Don't Judge

If you were apt to judge a place just by walking in, you may not pay Safa Kabob any mind. Still, don’t let its glowing menu board deter you. The motif of the fast food restaurant certainly engrosses the physical space, what with its washed out lighting, quiet atmosphere, and spacious dining room. But given a little toleration, the Middle Eastern kitsch that decorates its sand coloured walls may be just enough to charm you. It certainly charmed me.

Now, I’m not particularly polished when it comes to Traditional Eastern cuisine, but I’m acquainted with enough culinary consultants who are more than happy to spoon feed me when it comes to trying new things, and this time was no exception. Luckily, my fellow comrade in culinary arms was well versed and able to enlightenment me on just what made Safa Kabob Restaurant the modern twist on Traditional Eastern cuisine it claims to be. In fact, what makes it different from other Middle Eastern cuisine is its fusion with markedly Indian dishes that share the same underpinnings of Middle Eastern flavours, but aren’t particularly combined in any fantastic way. That said, the option of a menu that offers kabobs, curries, wraps, and specialty dishes still offers great choice and a meal that can easily fill two for under 30 dollars. 

We elected to try a dish from every section on the menu, and were ambitious enough to eat every dessert. We ordered the lamb kabob (11.99), a seasonal favourite of the place, using its limited but privileged supply of fresh Ontario lamb chops, the beef Gosht Masala (10.99) curry dish, and Safa’s eggplant vegetarian dish (10.99). Confoundingly, our desire to sample every dessert was dissuaded, as we were assured all we’d need to drink was the jug of Mango lassi (5.99), more than enough for two. It was a moment before I could come to terms with a restaurant trying not to sell its customers everything on the menu, but the trolley cart wheeling out copious amounts of naan bread and dishes of rice along with our meals had me rethinking why I had been leery in the first place. 

Yes, we were laden with a buffet of potent purees and succulent stews, accompanied by undressed salads, plain rice, and ever so popular naan bread. To the untrained eye, I was assured the hodgepodge of food could easily appear dull, and the only thing with any flavor reserved to the humble bowls of beef and eggplant; however, the creative eater could make a patchwork of all the flavours offered. Our vegetarian eggplant dish was a compote of aubergine, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and spices. The oily smash was a pungent, spicy mix speckled with quenching minces of coriander that turned any overpowering salty savoury flavor into something bright and clean. Mixed with rice, it became a fulfilling mix of samala spice reminiscent of the curry flavor we associate with so much Indian cuisine. 

Our beef Gosht Masala shared the same spice foundation, enlivened with a fiery concentrated stew of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and fresh green peppers. The dish’s beef tenderly surrendered to any fork, revealing a deep maroon coloured flesh. My naan bread, with its crisply roasted crust and perforated pillowy interior, had no reservations about wiping up any stew left over in the silver bowl. And the mango lassi did a good job of tempering the fire in our bellies; the small, yet surprisingly filling, jug of pureed mango and yogurt coated and calmed the insides of our stomachs and left a memorial sweetness that lingered on the back of our breaths even hours after our meal. And though our lamb chops were more done than I would have preferred, the charred exterior matched a motif of meat that depended only on its own earthy flavor and very little seasoning. A welcomed gamey quality added a good change to the family of flavours in our meal, and had me wondering why I had even thought twice about Safa Kabob Restaurant in the first place.




Hours
Monday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Tuesday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Thursday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday 11:00 AM - 8:00 PM

ANY PAYMENT

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I Can Remember It For You Wholesale

Thank goodness for Joey, because I know nothing about anything shawarma. Though the Levantine ritual of packing meat in a wrap and selling it in as many competing hasheries in Waterloo as possible has existed for as long as any Canadian Chinese food place has, I’ve never taken the time to go in, order, and see what the buzz is all about, largely in part because I could never come to terms with the price for something so simple. That said, the only perspective afforded me in regards to the shawarma, the falafel, or the gyro, all came in retrospect to what the shacks in the University of Waterloo’s campus court plaza’s bodega of culinary delight has to offer. Joey too has his own understanding. His understanding being that Australia has the best gyros, shawarmas, ‘whatevers,’ he has ever eaten. And who am I to deny it? I know nothing of the sort.

Highland Halal Shawarma had us both hankering curiously for whatever it was that drew people into its small corner. Aside from our usual sniggering at anything food and anything attention grabbing, we figured the traffic must have been some indication that Highland Halal Shawarma was doing something right.

Its menu’s small, its food inexpensive. No meal will run you over 10 dollars. And if you deny yourself the option of a combo and stick to the puritan disposition of its wraps, you’ll have a bite that’s even cheaper, but just as satisfying. Before I took a bite this was my favourite thing about Halal Shawarma; before its tiny space, before its two stool bar on-looking a parking lot crossed out by iron, before its mirrored walls that make an infinitely small space look on, humorously, into infinity. But I’m not complaining; I liked it. I liked the white noise, the bright lights. It was a space that stirred in me all the fantasy of food joints in big cities. When I went in, I could pretend that when I went out something big and urban was waiting, steam rising from sewers, people smashing elbows- not sprawl and neglected suburbs, not strip malls. Just me, Joey, and whatever shawarma was. Whatever cheap shawarma was.

Joey was first up; he knew what he wanted. All the fixings on the side, cautioning me that he fills his own pita because some people really load up his wraps; that, for whatever reason, doesn’t sit right with him. I was indifferent. And, of course, lacking any perspective I ordered a falafel wrap (5.30) and a shawarma wrap (6.64), as well as the novel, yet not for faint-of-heart, Ayran than-koto yogurt drink, making sure Joey got one too.

 

Lobbed in front of me and cuddled in a paper bag were two separate wraps, each in two even smaller paper bags. In each, warm pitas cocooned snuggly around respective fillings of fried chickpea patties and chicken- shaved from a conical spit. Any other fixings were up to the eater; they could include brightly pickled turnips, radishes, pickles, and the lesser more mundane everyday vegetables.

My resilient, chewy pita counterpoised the chaotic stuffing of crispy chickpea falafels, slippery pickles, and spicy lip puckering hot sauce. It was a fun thing to chew, and a great way to manage fillings that have a potential for making a big mess, especially when a falafel as perfectly crisp as mine gave way to a soft sumptuous cumin centre. My tender shawarma was no different. Its tender meat, a savoury hot roast against cooling pickles pulled up again by a humming hot sauce was a great first experience. Our tart yogurt drinks too. We both wondered if they tasted as sour as each other’s. They did. We laughed. We loved it. Sour and savoury quenched with even more sour and savoury. Staring out into the parking lot, it was a good way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.

HIGHLAND HALAL SHAWARMA

(519) 741-8300

200 Highland Rd. W.

Kitchener, ON N2M 3C2

Tue-Sun 11 am - 9 pm

ANY PAYMENT

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