FAMILY RECIPES SPICE UP FAST-CASUAL DINING
Country Hills, Royal Oak, 16th Avenue North and Macleod Trail are covered. “We need one more,” says Izzo Abufarha of his family’s Jerusalem Shawarma shops. “There’s Alaa, Diaa, Belal, Sudqi and me,” naming his brothers. Five of them. So five restaurants should work just fine.
Izzo has launched Jerusalem Shawarma Macleod (8720 Macleod Trail, 403-230-0011) just a few weeks after Diaa and Sudqi opened the Royal Oak location at 8650 112 Ave. N.W. (403-375-1126). And the fivestrong partnership already has its eyes set on one more.
It’s been a rapid expansion for the brothers over the past couple of years. Arriving from Ottawa with a freshly minted Carleton business degree and a job offer from Telus in 2007, Izzo Abufarha noticed a lack of high-quality shawarma shacks around town. So a few years later he convinced his brothers to participate in a new business plan — bring authentic Palestinian cuisine to Calgarians in a fast-casual environment using their grandfather’s recipes. (He had run a restaurant in their hometown of Jenin.) A good plan. So they joined him; Alaa and Diaa from Jordan with degrees in management information and English literature respectively, and Belal, the accountant, and Sudqi, enrolled in SAIT’s petroleum engineering program, from Ottawa.
Three other brothers, two running an abattoir and one a professor in biochemistry at Carleton, and a sister raising a family, remain in Ottawa. “Our father said we could do whatever we wanted but we had to have university degrees first. So all nine of us do.”
Part of the Abufarha plan was to adapt their family recipes to a modern, fast-food system. So they hired chef Ali Ryan, to consult on the project. Ryan’s Israeli background helped shape the Jerusalem Shawarma menu into form. It covers the usual shawarma house dishes from beef donair and falafel to hummus, tabbouleh and chicken kebabs. The meat for the shawarmas — over a thousand pounds of chicken each week in each outlet — is spiced and marinated for 24 hours before being stacked on the rotisseries. Dried chickpeas are soaked overnight and cooked before being pureed into hummus or whipped into falafel batter and cooked to order.
So, in spite of the humble surroundings of the Jerusalem Shawarma shops, the quality is among the highest in the city for Middle Eastern food. That quality, and a high level of service — given that they are fast-casual restaurants — are why lineups form frequently at the locations. And everyone is welcome. “Muslims, Jews, Christians, whatever,” says Izzo. “Jerusalem is claimed by all three major religions in the area so everyone is welcome at our restaurants.”
While each Jerusalem Shawarma has its own kitchen, they all use the same recipes and have the same menu and pricing. (Most items are well under $20 and servings are abundant.) But a central commissary may be in the future.
“We’ll see,” says Izzo with a smile. But first there’s the issue of location No. 5. The Abufarhas don’t know where that might be but Izzo says he thinks the deep south might be a possibility. It’s all in the plan.
BEIRUT STREET FOOD OPENS IN SOUTHEAST
The Fairview-Acadia area has seen the opening of a second Middle Eastern restaurant recently with the arrival of the engagingly named Beirut Street Food at 7220 Fairmount Drive S.E. (403-512-7772). Ramzal Salem and Mohamed Kassab worked for almost a year to open the only charcoal-fired shawarma cafe in the city. Horizontal spits of chicken and beef spin slowly over charcoal, emanating a luscious scent and producing richly flavoured meats.
Salem and Kassab have created an upscale, fresh space with full south-facing windows and a simple floor layout. Ordering is from an overhead menu with service quick and friendly. In addition to the usual shawarma and donair dishes, there is a short menu of poutines — this Beirut street apparently runs through Montreal. According to Salem, “We serve fries so I thought, why not add some chicken shawarma and put some gravy and squeaky cheese on top.” Add a little tahini and some garlic and you have a cross-cultural treat. And the falafel poutine with vegetables is a fine vegetarian option.
The east-west mash-up continues on the dessert menu with coconut cream pie and carrot cake alongside baklava and knafi, all made in-house.
Everything on the menu is under $15, making Beirut Street Food a bargain. And quick and tasty at the same time.
MEMORIAL FUND, DINNER FOR CHEF SOBOL
Last August Starbelly executive chef Jonathan Sobol and videographer Alec Bracegirdle died in a tragic car crash near Beiseker. It was a serious loss to the culinary community as well as to their friends and families. But to ensure that their memory lives on, the Jonathan Sobol Memorial Award Fund has been established at SAIT, where Sobol took some of his professional training. Already over $73,000 of the scholarship goal of $100,000 has been raised and a dinner is planned for April 24 to advance the fundraising.
That evening, 11 chefs, including Starbelly’s Paul McGreevy, Home & Away’s Mike Pigot, Bow Valley Ranche’s Jenny Kang and SAIT’s Simon Dunn will prepare a meal at Starbelly in Sobol’s honour.
It should be a fine evening of food and memories. Tickets are $150 each and are available at Starbelly. A silent auction, managed by SAIT, will go online on April 13 and a live auction will be held at the event.
Funds from the scholarship will provide financial assistance to SAIT professional cooking or cook apprentice students who are involved in mentoring children and youth in culinary education, show academic achievement and who show culinary or agricultural commitment. This will be a great tribute to Sobol’s memory.