Shawarma, in both its lamb and chicken varieties, has become quite common in the US, as Arab/Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food trucks and restaurants have become popular. And putting foods traditionally wrapped in tortillas or breads into bowls has been a thing here for quite a while. It’s thus not surprising that Trader Joe’s would offer a frozen Chicken Shawarma Bowl. What is surprising is how flavorless it is. The bowl has rice, spiced chicken, red peppers, tiny pieces of spinach and pickled onions and is supposed to have a spicy garlic sauce. There is some spice into the dish, but very, very little flavor either in the individual ingredients or in the dish as a whole. It’s edible, but I definitely would not get it again.
The halal cart phenomenon continues unabated in NYC, and with good reason.
Forget about hotdogs, for several decades now, the New York City street food par excellence has been halal fare. Originally referring to the types of foods permitted for Muslims – think Kosher but far less strict -, halal carts are understood to serve food of Mediterranean origins, mainly shawarmas and kababs, either served on pita or as part of a rice bowl. Halal carts broke into the NYC street scene in the 1980’s, when Greek carts were still a thing, but really blew up in the 1990’s. By the end of the millennium, there were over 500 halal carts in NYC, and their numbers have only grown since then.
Perhaps the most famous halal cart, and one of the first, is Halal Guys. Over the decades, they have not only expanded throughout the city but nationwide, operating both carts and brick and mortar restaurants. Like many of the current carts, it was operated by Egyptian immigrants. They are famous for their white and red sauces – the former apparently a mint yogurt sauce and the latter apparently shattah, a peppery sauce. -, something which other carts seem to have imitated. In addition to Egyptians, many halal carts are operated by Bangladeshi and Afghan immigrants/refugees, and the menus of their specific carts may reflect these interests.
Getting food from a halal cart was one of my “NYC must do’s” and we were lucky that one of the two halal carts located immediately across the street from our hotel – there were probably a dozen or so within a couple of blocks -, got very good reviews. Thus on our second night in the City, after attending a taping of the Colbert show, we got halal take out at Mama Halal Food and ate it in our hotel.
I went with the lamb gyro ($8.50) and I was very happy. The lamb cubes were impossible tender and flavorful, and after I removed some lettuce, the pita sandwich was well balanced. I had it just with the white sauce. The gyro was perhaps a tad small, but fortunately I wasn’t terribly hungry. I’d definitely order it again if I was in the area.
Mike had the chicken tikka masala bowl ($10.50), with both white and red sauces, and he was very happy with it. I, personally, didn’t think it tasted much like tikka masala, and the red sauce had made it too spicy for my taste, but I appreciated how tender the chicken was. He’d order it again, I wouldn’t.
Drinks were cheap, just $2 for cans, if I recall correctly. There was almost no wait on that cold February Monday night, and service was friendly and efficient. In addition to the W 51st location that we visited, Mama Halal Food has carts at W54st/8Ave, W50st/9Ave and 121st/LibertyAve (Queens).
Mama Halal Food
W 51st St. & 7th Ave.
NYC
(347) 207-5804
M-Su 10 AM - 3 AM
We came upon Shami last July, 2013, while trying to have dinner at the not-yet-open Padi. It was a positive experience, though the only one who would want to rush back is my 11-yo daughter Mika, she positively LOVED the salad there.
Shami’s menu is pretty limited, all they had when we visited were kebabs and sandwiches, in addition to a few salad and appetizers. It calls itself a Middle Eastern restaurant, but the owners are Yemeni, as indicated by the posters on the wall and the specific seasonings in the food. Indeed, we found most dishes to be more spicy than you’d usually find in other Arab cuisines.
I tried both the grilled chicken and the beef kebabs, both were nicely spiced and very tasty. The chicken was a bit dry, however, and too charred in parts. The flavors were very homey, there was little sophistication on these dishes. The yellow rice was perfumed with cinnamon and other spices and was addictive – though a bit too spicy for my youngest daughter. The meals came with salads, and Mika just adored it. I can’t say what it was about it – surely the dressing – but she ate every last bit, and has been asking us to take her back since.
The only thing that didn’t prove popular was the felafel. The kids found it too spicy, and since a falafel food poisoning incident 24 years ago, I haven’t been able to eat it.
Platters are about $10, sandwiches I think were $8.
I’d recommend it for when you need a kabab fix.
Shami Restaurant
16490 E 14 St
San Leandro, CA 94578
(510) 258-0000 shami-restaurant.com
M-Su 11 am – 10:30 pm
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