shawarma – Michael Eats

Decent Shawarma at Oaza Shawarma Plus

Published on September 30, 2022 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 2645 Liruma Road, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/oazashawarmaplus/

Oaza Shawarma Plus is one of those local joints that doesn’t stand out in any particular way, but that’s still satisfying for what it is.

I got the chicken shawarma wrap, and it was pretty good. The chicken was entirely lacking in the crispy bits you’re hoping for from great shawarma, but aside from that it was juicy and plentiful. The sauces (hot sauce, garlic sauce, and tahini) were all tasty, and the proportion of sauce, chicken, and fresh veggies was just right.

Bonus: the wrap was nicely toasted in a sandwich press. I feel like unless you’re starting with some seriously fresh, delicious bread (and the pita here was of the bagged, store-bought variety), toasting will automatically enhance a shawarma wrap.

Do you need to get in your car and drive here immediately? No, absolutely not. But if you’re in the area, it’s a tasty enough wrap.

Amazing Shawarma at Shawarma Frenzy

Published on November 6, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1011 Pape Avenue, Toronto
Website: None

I think the shawarma wrap at Shawarma Frenzy might just be the best deal in the city (it’s in the top five, that’s for sure). It costs a mere $6.75, it’s the approximate size and heft of a small baby, and it’s crazy delicious. There’s no downside.

The chicken shawarma itself is absolutely outstanding; it nails every element. Most importantly, it’s got a surfeit of the dark crispy bits that makes great shawarma so satisfying, but it’s not dried out at all, with tender, juicy meat. And it’s really nicely seasoned. It’s amazing.

And the wrap features a very, very generous amount of meat, not to mention a good balance of fresh veggies, zingy pickles, and tasty sauces. It has a nice garlicky hit, but it’s not so aggressive that you’ll be tasting garlic for the rest of the day. I wish it were a little bit spicier (it’s just barely spicy), but that’s a very minor complaint.

The pita bread is great too — it’s fresh, a little bit chewy, and nicely crisped up in a sandwich press. It’s a top notch shawarma wrap. And it’s $6.75! That’s ridiculous.

Tasty Middle Eastern Food at Azkadenya

Published on August 23, 2019August 23, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 235 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: https://www.azkadenya.ca/

I’ll admit that I didn’t have particularly high expectations for Azkadenya, a “mezza diner” with locations all over the Middle East. Aside from the fact that it’s a chain restaurant, the slick decor and quirky dishes made me think it would be style over substance.

Well, don’t judge a book by its cover, I guess? This place was actually quite good, though the restaurant is clearly at its best when it sticks with the classics and doesn’t mess around too much.

We started with the hummus, which is creamy and tasty. It didn’t quite knock my socks off, but it’s a solid bowl of hummus. It helps that it comes topped with healthy amount of good quality olive oil, with a bottle available on the table to top it up (which you should absolutely do — hummus and EVOO are best friends and should never be apart).

Actually, I should mention the multiple bottles at the table — there’s olive oil, a couple of tasty hot sauces, a tahini sauce, and something labeled “sour but sweet” that I completely forgot to try (I know, what’s wrong with me?).

Servers are constantly walking around to replenish your supply of pita bread — they bake these things fresh in what appears to be a wood-burning oven, so yeah, they’re quite good.

Next up was the falafel, which comes in an order of eight. This was easily the highlight of the meal. They’re nicely spiced and not too big, which gives you the perfect ratio of crispy exterior to fluffy interior (too many places make huge, almost tennis-ball-sized falafel, and the crisp-to-fluffy ratio is all wrong). They’re also not dry in the middle, which is another common issue with falafel in the GTA. They’re really good.

Then there was the beef “shawarma.” I’m putting that in quotes because, I’m sorry, but this isn’t shawarma. It comes essentially looking like a kabob (though the beef is sliced, even if it doesn’t look that way). It’s a fun gimmick, and the presentation is certainly striking, but it’s not shawarma. It tastes nothing like shawarma.

Still, it’s tasty enough for what it is. The meat is tender and nicely marinated. Once you put it in a pita with some of the condiments (it comes with pickles, tahini sauce, garlic sauce, and tomatoes) it’s quite satisfying.

Last up was the kunafah pops, which takes the traditional Middle Eastern dessert and turns it into little deep-fried balls. Like the shawarma, this was the restaurant being a bit too clever for their own good. All of the textures are wrong — the exterior is a bit too crunchy, the cheesy interior doesn’t quite have the gooeyness you’re looking for, and it has a mild oily flavour from the fryer. It certainly wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, but traditional kunafah would have been vastly superior.

On Hiatus (and a few quick reviews)

Published on January 11, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

I’m traveling, so this site is going into hibernation for a while. Feel free to follow my travels at Up in the Nusair (or don’t, I can’t force you… or can I?? No, I can’t… yet).

But first, here’s a few very quick reviews of places I didn’t get a chance to write full posts for before I left.

Cafe Landwer

I actually visited this place a couple of times recently. The first time I had the shakshuka, which was quite tasty and comes with an almost absurd amount of food. It’s a little bit bland, but it comes with an ample amount of fresh bread for dipping, and the tahini sauce helps amp things up.

The second time I had the Sinia Kebab, which features beef kebabs and some grilled veggies on top of freshly baked flatbread, topped with a tahini sauce. This was quite tasty, though it really needs something acidic to cut through the richness. I eventually wound up spooning in some of the salad that comes on the side. I’m not sure if that’s the intent, but it helped.

Jelly Roll from Tim Hortons

It’s a jelly roll from Tim Hortons; it tastes exactly how you think it’s going to taste. It’s basically a very minor upgrade over Little Debbie. It’s pretty junky, but I enjoyed it.

Pho from I Love Pho 2

I already wrote about the surprisingly great I Love Pho 2, and the pho confirms it: this is a place that knows their stuff. The broth has a really great flavour, and the variety of meats they mix in are all perfectly cooked and tasty.

SoSo Food Club

I tried a handful of dishes at SoSo Food Club. Everything was tasty, but the highlight was the addictively cumin-tinged lamb biang biang noodles. The strong cumin flavour, the tender lamb, and the extra-broad noodles all work very well together. The mapo tofu, with its numbing heat and silky tofu, was another highlight.

The Drake Commissary

The bread here is amazing. Like at Terroni, you have to pay for it, but unlike at that place, it wasn’t infuriating. It was well worth paying for. I came here at brunch and had the trapper beans, which had a lot going on, but everything worked perfectly together. In particular, the beans had a savoury richness (and a complete lack of sweetness) that made them quite unlike any baked beans I’ve had before.

Mango Pancakes from HK Sweets

This was fine, I guess. I actually had mango pancakes in Hong Kong, and they were ridiculously good. I was hoping these would recapture that, even slightly, but no such luck. Aside from the fact that they’re not actually pancakes (they’re crepes), the mango was underripe and crunchy, and I think the cream was actually Cool Whip or something similar. Still, it was decent enough for what it was.

Chicken Shawarma from Ghadir Meat & Restaurant

Oh man, this shawarma. I actually visited this place based on a tweet from Suresh Doss — he called it the best shawarma in the GTA, which should really tell you all you need to know. The man knows his food, and he’s certainly not wrong about Ghadir. It’s amazing. It’s got the perfect blend of tender meat with lots of crispy bits, tasty sauces, and fresh veggies. If it’s not the best shawarma in the GTA, it’s certainly a very strong contender for that crown.