The beef shawarma was loaded with crusty beef and roasted tomatoes.
We were in Toronto, and hungry, and I was bugging my friend Michael Ryan about shawarma.
So the next thing you know, we’re pulling into this place, Armenian Kitchen (1646 Victoria Park Ave. at Eglinton Ave. E., 416-757-7722).
I had forgotten how tasty a competent Arab meal could be. We started with hummus, felafel, kibbeh and lebaneh, along with warm pita bread the complimentary pickled turnips and peppers.
That puddle of red chile sauce in the middle was tangy and not particularly hot.
The hummus was so creamy and rich I remembered that I have to get some real tahini, the next time I make it.
The kibbeh was interesting: football-shaped deep-fried nuggets with a crust of spiced ground beef and bulgur wheat. Inside? More spiced ground beef, with pine nuts.
The falafel was fine, crunchy and a little bit spicy, served with chopped tomatoes and tahini sauce. The waiter was in an expansive mood when we visited, announcing each plate as though it was a guest making their inaugural appearance at a royal ball.
It was the first time I had fattoush, after reading about it for a decade. It’s essentially a Lebanese panzanella, a salad of toasted pita hunks, tomatoes, parsley, mint cucumbers, onions, lemon juice, and sumac, a tangy red sprinkle. Crunchy, savory, citrus-y, it was an excellent light nosh.
But it was the shawarma I had my heart set on, after years of reading about this Arab gyro-analogue. The slices of beef, overlapping, rotate on a skewer in front of gas fire, a slab of beef fat on top melting down through the pile, and onto a cluster of tomatoes roasting in the bottom plate.
It was a good-sized sandwich, and I could taste allspice on the beef, but I thought that it lacked oomph and hit it with the florescent red chile sauce. Um, that was better.
Somebody better get a skewer of meat moving soon around these parts, or it’s off to the Great White North for me.
2 Comments
October 21, 2007 at 5:01 pm
Thanks for this post. Toronto has so much to offer in ethnic cuisine and these photos are mouth-watering. I will make it a priority to try Armenian Kitchen on our next trip.
February 18, 2008 at 2:14 pm
if it was beef, then it was not a real shawarma. they are either chicken, lamb or goat. less commonly, they may contain turkey, beef, or a mixture of meats
head to berlin for a great kebap.