Those who have been following DSI have likely memorized the Complete, Unambiguous Sandwich Definition, and should not be surprised that a shawarma is a sandwich.
A sharwarma, or course, is a Lebanese sandwich delicacy, like a wrap but with way more garlic. Seriously, I had one for lunch and I'm feeling woozy, as the garlic has made its way through my veins to the heart and brain. I think my cubicle neighbour is feeling woozy too.
But it was a tasty lunch: a fresh chicken shawarma with confident garlic, crunchy lettuce, ripe tomatoes and pungent pickles. And a side of potatoes. I scored a free lesson in how to eat a shawarma properly (rip the paper as you eat, don't unwrap it all the way or juices will flow down you hand, soaking your pants and soul) from Jason and Casey, two aficionados.
I'm flying to Vancouver tonight to experience Pacific northwest sandwiches. Hope the people sitting beside me on the plane don't mind garlic.
3 comments:
Dude,
I have to comment on the common fast food shawarma and its ability to stand up to good sandwich hygiene scrutiny. While I was an original fan when I first tried one in my youth as it was an exotic treat, I have come to classify this street meat in a category that is borderline sandwich (fit for consumption).
From my perspective, that garlic taste you experienced was the "flavour masking" that was purposely intended to cover up the rank odour of past-its-prime meat. The uncommon twang of tzatiki is the enough to make you bite your own tongue. They slop it on like a soupy mess, and don't get me started on those red beet things. I gotta say those are some nasty filler they got going there. They taste chalky, slightly bitter, and all bad. In fact, it's like they load the shawarma up with it like it was going out of style (or freshness for that matter).
As far as chicken goes, I suppose the flavour was all there, but the rotating hunk of meat on a stick that never seems to reach the end? I question it's lifespan in the hot kitchen and open air. How else can you deal with such meat than douse it with pungeance to camouflage the obvious...
Dear DSI:
I really need to know if a kafta wrap is a sandwich. It seems like a burger to me, with its seasoned ground beef goodness and all. Or perhaps it's more like a Lebanese meatball sub.
Come to think of it, how do you classify a meatball sub? Do the meatballs have to be sliced in half to qualify the damn thing as a sandwich?
Dear Tom,
According to the DSI definition, ground beef that is feely arranged within the frame, not formed into a patty or other artificial shape, IS considered a sandwich. Like a sloppy joe. That's a sandwich, provided it can be handled without excess mess or hardship.
Here is where things get technical. At this point, I am ready to announce that what elsewhere would be termed a "meatball sandwich," that is, an item with filling made of spherically-formed ground beef, is NOT A SANDWICH, but will heretofore be known as a "roundburger."
The rationale for this is simple: a CYLINDRICAL patty is a burger, not a sandwich. How could a SPHERICAL formation of beef be any different? Of course it can't. It's a type of burger.
Even though there are often more than one meatballs in said "sandwich" (now "roundburger"), this is just like having a double patty hamburger, just utilizing a beef shape more conducive to hand-rolling.
There's the answer to the meatball question. No mess, no fuss.
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