up better to the other strong flavours. More places should offer rice like that. The potatoes were excellent. The salad had a wonderful citron vinaigrette. The hummus might have been a bit blander than I would have preferred, but was thoughtfully topped with some paprika and olive oil. The pickles were fine too. We got some rolled grape-leaves too. They were as good as you can get. Even besides the meat, the platter was delicious.

It’s true that the food is more expensive than elsewhere. And they do charge you an extra 50 cents on top of that to pay via Interac, which is annoying. And due to the line-ups, even during off-peak hours, you can’t interact with the guys behind the counter as much as elsewhere. And it is on a strip of Rideau Street that you would never otherwise go.

But other than that, this is as good as shawarma gets. It lives up to the hype easily. You actually come away feeling that the hype, hadn’t done it justice. Anyone looking to try good Lebanese food in Ottawa need go no further than Shawarma Palace.

Civic Shawarma & Pies

2006-08-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

915 Bank Street
August 14th, 2006

Shawarma: 2/5
Mesa: 5/5
Experience: 4/5

Shawarma places are common where there is a need for convenient, good tasting food. They are common downtown, where office workers need to find a quick lunch. And they are common in the market where revelers need a late-night snack. Most central Ottawa neighbourhoods have plenty of shawarmaries.

The Glebe has always seemed an exception. I guess somehow Lebanese fast food didn’t fit into the community’s mindset. The Glebe is the hub to many of Ottawa’s most fashionable professionals. Clemow Avenue and surrounding streets offer some of Ottawa’s most desirable and expensive homes. Bimmers and Mercedes are the norm cruising up and down Bank Street. Paths running along the canal lining the neighbourhood are the natural habitat for people pushing baby-joggers, while yapping on their cell phones about Monday’s deadline, and Tuesday’s conference.

Glebeans also appreciate good food, however. Some of Ottawa’s funkiest restaurants line Bank Street. Restaurants of many flavours attract diners from the neiboughood’s discerning and well-heeled residents. For years, Kamal’s offered up-market Lebanese food (Admittedly it did have a take-out counter). Sadly they closed up a few years ago. The Glebe Café, recently renamed Jericho, is another good Lebanese Restaurant. But somehow a traditional shawarma house was not to be found.

The Glebe however is also home to many of Ottawa’s young, if slightly well-to-do students and young couples. Many grand old homes have been converted into trendy apartments. Some banged-up Toyotas and rusting-out Chevies share the streets with the more flashy wheels of their neighbours. Twenty-somethings in ripped jeans and dreadlocks share the sidewalks with the shirt-and-tie set.

It was only a matter of time before a proper shawarmarie moved into the neighbourhood.

Civic Shawarma & Pies sits at the South end of the Glebe, in the block before Lansdowne Park. On a warm August day, the front door was a screened door, the kind you find on a small town general store. I was welcomed by a kind gentleman.

I ordered a mixed platter, but after noticing the huge selection of pies (well it IS Civic Shawarma and PIES) I had to try one of them out. Although Civic offers a nice place to sit and eat, one of the best things about this place is it’s proximity to park space. I took a place on a nearby bench to enjoy my shawarma.

The chicken was a little overcooked. It was a bit dry, and at times almost burnt. The beef was donair meat. I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest fan of donair meat. I prefer what is refered to as beef shawarma. Still it wasn’t bad as donair meat goes. Both chicken and beef were covered in too much sauce. It was okay meat, but not the best.

That’s all the negative stuff you can say about this place however. The potatoes were fantastic. The rice looked bland, but actually was full of aromatic, herbal flavour. What was that!? Cardamom? Anise? The pickles were as good as I have had. The salad was excellent. Olives and slices of red pepper were included in the pickles and salad. Usually a restaurant like this would shy away from providing relatively expensive ingredients like these. And the pie was fantastic, it was topped with fresh tomatoes, sesame seeds, and some sort of brown sauce (maybe balsamic-based?). It was excellent.

In short, the Glebe has a very good shawarmarie. The meat might have shortcomings, but the rest is as good as you can find.

Le Mezzé

2006-07-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

76 Murray Street
July 21st, 2006

In the heart of the Byward Market is somewhere new that serves up Lebanese food with all the quality and service of a fine restaurant. Le Mezzé is at 76 Murray Street, the location of the former Café Crêpes de France. On a warm summer evening, its patio made for an inviting place to sip some wine and eat a good meal.

When my girlfriend and I were seated a waiter dropped top quality olives, pickles and pita bread at our table. The service remained attentive for the duration of our stay.

We ordered a bottle of Shiraz, somehow thinking that the Arabic named wine would go well with Lebanese food. We were right; the wine was excellent (and fairly reasonably priced).

We both couldn’t resist ordering some starters. She ordered an eggplant dish, which was one of the specials of the day. It was topped with fried pita chips, pine nuts and a yogurt sauce. It was excellent. I had opted for something that sounded even more exciting. Kibe Naye was described as a “beef tartar”. I had to take the chance. It was a large serving of raw ground beef, with spices and topped with olive oil. It melted in my mouth.

For our mains my girlfriend had the terbally chicken. Charbroiled chicken topped with a spicy tomato and pomegranate sauce. It was okay, but the spicy tomato over powered the pomegranate too much. You could barely taste the tangy fruitiness, if at all. I chose the lamb kabob. The lamb was grilled with a Dijon sauce. The meat was tender and was complemented by the wonderful sauce. Both dishes were accompanied by sautéed fresh vegetables and some fair rice.

This is certainly taking Lebanese food up a few notches from what we are use to. Lebanese food can certainly be dressed up. Le Mezzé does a good job of this, and its location will encourage many to try it out.

Sahara Dunes

2006-07-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

90 Robertson Road
July 13th, 2006

Shawarma: 4/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 4/5

What does the Saharan dunes have to do with Lebanese food? Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe my Geography isn’t as good as I thought it was, but who cares? It’s just a name, a name of an exotic sounding far-off place. Fair enough, let’s eat.

Sahara Dunes is in a mini mall in Bell’s Corners in the West End. I could see from down the road the neon lights of pink and blue that surround the front window. I guess that look has become the common signage of “Shawarmaries” in this city. Well it worked. I had never seen the place before and yet there I was with hunger in my belly and a 10-spot in my hand.

The first thing you’ll notice as you walk in the front door is a sign that says “closed on Sundays”. It explains Sundays are family days. For the owner this is not a business. This is a living. The feeling that this is just an honest guy plying his trade is reinforced by the letter posted on the wall. It is from a customer that was so impressed with the food and service that they had to write the owner, Jamal to thank him.

Jamal was behind the cash when I was there. He was getting ready to close, but was happy to see one last customer. I guess he had put the spits of meat away for the night. He went in the back room to cut some for me. He heated it up by splashing some water on his grill and throwing the meat on for a few minutes.

While waiting for my “to-go” order to be put together I looked around the place. It was full of pictures of Lebanon. The news that day spoke of the Israeli Army laying siege to Lebanon again as (in the words of our own Prime Minister) Israel has a right to defend itself. I guess Lebanon has no right to defend itself then, I thought. Then my hunger pulled me away from politics and back to my food, which was now ready.

The meat was very good, tender, good cut and lots of flavour. The platter also included some rice and salad. The rice was nice, but I’ve had better elsewhere. The salad was ample and with a pleasing vinaigrette. The tabouli may not have had as much punch as most others. The hummus and garlic sauce also were a bit bland. It was a platter of fair, if slightly timid Lebanese food. I like mine full of flavours.

At the cash Jamal fumbled with the change for a second. He smiled and said “it’s been a long day”. I left 10 minutes before the place was meant to close. He turned off the “OPEN” sign when I went. I guess he had other places to go, to get home to the family.

This is far, far removed from the world of chain restaurants, a rare breed in our modern world. This is a shop where an honest guy has hung up a sign. For a few bucks he’ll cook you some good food. I’m sold.

Pizza Boyz

2006-07-06T15:56:00.000-07:00

1577 Alta Vista Drive
July 6th, 2006

Shawarma: 3/5
Mesa: ?
Experience: 2/5

Not all places that serve Shawarma are full-on Sharmaries. Some are just corner stores with a Shawarma counter at the back. Other places serve shawarma in addition to whatever other types of food they serve. Pizza Boyz at Alta Vista and Industrial is one of the latter. As the name suggests, it’s mostly a pizza joint, but you can also get wings, BBQ chicken and lasagna; and of course, shawarma.

A buddy of mine had a new set of wheels, so we took the opportunity at lunch to go for a quick spin. He knew of this place and stops by for lunch once in a while.

Although apparently they do make full “specialty” platters with the rice and potatoes, I was just in for a chicken shawarma. It was good, but not exemplary. The chicken was a bit bland and dry. Luckily, the garlic sauce and pickles filled in the flavour that the chicken lacked. The toppings were fresh, the tomatoes were ripe and the lettuce and onion had lots of crunch.

Overall it was fairly done, though it cost more than the going price elsewhere. Maybe this is because they advertise that the delivery is free (for order above $8). So, for our full money’s worth, we should have forgone the drive and had them bring it to us.

Shawarma Village

2006-06-20T08:32:00.000-07:00

250 Greenbank Road
June 19th, 2006

Shawarma: 2/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 3/5

Greenbank Square is a mini-mall with a Loeb, a little restaurant, a Bank of Montreal and a hair salon or two. It also has a shawarmarie, Shawarma Village.

Shawarma Village is small, almost like an ice-cream stand. I chose a mixed platter. It was a few dollars cheaper than you’ll find elsewhere. The small sign also listed something called cheppard, so I asked about it. The guy behind the cash looked at his sign for a long while, shaking his head. Eventually, I told him not to worry about it. He told me that he had just bought the place; the old owner must have offered cheppard, what ever that is. I guess he hasn’t bothered to change the menu yet.

The beef on the platter was donair meat. This is not the first place that offers donair meat on their sandwiches and platters. In my opinion, it’s too different from the usual shawarma beef, so I won’t compare the two. I prefer the shawarma to the donair.

The chicken was more typical, but not as good as most others you’ll find. The guy behind the cash offered to top the meat with garlic or sweet sauce. Garlic sauce is the usual topping, but, always willing to try something new, I chose the sweet sauce. It was the wrong decision. Different is not always good.

The platter came with a choice of salads. I chose one with big chunks of green pepper and tomato. It was healthier and fresher than the salads that you will usually find, but not necessarily better.

The rice wasn’t exciting. And the hummus was the blandest you’ll find outside a grocery store. I was happy to see that my platter had a rolled grape leaf. A nice addition, but it was just okay.

You could tell that the new owner was a nice, genuine and chatty guy. Apparently he just bought the place. Let’s hope he can turn Shawarma Village around, and improve the food in future.

Shawarma Shack

2006-06-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

2949 Carling Avenue
June 13th, 2006

Shawarma: 3/5
Mesa: 5/5
Experience: 5/5

It’s funny how the mind works. All the time I was in the Shawarma Shack, I kept on hearing the B52’s in my head.

Love Shack, baby Love Shack!
Love Shack, baby Love Shack!
Tiiiiiiin Roof! Rusty!

I must be losing my mind.

There’s an old Harvey’s along that part of Carling known as Britannia, near the Coliseum superplex. The place is now called the Shawarma Shack. Isn’t that funny: what was once a fast food franchise is now a small business.

The place is well known among those who live in the west end for many things. One thing people remember is the beautiful girl that works the cash. Sadly she wasn’t working when I stopped by. However the young guy that was working the counter was full of smiles and knew his trade well.

I ordered a platter. While the guy was loading it up, I noticed something behind the counter I didn’t recognize. I asked about it. He said it was a kind of stew with eggplant and chick peas. I asked if he could put a spoon of it on my plate so I could sample it. He smiled and put a good amount on top of the rice.

The first thing that strikes you about the food is that this is a place that actually cares about presentation. The platter just plain looks delicious. The platter was a cornucopia of food. I’m sure this could easily be dinner for two. Even with my hunger I knew I wouldn’t make it through all of it.

The chicken wasn’t dry, but wasn’t as flavourful as some others. The beef was good, though a bit fatty. The shawarma is fine on the whole, but there is better meat out there.

But that’s where complaints about this place end. The rice was great, seasoned with some sort of tomato sauce. The potatoes were first class. The lush salad had this exotic tasting vinaigrette. The pickles were great and plentiful. The humus and garlic sauce were also quite good. The eggplant and chickpea stew was surprisingly yummy. All in all, this place makes Lebanese food, not only presentable, but taste really good.

People were walking in. Friendly hellos were exchanged between the regulars and the people behind the counter. There were smiles and waves. Everyone knew each other. When a lady told the guy at the cash, a middle-aged guy I assumed to be the owner, to keep the change, he blushed and thanked her sincerely.

And the food they could order. Lots of different stuff. They even have a bar for some sort of fruit smoothy. It all came out smelling good and looking great.

This is one of those “pay me after you eat places”. When I got up to pay the middle-aged guy, asked “So how did you find it?” He actually cared about my experience. When I said it was good he said “good good! Thank you so much”. Just a small business man, trying to make a living, taking pride in his work; that’s so refreshing.

The platter was a dollar or so more expensive than what you’ll pay elsewhere, but it was worth it. Shawarma Shack is one of the best shawarmaries in the city.

Harvey’s? Harvey who? I’ve never heard of him.

Shawarma Shack, baby Shawarma Shack!
Shawarma Shack, baby Shawarma Shack!
Shiiiiiish Taouk! Tasty!

Shawarma Andalos

2006-05-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

527 West Hunt Club Rd.
May 16th, 2006

Shawarma 2/5
Mesa 2/5
Experience 2/5

Take a standard, suburban Burger King and cut its counter in half. Leave one side a burger-joint. For the other side, put in a shawarmarie. This paradox is Andalos on Hunt Club.

I was there just before the lunch crowd. The forecast had called for rain in the afternoon and for the rest of the week. But it was still sunny and it would have been a shame to eat inside. There was a BK table or two outside that I was able to walk over to. There I was eating my shawarma in a sprawling suburban parking lot, a paradox indeed.

The mixed platter was an appropriate size. Most places pile on so much food that not even the hungriest growl can match it all. This platter was more reasonable. The beef was fine, but far from special. The chicken was bland and far too dry. Are the same cooks that flip the burgers in charge of my shawarma?

The potatoes were fine enough, but the rice was perfunctory. The salad was actually quite good with lots of colourfully ripe tomatoes. The humous and garlic sauce were not as good as you can get elsewhere.

Other than the usual dishes, they didn’t offer much. I was able to get some dolmas. They were limp and sad. They were far too oily, and lacked any fresh flavour at all. It was definitely something that could be improved upon.

Soon the lunch crowd was there in force. People stormed to the two counters in packs of three or four. Some chose the basic burgers, but many opted for the more exotic Andalos. I suppose that that is the strength of this paradox; coming here is fine by everyone. If you want a better burger go elsewhere. If you want better Lebanese, go to another shawarmarie. But if you’re with a group of people who want a bit of both, then I guess this is your spot.

The Shawarma Place

2006-05-10T12:38:00.000-07:00

284 Dalhousie
May 8th, 2006

Shawarma: 4/5
Mesa: 4/5
Experience: 5/5

An Ottawa trick: How do you tell a true Ottawan? Ask them to name the street where the hooker’s hangout. If they don’t know, then they don’t live in Ottawa. If they say “Dal-how-zee”, then they may live here, but they’re not originally from Ottawa. True Ottawans say “Dal-whoo-see”.

Dalhousie is well known as it was THE place to pick up an Ottawa hooker, a “Dalhousie Floozy”. Sure urban renewal has meant that the street, like so much of the market, is now dotted with trendy restaurants, fashionable boutiques and urbane condos, but it’s still the black sheep of Ottawa streets. I’ve heard that the best places for picking up “night-girls” have moved to unlit corners of Westboro or well-lit corners of Vanier, but the Monday morning radio news spoke of a weekend raid netting some girls and johns right here on good-ol’ Dal.

My girlfriend and I were down there last night on a warm early-May evening. Parked on one side of the street was a beautiful Porsche 911 convertible, top-down, parked illegally. Coming up the other side of the street were some shady looking guys on Harleys. This is a good place for a shawarma.

The Shawarma Place is at 284 Dal, a few doors down from the infamous Mello’s all-night diner. The Shawarma Place has been one of my favourite places to get a shawarma for years. In talking to my brother and a good friend, they agreed; this place is as good as it gets.

You walk in and you know you are in for some serious shawarma. The place is full of smells and sights. The guy behind the counter spoke in a thick accent, but didn’t mind repeating everything twice. My girlfriend joked that one of the signs listing some of the offerings looked as if it was hand-written by his fourth-grader son. This is a throw-back in a world of fast-food chains.

Some chubby guy came in asking the guy behind the counter to change a $20 bill for him. The behind the counter gruffly shook his head. The chubby guy left without another word.

We ordered a combination plate. And then I looked for something different. Actually, the place doesn’t offer a huge selection. But on the funny-written menu I found some neat stuff. We ordered an eggplant sandwich too.

The beef and chicken were really good. Maybe they’re not the absolute best in town, but close enough. They were nicely seasoned and reasonably succulent. It was covered in a nice tahini sauce, not overpowering, just a nice addition. This is the reason why I love this food so much.

The potatoes were nicely done, as was the rice. The hummus and tabouli were good, but could have used some more citron-y zing.

Here’s some pickled turnip. But what’s this? Pickled cabbage! It’s good!

What was also really good was the eggplant sandwich. It was kinda crunchy on the outside, kinda smooshy on the inside. Full of spices and olive oil. My girlfriend gave me a puppy-dog look when I took a bite from it. She wanted it all to herself.

In short, few places in Ottawa offer a better shawarma than The Shawarma Place. When you throw in the rags-to-riches lowertown experience, you get probably my favourite shawarmarie in the city. Am I biased? Maybe a little. I can admit that. But check it out for yourself. There’s more to Dal-hoos-ee than you may have heard.

Tyros Shawarma and Donair

2006-05-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

5929 Jeanne D’Arc
April 28th, 2006

Shawarma: ???
Mesa: 4/5
Experience: 4/5

It was lunchtime on a Friday. It was sunny. There wasn’t much going on at work (okay there was lots to do, but nothing that couldn’t procrastinated-off). I took a drive out to the East end of town in search of a shawarma.

I came across Tyros as soon as I got off the Queensway. It’s on Jeanne D’Arc in a mini-mall right before it crosses St. Joseph. The mini-mall is probably better known for Blockbuster and Burger King.

They do things a bit differently at Tyros. First you’ll notice is that the shop is square rather than the typical long and narrow. The interior is as nice as you’ll find. There’s no menu above the counter. There are only a few laminated menus lying there for you to look over. But most of all they don’t offer beef shawarma. They got a chicken shawarma and beef donair.

Donair, at least in Ottawa, is different from beef shawarma. Shawarma is a marinated meat. Donair is more processed. Shawarma is like a burger. Donair is more like bacon. But even then I couldn’t help but go with the flow and order the donair beef platter.

Donair meat is a too much to be eaten alone like this (although topped with loads of garlic sauce). It’s fine in a sandwich, but the donair platter is a bit too salty. And you can’t help but wonder as you’re eating it “What IS this stuff anyways?” Shawarma looks like beef. Donair is a mystery meat. When it’s all wrapped up in a sandwich no one cares, but when it’s right there on your plate, it’s a bit disconcerting.

I suppose it’s not really fair of me to rate the place on shawarma when I’m eating donair. I’ll pass on rating that. Next time I’ll be sure to get the chicken, just to have a better basis of comparison.

My platter came propped up with rice. The rice was great. Most other places infuse their rice with so much oil that it could be considered a flammable substance. This stuff didn’t rely on such an easy-fix. It was more subtle.

The hummus was okay, a bit bland for my liking.

But of all things the salad was excellent. They loaded on a fatoush salad. It wasn’t quite like the fatoush salads I’ve had elsewhere, but no matter. It was great. I also noticed they had other salads about, tabouli and some bean salads. Can those be as good as this? Can I really come to a shawarmarie and be blown away by the salad?

Believe it or not, I found chocolate covered Baklava. Sure the chocolate wasn’t the best quality, but come on! Chocolatefreak’ncoveredbacklava! It was great!

(I also noticed the menu mention a stuffed lamb… that might be worth trying).

The people there were nice and laid back. You ordered your food and took your seat. Just go to the cash to pay when you’re ready to say goodbye. The staff were joking about the hockey game as they good-humouredly got ready for the after work rush. I shamelessly leaned into their conversations. It’s all in the name of science, I told myself.

Tyros is different. And that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t suggest the donair platter, though I’m sure the donair sandwich would be fine. I will go back to try the chicken shawarma, the stuffed lamb and definitely more chocoatefreak’ncoveredbacklava.

Jericho Lebanese Food

2006-04-10T10:48:00.000-07:00

840 Bank Street
April 9th, 2006

The point of Ottawa Shawarma is to rate all the little shawarmaries in the city, places with chicken and beef spits slowly roasting behind the counter. But there are also good Lebanese restaurants. There are Lebanese places where you can sit and dine and order from a menu. It’s not quite fair to compare these restaurants to shawarmaries so I wouldn’t rate the restaurants. I will just report on them and say whether I felt they were worth it or not.

One place that has been serving up Lebanese fare in the Glebe is Jericho (recently changed its name from the Glebe Café). A buddy of mine who lives just around the corner and I stopped in. The food was excellent. It was fresh and full of flavour. The service was attentive. When I asked for a beer, our waiter said he didn’t know what he had, so he invited me behind the modest bar to pick out one for myself out of the fridge. My buddy said that it’s always like that, really down to earth, making jokes. The waiter later said that the dishwasher was broken so we’d have to eat our plates clean. He patted me on the back when I finished my plate, and gave a joking frown to my friend for not finishing his. The ambiance is totally fun as the walls are all covered in stained glass art. It was a quiet Sunday night, and soon we were the only people in the place. It’s a great place to sit and chat.

If you want great Lebanese and have the extra time to catch up, Jericho is the place.

Shawarma King

2006-04-06T10:58:00.000-07:00

331 Elgin Street
April 5th, 2006

Shawarma: 2/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 5/5

Shawarma King is one of those classic Ottawa Lebanese joints. It’s downtown, close to pubs and nightclubs. It’s on the Elgin street strip, a few doors down from Big Daddy’s and the Pump, just across the street from Maxwell’s and the Fire Station. Even at 6pm on a Wednesday the place somehow thumps to some unknown bass-line. Even with only a few stragglers coming in to order at the counter, Shawarma King buzzes with energy.

You’ll recognize it from its large sign that showcases a spit of beef. Someone once told me that the beef on the sign looked more like a milkshake. So if you can’t find the place on Elgin, look for the place advertising milkshakes; that’s Shawarma King.

The interior is vintage Ottawa sharmarie. It’s long and narrow with a counter running almost the full length back. Above the counter are pictures of the dishes offered. The other wall is decorated with brick arches, with a mural of the Lebanese country side painted behind. When you walk in, you’re slapped in the face by the smell. This is the read-deal.

The guy at the cash was a grizzled veteran. I’m sure he has some stories to tell about working the nightshift, when the girls in mini-skirts stumble in after a night of partying. I can hear him yelling at them to stop dancing on his tabletops. I’d prefer if they kept on dancing.

I sit down at one of the chairs up-front, by the window that is open out to the street in summer. My plate is full of food. The beef and chicken are not as warm as they could be. The beef is almost crunchy, almost like crackling. The chicken is just okay. Overall, it’s not the best meat going in the city.

The salad is covered in a creamy garlic sauce that makes the greens more like coleslaw. It’s okay. The humus and garlic sauce are fine, but nothing special. I was given a choice between white and yellow rice. I chose the yellow, and it was the right decision. It flowered with curry flavours. The pickles were good enough. But what’s this? No potatoes on the platter?

I tried the baklava. It was okay — a little too dry and flaky. I also tried a Laziza, a non-alcoholic beer. It was actually probably the best non-alcoholic beer I’ve ever had (not that I’ve made a point of trying many).

Shawarma King offers a vintage Ottawa experience. One best enjoyed past midnight on a warm summer’s eve. As for food, there are better shawarmaries around. I guess Shawarma King’s clientele is usually too drunk to care. And that’s half the fun.

La Shish

2006-03-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

1383 Clyde Avenue
March 13th, 2006

Shawarma: 2/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 3/5

Last Friday I did something I rarely do; I won at playing poker. Oh, playing poker I do frequently; but winning is rare.

While playing, a friend of mine mentioned that his favorite place to get a shawarma used to be La Shish. But now with new owners, to his mind, it isn’t as good. He told us that the original owner had lost the place in a poker game for $40 grand. I’ve tried La Shish several times over the years and found it to be good enough. But maybe my buddy was right. Maybe it’s not as good as it used to be. I took my winnings, not to mention good luck, and decided to check it out myself.

La Shish is probably best known for being beside CD warehouse on Clyde Avenue. It’s clean and well lit. The smell is inviting. I sat down at one of the tables with my food.

The meat wasn’t the best. The chicken was fine with a citrony tang, but nothing special. The beef was dry and tough. A Lebanese place has got to get this stuff right. Maybe my friend was right.

Much of the rest of the platter was also disappointing. The salad was so limp it was more like seaweed. The potatoes were cold and lacking flavour. The pickles were also bland. The rice dish and tabouli were similarly ordinary. The garlic sauce and homous were okay, but there are clearly better out there.

I was happy to see, however, that the menu offered many dishes besides the regular. What’s this? A rainbow trout? Sounds neat. If only I was happy with the basics, I would be willing to try something like that. They also had a lentil soup. I was happy to see the drink fridge offered a good selection of traditional Lebanese drinks. I picked out some guava juice.

La Shish also offers many Lebanese pies. I ordered a meat and cheese pie. This was the saving grace of the meal. It’s like a Lebanese pizza, but better. They charge only $1.75 for this! Forget the shawarma. Go for a pie.

This is what $40K buys eh? It’s tempting. Who knows, if I keep on winning I might find myself owning a place like this. But with the low-stakes poker I play, I would need a winning streak lasting the rest of my life to buy it. I’ll let others run it. I’ll just eat there, ordering the pie.

Maybe La Shish used to be better. Maybe not. But for now, their products are uneven. Some things are great; some are poor. Pays your money and takes your chance.

Shish Kebab House

2006-03-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

1675 Carling Avenue.
February 28th, 2006

Shawarma: 4/5
Mesa: 4/5
Experience: 4/5

Once a week some buddies and me gather to jam. Not sure if we’d call ourselves a band, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, and enjoy the beer, and jokes between songs as much as playing. Once on the way over, I stopped to eat at this shawarmarie on Carling Avenue. On hour later, with my breath reeking of 2nd time garlic, my band-mates pleaded with me not to eat Lebanese before jam again. Last night, I tempted fate again.

Shish Kebab House is on Carling at the corner with Cole Street, in between Kirkwood and Maitland. It shares a mini mall with three other fast food joints: a Chinese place, a pizza joint and a submarine shop. I pity the fools who would take the others over a Lebanese place. This shawarmarie doesn’t disappoint, even if your breath won’t be fit for company.

The place is clean and well-lit, but not overly so. Almost half of the place is an ice-cream place. But I guess ice-cream isn’t a big mover in Ottawa in February and that counter was closed down. Call me crazy, but even with the wind-chill gusting to -30C outside, I could have used some good ice-cream.

But it’s the Lebanese counter that I really came for. I was disappointed to see that they didn’t have a mixed combo. Following my rule to always order off the menu, I took a beef shawarma plate. Other than beef and chicken shawarma they had some other Lebanese dishes available, but not too many. Looking at the drink fridge, which was way over on the other side of the room, I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, or traditionally Lebanese. There was coke and sprite, but no Vimto or Guava juice.

I did grab something for desert, however. Something the amiable guy behind the cash told me was moorah (spelling?), or sometimes called something else. Since moorah was easier to remember, I chose to remember it by that name.

By the time I had made up my mind on what to order there were two people waiting behind me. The guy at the cash just said “oh, pay me later”. My food was hot, people were waiting, why bother with formalities now? It seemed like the rational thing to do, but what fast food place, other than a shawarmarie, would do that?

The place has several tables to sit and eat, and a selection of newspapers to browse through if you’re alone. I settled into the sports section. A group of four guys were seated at the next table. Three of them were eating Chinese food from the place two doors down. The other was enjoying his shawarma. The Lebanese place was their chosen place to eat. It is inviting.

And so finally time to eat. The beef was good, but more than slightly gristly. But the tahini sauce generously drizzled on it was as good as you can find. The potatoes were nice, but maybe were a bit too mushy. The rice dish, usually my least favourite part of the meal was excellent. It was yellow due to infusion with spice and had more flavour than other shawarmaries. Safron rice? The salad was also excellent. It was a minty creamy vinaigrette. The tabouli was also good, as was the humus. The garlic sauce however was too strong, even for me, a guy who loves his garlic. At the jam, my cover will certainly be blown now.

After I had finished the whole plate, you’d think I’d be too full for the moorah. Well after one bite, I felt hunger anew. It was full of almonds and almost dripping in honey. There’s a fine line between sweet and too sweet. This came in just on the good side of that line. It was a great way to finish off a meal.

I went back to the cash to pay. They guy was full of jokes and smiles again. And he cut me a deal, I guess just because he was in a good mood. He gave me the combo price as, in his view, I had had the moorah rather than a pop, which is generally the same thing. It probably only saved me 50 cents, but it was a nice gesture to be sure.

I left well-fed, in a good mood, and sure enough, an hour later, garlic-stinky.

Shish Kebab House might not be the most traditional place around, but what it does, it does well. The shawarma is good. The service is great. And the moorah is even better.

*****UPDATE*****

September 17th, 2006: Stopped by for a quick snack. Same great food. Same great service.

****************

Mango’s Café

2006-02-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

2682 Alta Vista Drive
February 10th, 2006

Shawarma: 4/5
Mesa: 2/5
Experience: 2/5

A buddy of mine used to date a girl that lived in the South End of town. Sometimes late on a Friday or Saturday night, we’d drop her off at her apartment building. With the car running and the radio playing, the two of them would make-out in the front seat. I was in the back seat over-selling the beers I had into a feigned-snooze. Eventually they would part their lusty embrace and she would longingly disappear into her building. As soon as she was out of sight, my buddy would spin around, slap my thigh and yell “Wake-up sleepy! Get in the front seat. It’s time for Mango’s!”

And that was my introduction to Mango’s, my buddy’s rickety old Nissan, a pit-stop on the way home, 2:30 in the morning. Good memories like these are hard to come by, unless you’re at one of Ottawa many shawarmaries, then good times are almost expected.

It’s in a mini-mall at Bank and Alta Vista. With all the visual clutter going on at this part of town, it’s easy to miss the place. Its sign is white with artsy and exotic, but easily overlooked, lettering. It’s almost pushed out of sight by the crass Subway next door. Once you’ve found the place though, it’s nice enough. The walls have light coloured murals. There are places to sit and eat if you wish. The TV plays some Lebanese shows. The two guys working the counter go about their job diligently, without much chatter.

I work near by; so on the way home a few days ago I stopped by to pick up some dinner.
Apart from the basics they have some other offerings that I looked over. There was something called a home-burger. Maybe next time I’ll ask what that’s all about. Mango’s serves a lot of fruit smoothies. I have had them here before and they are good. But what caught my eye were the samosas. I ordered a veggie one which they heated up in the microwave. I ate it in the car on the way home. It was a disappointing start. The pastry was too chewy. The stuffing inside was clearly jolly green giant $1.99/Kg frozen cut-into-cube mixed veggies. I don’t cook that stuff at home. I’m not paying someone else to serve it up to me.

For my main course I got the mixed platter to go. I could smell its tantalizing aromas all the way home. Even the samosa couldn’t put me off that smell. When I got home I was amazed at how much food these guys were able to cram into those Styrofoam containers. I set to work immediately.

The chicken was moist and tender, but a little bland. The beef on the other hand comes up aces. It was just as moist and tender, but full of flavour. My mouth still waters at the mention of it. Now this is what good Lebanese food is all about!

The platter consisted of the usual bed of rice and potatoes. Both were good, but I think the rice was favoured by a ratio of 5:1. I’d like a more balanced approach. The salad was really just lettuce and tomatoes, topped with a dollop of good tabouli. If that’s what they’re going to do for greens, I’d like more tabouli and less rabit-food.

I dipped the pita bread into the humous and garlic sauce. The garlic sauce was okay, but the ample humous was as good as you can find. The pickles were good but I would have wanted a spicy pepperoncini one as well.

This wasn’t a meal for one. It was a feast for a family of four. But of course, I finished the whole thing. And then I took a nap on the couch.

One other thing, they charge you 15 cents to use the Interac. No big deal I suppose. They never tell you that though. There is a small note on the keypad of the Interac machine about it. But there’s a bigger note saying “Say Okay 3 times”. And when the guy passed me the keypad he said it too “Just say okay 3 times”. He didn’t say we’re charging you an extra 15 cents. So the first okay was for the total. The next okay was for the 15 cent “tip” and the third total was for the final charge. It was a bit weird. I don’t think the people who run Interac would be happy to see it done like that. I don’t think they allow that kind of surcharge. Okay I know it’s just 15 cents, but still.

Overall Mango’s still delivers some good food. Order the beef shawarma, it’s what they do best and still one of the finest in town. But I suppose on the whole, in the sober light of day, it doesn’t quite live up to my memories. I guess few things ever do.

The Rating System

2006-01-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

It is the aim of Ottawa Shawarma to give impartial, accurate yet fun information about Ottawa’s shawarmaries. We will try to be as fair as possible but due to our love of the cuisine, our stated bias will be to showcase the places we visit. We will provide a positive voice about the richness of this city in its food and culture.

Please remember that we are not gourmet chefs (nor of Lebanese decent if that matters). We’re just people who love good food. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. We just take eating very seriously. Who doesn’t!

We want to make our information easy to use, and yet be detailed enough to be useful. As such we’ve decided to measure each shawarmarie on three dimensions on a scale of 1-5.

Shawarma: This is the rating on the basic unit. If they do this well, they’re well on their way to becoming a good shawarmarie. It is like rating fast-food joints on their burgers. We look to various things like: the tenderness and flavour of the meat, the freshness of the toppings, the blend of the sauces, and of course how well it is wrapped.

Mesa: This kind of means side-dish. Here we will rate food items beyond the basic shawarma. A good shawmarie should have good food beyond the basic shawarma. We will rate the variety of food items offered and the quality of those items. We love shawarma, but we also love falafel and meat pies and shish taouk… Oh we love it all.

Experience: This is the rating for everything beyond the food. This looks at everything from the location, the physical attributes of the place and the service. In other words the atmosphere, which is maybe the most important element of a shawarmarie!

Our rating system is designed to provide a basis of comparison and not a scientific measure of anything. When we provide a high score, it is because we were truly impressed by what we found. When we give a low score it is to point out that the location might not be as good as others around. When that happens, we were still probably happier to get a less than average shawarma than to go to yet another fast-food franchise, however.

Shawarma Station

2006-01-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

2446 Bank Street
January 12th, 2006

Shawarma: 3/5
Mesa: 5/5
Experience: 2/5

I’m reminded of the rooster named Chanticleer in Chaucer’s Canterbury tales. Chanticleer awakes from a dream foretelling of impending doom. His wife tells him he’s a coward and that bad dreams are only caused by something you’ve eaten.

I don’t know if my dreams last night were caused by the shawarma I ate. After we had finished eating my girlfriend complained she had a stomachache. I went to bed, grumpy and alone and had nightmares all night. In Chaucer’s story, Chanticleer’s prophesy turned out to be correct. Today I’m watching my back.

Last night we picked up some dinner at a shawarmarie I’ve known for a few years. Friends use to live around the block, and now I live not too far away. I’ve come to trust it as one of the better shawarmaries on the South side of town.

It’s Shawarma Station at 2446 Bank Street, pretty much at South Bank’s intersection with Hunt Club. It’s a large place in a strip mall. It use to be a Rockin Jonny’s, that chain of greasy spoons done up like 1950’s diners. The exterior looks like a chrome hubcap. They haven’t changed the décor much. It still has the booths with bright red vinyl upholstery and the 45’s nailed to the wall. On the up side, there’s plenty of room to sit and eat your shawarma in peace if you wish. The few customers that do stop to eat in the big booths seem lost from sight, like a child behind the wheel of a ’59 Coupe de Ville. The boys from the kitchen, and their families seem to like the booths well enough. You can always see then enjoying a bite to eat, reading a newspaper in one of the booths against the back wall. The place is unusually spacious for a shawarmarie. Most are narrow, where the heat and smells can build up. Here the pace seems a little slower, more suburban. It’s almost too clean.

The TV suspended from the ceiling is set to a Lebanese station, but the volume is turned down so you can hardly hear it. The service behind the counter was fast, and professionally polite. When I mentioning grabbing three cans of Vimto to the girl at the cash, she just pointed at the refrigerator, which was right beside her, almost behind the counter and said “Help yourself”. It was said in a manner that was neither rude nor obsequious, it just was. The atmosphere lacked the immediate charm and cultural immersion of the shawarmaries in Centretown, at the other end of Bank Street.

The chicken and beef shawarmas were fine, though the meat was lacking that sweet subtlety of flavour that sets a great shawarma aside from an average one. The beef was also too dry. But still I was hungry and it hit the spot. Maybe it’s because we ate so fast that it didn’t agree with us later. It sure felt good at the time.

The platter was full. The salad wasn’t the sad perfunctory kind you get on some platters. It had a nice vinegrette on it and was topped with the toasted pita chips. Although I could have used a bit of tabouli, the salad was a nice addition to the heavy meats and sauces. The potatoes were slightly crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, not too salty, but I’d prefer a bit more onion and garlic zing to mine. I guess that’s why they loaded on so much garlic sauce. The rice and homous were fine, as were the pickles.

In looking around, however, you’ll quickly notice that this place’s real strength is in the extras. They have a counter full of pies: spinach, cheese, meet and tomato. The menu has other great dishes: shisk taouk, kofta and falafel. Sure, you can get a shawarma, but you can also get so much more. I ordered some stuffed grape leaves. They were great. Full of flavour, not too dry, not too oily, just the right amount of citrus. One of my friends had his unravel on him, but he’s a Newf and doesn’t know any better. I’ll come back for the pies and taouk some other day.

In short, Shawarma Station does a decent job of delivering Lebanese food to the South End of Ottawa. But since the shawarmas aren’t the best in town, take the chance to explore some other culinary delight from Lebanon. I guess that’s why we love shawarmaries, you never know what you are going to get, good dreams or bad.

Welcome to Ottawa Shawarma!

2006-01-03T10:06:00.000-08:00

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.