The mysterious Mister and his Middle Eastern goodies photo: Christina Riley

So Binjo and I drove my brother's Mustang out to the west end and pulled up to the strip mall at Baseline and Greenbank. Three doors down from For Your Eyes Only (where there was a special on "XXX" DVDs) is Mr. Shawarma, a cleaned-up, family-style version of most shawarma shops downtown.

I didn't see those $20 specials, so we ordered two family-sized platters to go. Each, at $24.95 plus tax, comes with a huge tray of veggie sides, spit-roasted chicken or beef, rice (spicy or plain), roasted potatoes and six pita. We ordered up one full chicken and one half-and-half.

While we were waiting, Binjo toyed with the idea of ordering a fresh fruit smoothie. But as the line of after-workers swelled, we realized that if you want to place a big order, you've got to get there before the dinner rush. Plus, we felt guilty for asking for such labour-intensive food. The veggie garnies, in particular, were spectacularly arranged in neat rows beside the dips.

After only probably 10 or 15, our stuff was ready, and we added on a package of Montreal-baked baklava at the cash.

Carefully balancing the two aluminum trays of veg, I trundled out after Binjo, who had everything else in a bag.

You'll wanna leave the veggies out on the counter rather than refrigerating them if you're going to eat them relatively soon. Even the meat was good at room temp, although we should have warmed up the pitas.

When everybody started showing up, we only had to pour drinks and open the packages of food. Somebody passed out plates, and before I knew it, everybody was making their own sandwiches. Not me though. I ate everything as it was on a plate, using my pita to scoop up the creamy garlic sauce. Much of the veg turned out to be a couple different versions of shredded iceberg. Luckily, one was topped with a thicker garlic sauce and mild pickled turnips and the other with pickled cucumber spears. The standout, many of us agreed, was the tabouli: nice and fresh with a good bit of lemon. As for the meat, it was tender and not at all fatty. The chicken wasn't half bad either, slightly spicy and decently moist. I ended up liking the rice the most, which turned out to be a great carrier for the hummus I slathered over it. Somehow, six of us managed to eat nearly everything.

Such gluttony stopped none of us from reaching for the baklava at the end. Nine sticky squares of nuts 'n' honey they were. No problem eating them all up in quick time.

If you ever end up at Mr. Shawarma, you'll love it for its Ponderosa-style plastic interior and the seriousness of the service. Mostly everything we ate tasted fresh and the presentation was fantastic. Serve it in your own dishes and you've got a clever way to fake dinner for six.

Mr. Shawarma
2555 Baseline Road
(613) 726-1222
 
 

		Write your comment on this article!

Shawarma: Comforting And Tasty.............     I've heard all of the bad things about the meat that is used in the Shawarma places that seem to be propogating quicker than the dandelions in my back yard. They take low grades of chicken, lamb or beef and squish them all together in a heap, and then on a spear, warm the sucker up rotating on a flame-broiler. But, where does sensibility go when they taste so damn good? Especially, when the home-made garlic sauce is good enough to drink out of a cup? Add the tabouli, the marinated turnip, the lettuce and tomato, and the humus and hot peppers. Personally, I've never had the need to order a family sized platter of the stuff, one sandwich is usually enough and Mr Shawarma is no exception. You want fresh pita, fresh salads and the best ingredients, shawarmas are pretty neat and tasty creations to make hunger go away. I wonder sometimes how North Americanized the food offerings are with these places, and how different things would taste in their country of origin? Shawarmas are not to be eaten every day, but there's nothing better than biting into a saucy sandwich and smelling like garlic as you head back to work.
Steve Landry	{26 votes}	October 22nd, 2006
Solid shawarma     While i would agree that Mr. Shawarma is indeed quite good. I would go one step further and suggest that the next time you are in town to check out Sara and the Basha's on Ste Catherine near the Paramount ( you know the good one...) and to the taste test for yourself. And then see how Mr. Shawarma stacks up.
Reuven De Souza	{3 votes}	April 4th, 2007
Mr. Shawarma     If you're in the mood for a good shawarma, Mr. Shawarma is the place to go, they will satisfy your craving with delectable ingredients and their roasted potatoes are just wonderful. And to top it all off, the prices are so affordable, go pay this place a visit, you wont regret it!
Brian Fung	{1 vote}	December 16th, 2006
New place to try     I love shawarma but usually know of the places near work or home. I hadn't heard of Mr. Shawarma. I'll give it a try, as it sounds like it was good meat/chicken and best of all good garlic. Although my favorite shawarma place is the one on Rideau Street.
Ayse Sahin	{1 vote}	November 22nd, 2006
Shawarma's a way of life     I come from a rather large Middle Eastern family and have lived most of my life in that region. In response to Steve's comment I would like to point out that what you get out here in Canada in prety much the same thing that you would get in the alley's of an old Arabic market with the one difference of it being fresh.
Fadumo Yusuf	{3 votes}	October 27th, 2006
It really sounds like a great spot!     The west end in Ottawa truly offers a fairly good selection of interesting restaurants, but I truly find that many of these places are not well advertised. Mr. Shawarma is one of them, it really sounds remarkable. By reading this article I must admit: I'm sold for lebanese food. I realized that I should go myself and try this place out! Thanks.
Valerie Augier	{3 votes}	October 24th, 2006
~Feast or famine~     In the end, why do you go to restaurants? For myself anyways it comes down to the food, sure the location, the decor, the layout, the service and last but not least, the price matter but it's the tasty eats that endure my future patronage. Visually, from the pic to the article, this place doesn't really leap out at me but the food sounds really good. If you can leave a place stuffed and happy that's money well spent.
Pedro Eggers	{9 votes}	October 22nd, 2006
Sounds great...     there have been alot of lebanese restaurants in the Ottawa area, some super fast food and others sit-down and very special, it sounds like this one fits somewhere in between... which is fine with me. Good food, not too expensive, but fast and a chance to sit down sounds good to me.
Joe Shebib	{10 votes}	October 19th, 2006
Gonna Try     I've been to a few of these Shawarma places and my favourite one is Shawarma Palace on Rideau. I havent found any other place to match it but I think i might try Mr. Shawarma and see how it stacks up.
D N	{1 vote}	January 13th, 2007

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