desparately seeking shawarma

"Good luck finding good shawarma [in Hawaii]," she said.

Challenge taken. Cut and paste from my reply to shawarma-girl:


I asked my friend who lived in Bahrain and married a Lebanese girl, and this is what he had to say:

"My Mariposa said Schwarmas are Greek, Turkish and Arabic…anyone that wants to open a shop…ha-ha. She claims it actually originated in the Middle East however it is mostly Turkish who specialize in it. Yes, Greeks eat schwarmas…don’t forget to make the yogurt or humus that normally accompanies it. I would analogize it to humus, in that it’s a matter of contention between Arabs, Greeks and Turkish on the founder of schwarma and humus."

Then I recruited my friend who grew up in Michigan, which apparently has the largest Arabic diaspora in the US, to go to this restaurant with me. I think its supposed to be Egyptian (Pyramids is the name of the place ...). They served shawarma ... but, with the bread and meat on separate plates. My friend says that is definitely not authentic.

So next I asked a pretty well-traveled chef I know, dave millen, and he said "go to Olive Tree. It's owned by this guy I think his name is Youbas, and he claims he's Greek but he isn't" (Almost like a well-known local surfboard shaper, Kimo Green, except you go order a board from the guy and find out he is really a haole boy from Philly originally and his real name is Jeff). The key, chef says, is good pita bread - not the fluffy stuff they sell at supermarkets - and good marinade.

I'm at Olive Tree and the shawarma is served inside the bread this time, BUT, in a patty. I thought the meat was supposedly shaved off a rotisserie (which reminds me, really, of Taiwanese sao-way-ma). when i bring this up to millen, he says the shave meat is gyros, but otherwise shawarma and gyros are pretty much the same thing.



Now I'm all wrapped up about shawarma, so I have to go borrow this other chef's book, The Arab Table (she got this book as a gift from another chef, who is a corporate chef for J.W. Marriot, and he'd just returned from a trip to the Middle East -- apparently, this guy's gig is to travel the world opening kitchens at Marriot Hotels). According to The Arab Table, shawarmas are supposed to have shredded meat off a rotisserie, but then the author provides that you can make it at home without shredding the meat, and the key is, indeed, marinating for 2-3 days.

I don't know.

I am surprised that I never had it in Iraq. According to wikipedia, shawarma has been made popular in the United States particularly by American troops returning from deployments in the Middle East. Do you see shawarma? I don't.



I think I am moving on to other big questions for now. Like - people blocking the left lane on highways so you can't pass - but if they are technically within the speed limit (yet impeding the flow of traffic), are you justified in getting annoyed?