along with hot dogs, shawarma is one of my all time favorite sandwiches! i love shawarma so much i developed best practices or call them tips, so i can enjoy shawarma every time, all the time - if you stick to those tips, your shawarma eating success factors will be greatly enhanced! so here are my top 10 tips:
1- never order shawarma out - by the time the food reaches your home, the tahina will be all dry, the meat will cool down and the bread will deteriorate absorbing the tahina sauce along with the meat & tomato juices
2- as a result of tip number one, always eat your shawarma sandwiches at the restaurant where it is freshly served
3- make sure you are not the first customer at that restaurant, or you will end up eating cold pre-cooked/overcooked meat and dull veggies - most probably you will end up with severe food poisoning
4- check the meat spit (the rod that holds the meat), if the chef is shaving a pre-cooked side, you will end up eating overcooked crispy meat, make sure the first layer of meat is shaved off and served to someone else
5- be patient, wait until the fresh side of the spit is well cooked and ask to be served from that meat
6- freshly cooked meat is always great, however it can be a bit dry - better mix the meat with the fat dripping off that spit (let's put cholesterol on the side for a moment please)
7- keep your eyes closely on the chef as he mixes the meat, some chefs tend to mix pre-cooked meat with freshly shaved ones - ask the chef to load your sandwich with freshly shaved meat only
8- ask for the bread to be heated, just a little bit - let the chef lay the sandwich on the grill for a few seconds, it makes a huge difference
9- finally, eat the sandwich while standing up, bend forward as shawarma sandwiches get messy and dripping over your clothes is most likely to happen - don't be shy, bend forward and dive into that sandwich with full confidence
10- avoid late night shawarma sandwiches, they are quite heavy on the stomach - always eat shawarma as early as possible in the evening
that's my top 10 tips for shawarma best practices - so far my best shawarma place is fayrouz express, salmiya - though the quality has gone down drastically, it is still my favorite place.
