All About The Shawarma

I’ve enjoyed meals at several Middle Eastern restaurants since I have been working in the Dearborn area and never really had a bad experience. However, after a while, every place almost has similar flavors. So being surround by a sea of Middle Eastern cuisine, how do you find that “one place” that sets itself apart? One such place is on Warren, Ave.

Since I have been working in the area, there is still one place that has been recommended to me several times, but I have never made it there. Today was the day though, because I was in a mood for a Shawarma and Tuhamas has a reputation of having some of the best Shawarmas in the area; I needed to experience myself if they lived up to this claim.

If you drive through certain areas in Dearborn, you are going to find a Middle Eastern restaurant or market at just about every corner; Warren Ave is one of these areas. So when going to Tuhamas, you have to be very careful, as it is really easy to miss; I didn’t even see a sign.

As soon as I walked in, I realized that Tuhamas was definitely not known for their ambiance and environment. The place is definitely outdated and very small; it seats no more than 15 people and the only obstacle blocking the kitchen is a counter. But you quickly come to realize that ambiance doesn’t matter so much as soon as you see and smell the stacks of seasoned meat and chicken sitting on their rotating spits in the kitchen. For a foodie and meat lover, it’s a great site to see.

The menu board was filled with many great items, such as, shish kafta, shish tawook, and shish kabob made to go in a sandwich or pita wrap.  If you really want to be adventurous, you can order a chicken liver or lamb tongue pita. I was not adventurous today, so I order exactly what I came there for and that was a meat Shawarma, especially seeing the juicy season meat rotating on the spit.

As I have mentioned previously, this place is definitely small and it was packed; so I had to make my order to go. I took my meat Shawarma back to my desk at the office and began to dig right into it. Before I go into my overall thoughts, let me first explain what a Shawarma is. A Shawarma is essentially an alternating stack of season meat (beef or lamb) or seasoned chicken with strips of fat that sit on a rotating spit and is roasting all day. Shavings are cut off the blocks of meat or chicken for serving. A Shawarma is usually served in a rolled pita mixed with onion, tomato, parsley, pickled turnips, cabbage, and is topped with a tahini or tom (garlic mayo).

So now that you know what a Shawarma is, did Tuhama’s meat Shawarma live up to its street cred? Yes it did, it was by far the best Shawarma I have had, which is saying a lot since there are so many great places in Dearborn to find one. The meat was perfectly seasoned and was very juicy. The parsley provided a fresh herbal flavor, while the pickled turnips and onion provided that necessary crunch. I believe that Tuhama’s used both tahini and toum sauce, as I could taste both the garlic from the toum and the sesame from the tahini. For $3.75, this was by far one of the best food purchases I’ve made since working in Dearborn; my only regret was waiting six years to finally try this place out.

I definitely recommend you to try out Tuhama’s if you find yourself in the Dearborn area. You should definitely order the meat or chicken Shawarma; and if you are feeling adventurous enough, try out the lamb tongue or chicken liver. If you do try out the lamb tongue, let me know what your thoughts were.

No Substitute For the Real Thing

Today I was in the mood for something substantial, something greasy, something fatty, and something cheesy. I knew that Noah’s Deli in Dearborn would have a wide variety of what I needed. I’ve been to Noah’s a few times before while working in Dearborn for the past 6 years and was always satisfied.

Noah’s Deli has been serving up great sandwiches and diner food in East Dearborn since 1977. The corner spot deli is a fairly small building where patrons sit at a u-shaped table while your order is prepared right in the middle. If you come early during the lunch hour, you can watch the ingredients being switched out with fresher items. It's a great sight because you know you are getting quality.

Noah’s is really known for their Hot Corn Beef and Reuben sandwiches, I’ve had both and thoroughly enjoyed them. Today, I was craving for something a little different; I wanted something fatty, greasy, and cheesy; so why not Noah’s take on a classic Philly Cheesesteak? It seemed like it had all of the right ingredients; grilled steak, onions, peppers, and cheese all on a grilled sub bun.  Was it as good as it sounded in writing? Did it live up to a true Philly Cheesesteak?

The short answer is no. First, I felt that they skimped out on the meat and cheese, the whole essence of a Cheesesteak. Second, I knew I was taking a gamble with Noah’s using Swiss Cheese instead of Provolone or Cheez Whiz. Lastly the sub bun was hard at the ends and was pretty bland.

I took my first bite, and while the flavors were pretty decent, I could not help but feel disappointed. Where was all of the fat and grease? The steak was pretty dry and the flavors felt really underpowered because of the filling to bun ratio; the bun was really bland as well. Then the cheese, there was simply not enough of hot melted cheese and the Swiss just had a less of a sharp punch than the Provolone or Cheez Wiz would have had. While I ate the whole sandwich, I felt more disappointed after each bite.

After I finished, I started thinking that in some cases there is no substitute for the real thing; and in this case no version of a Philly Cheesesteak, besides the real deal from Philly, can really do the original any justice. I should have gone with a sandwich I knew Noah’s could execute perfectly. So the next time I see a famous regional sandwich or dish served as an establishment’s “version”, I might think twice about ordering it.

What are your thoughts? Is there no substitute for the real thing? 

A Two Year Craving

Every foodie experiences a craving that they need to satisfy. Perhaps you’ve seen a certain dish on the Food Network and immediately felt that hunger pang, or you just simply heard someone talk about in detail an amazing meal that they had. I’ve had that moment plenty of times and I recently satisfied a two-year craving.

I remember when it first started. I was watching Man v Food. The episode featured a restaurant in Maine, called the Lobster Shack. The lobster on the show looked amazing, but what caught my eye the most was the lobster roll. I’ve always loved eating lobster, but never heard of a lobster roll. Perhaps being from Michigan, we don’t hear about popular variations of eating fresh seafood. After watching that episode of Man v Food; I knew what a lobster roll was and I had to have one.

Usually if I have a craving for a particular meal, I satisfy it within a day or two, but my mission for satisfying my lobster craving was proving to be very difficult. Again, being in Michigan, what restaurants around Detroit, are going to serve fresh Maine lobster rolls? I’ve searched just about every popular seafood restaurant in the tri-county area and my hopes of satisfying my craving was dwindling. It seemed like the only way to get a lobster roll was to go to Maine or Massachusetts, which at the time I could not afford to do, so I put my quest off to the side.

Earlier this year, I was introduced to a great sandwich spot in Corktown, which is one of Detroit’s historic neighborhoods. The place is called Mudgie’s and they have some of the best sandwiches I have ever had in my life. They utilize a lot locally raised meats and grown vegetables. You see a lot of green/organic terms such as grain fed, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free, etc. Mudgie’s is using quality and healthy ingredients throughout their menu.

I’ve enjoyed my experience at Mudgie’s so much, that I started following them on Twitter (@mudgies) and on Facebook for regular updates; about every day Mudgie’s posts their special sandwich and soups. This place is serious about providing their customers a great eating experience and always tries to keep things fresh.

On one Monday summer morning before leaving for work, I logged on Facebook and in my news feed, one of the first posts I see is from Mudgie’s. Their special that day was fresh Maine lobster rolls; I immediately knew where I was going for lunch.

The morning hours were moving extra slow that day; my anticipation and appetite grew by each hour leading to lunch. As soon as you walked inside Mudgie’s that day, the smell of fresh Maine lobster was in the air. When my lobster roll was finally placed in front of me, I took a moment to admire it. You could see the vibrant colors of the lobster and the celery mix laying on freshly cut romaine lettuce. They were not conservative with the serving, nor did they cut the lobster into small pieces. The lobster was cut into thick chunks and I had a couple of claw pieces. The hoagie bun was perfectly toasted, not too crusty and not too soft either.

After admiring, I finally attacked. It was love at first bite. Mudgie’s didn’t douse the chunks of lobster in mayo or dressing; it was a lite enough layer where I could taste the tang from the mayo but still taste the rich and meaty flavor of the lobster. This was by far one of the best sandwiches I ever had; actually one of the best foods I have ever had. I found myself savoring every bite, as if it were going to be my last. Again, the hoagie bun was perfectly toasted and never fell apart in my hands.

My craving for a lobster roll was finally satisfied and I was not disappointed at all. It exceeded every expectation I had during my two-year craving. The only negative part to the experience was that my lobster roll was finished and I wanted more. I’ve had other lobster rolls from local areas since then, but they paled in comparison to the one I had at Mudgie’s. I only hope that Mudgie’s brings back the lobster roll special every now and then so I can have that perfect moment of food coma.