| The Falafel King, Sara’s and Aida’s have long been my go-to places for shistawouk, but I thought I should try to expand the boundaries of my Middle Eastern cuisine. This past weekend I visited A & A Foods in Mount Pleasant, where I was treated to an extremely tasty, huge and messy chicken shistawouk, made by the insanely energetic and highly entertaining Jimmy.
With the delicious food and lively antics (Jimmy was making shawarmas, selling hookahs and serenading his female customers all at once), it’s easy to see why this place has a cult following (1401-20 Avenue, NW; phone 403-261-2090).
Also enjoying a loyal fan base is Tazza Deli and Grill in Bridgeland, the next stop on my eating tour. This cute purple house that seats 22 inside and has an outdoor patio that’s raring to go opened in April 2004. But its Lebanese owners, the Traya family, have been in the neighbourhood for 25 years and the story of how they started their business is a humorous one.
When husband and wife Nawaf and Fatima and son Yousef moved into the neighbourhood in 1981, they took over the Northwest Grocery and Deli, a German delicatessen that had been operating since 1909. The Traya family, which hails from Lebanon’s Bekka Valley, continued to operate the German deli until the early ’90s. "It was hunter’s sausage, blood sausage and head cheese – yum, yum," says Yousef, 29.
His grandmother’s fatayer and falafel were attracting neighbours to their house, so the family slowly started to transform the deli’s menu into the food that they loved and knew so well. They fully converted the former business into a complete Middle Eastern deli in 1995-96. While this was happening, Nawaf had been running The Milky Way ice cream shop in the building across the street, from 1987-93. The deli and the ice cream shop eventually swapped buildings – it’s one of those full-circle stories.
Many of Tazza’s customers seem to know each other, giving it the air of a local meeting place. Tazza, which means "fresh" in Arabic, serves traditional Middle Eastern food from the Traya family’s recipes in a homey, casual setting. Two big blackboards display the deli menu. The platter choices are falafel; lamb or beef kabab; beef shawarma; chicken shistawouk; or, the veggie with vine leaves, tabouleh, baba ghannoush, hummous, falafel and fresh vegetables. Served on thick, black, rectangular ceramic plates with pickles and fresh vegetables, the rotisserie chicken shistawouk ($9.99) and rotisserie beef shawarma ($9.99) were perfectly seasoned and dressed in a creamy, garlic marinade that was so delicious it didn’t need the spicy garlic sauce on the side. Platters come with your choice of fattoush, Greek, tabouleh or fava bean salad, as well as your choice of baba ghannoush or hummous, both of which are excellent, with a basket of pita.
The shawarma, shistawouk, kebab and falafel can also be ordered as sandwiches, as well as the kafta (grilled minced beef seasoned with traditional spices and served with fresh vegetables in a toasted pita); halloom cheese, toasted on a pita and served with cucumber and fresh vegetables; and, lebneh, a creamy farmer’s cheese made from strained yogurt in a pita with cucumbers ($4 to $7.50). Salads, including tzatziki, range from $2.49 to $6.99, depending on size. And, of course, Tazza makes Yousef’s late grandmother’s fatayer (cheese, spinach & feta, chicken, beef and potato). After your meal, enjoy a Planet coffee with a piece of scrumptious walnut, almond, cashew or pistachio baklava. Take-out and catering is also available.
Tazza also features the mixed-media of neighbourhood artist Bill Gardner. One of his most popular is a series of portraits of famous people made out of laundry lint. Gardner has turned fluff into Chrétien, Elvis, Klein, Bush, Queen Elizabeth, O.J. Simpson and Saddam Hussein.
The immediately likable Yousef greets everyone with a smile and engages in personable chatter with every customer. The food at both A & A and Tazza is delicious, but it’s the personality and personal touch of Jimmy and Yousef that make for a most memorable dining experience.
(Tazza Deli & Grill is located at 1105-1st Ave, N.E.; phone 263-5922.) |
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