Dearborn Under Shawarma Law

Garlic. Chicken. And more garlic.

Mix em up, and you have Dearborn's latest public relations weapon: The Shawarma.

In recent months, a satirical movement known as "Shawarma Law, not sharia law" has gained momentum in Dearborn as activists seek to educate the public about their community through Middle Eastern food. Specifically, Shawarma dinner parties are taking place at local restaurants in a building-bridges effort that seeks to wipe out false stereotypes about Muslims and inform folks about what Metro Detroit's Middle Eastern community is all about.

Always good to read some good news. Especially these days.
www.freep.com...

originally posted by: Grik123

Garlic. Chicken. And more garlic.

Mix em up, and you have Dearborn's latest public relations weapon: The Shawarma.

In recent months, a satirical movement known as "Shawarma Law, not sharia law" has gained momentum in Dearborn as activists seek to educate the public about their community through Middle Eastern food. Specifically, Shawarma dinner parties are taking place at local restaurants in a building-bridges effort that seeks to wipe out false stereotypes about Muslims and inform folks about what Metro Detroit's Middle Eastern community is all about.

Always good to read some good news. Especially these days.
www.freep.com...

Shawarmas are really good but yes...they can sometimes be heavy on the garlic.
There is a Middle Eastern restaurant near my old work that we used to order food from all the time and that is what I would always have.
After the first time eating one, I told them easy on the garlic.
I don't get down to Dearborn that much...it's about 30 miles south of me, but when I have been there it's always been nice.

a reply to: Grik123

That's a great story. Thanks for sharing.

Keep thinking of the old Jethro Tull song...'Dharma For One'

I had never heard of Shawarmas until I clicked on this post. I immediately googled it and now I need one in my face. I can not wait to try one!
Thanks for the feel good food thread!

a reply to: Grik123

Bucharest Grill in Detroit has the best Shawarmas, supposedly they arent Halal even.

Dearborn is a nice place actually.

a reply to: Grik123

Schawarmas and traditionally donners are the ultimate drunk food here in the UK.

It's hard to beat a good quality kebab, I do love a souvlaki. Which is (in the UK) Donner meat, vegetables and a chilli or garlic sauce, wrapped in a pitta bread. We use chips as the veg lol.

Anyways, nice story. A great way to break cultural boundaries is via the stomach. And kebabs are as good as a pizza or Mexican any day of the week.

Live a little multiculturalism can be a good thing, just for the food alone. Screw Russian food though, that stuff is rank. Good vodka redeems them though.

Nice thread

There's a place in Reno called Schawarmageddon

I prefer Shakira Law myself.

There are a lot of good middle eastern people who have moved here, they were checked out well in the past. But lately some bad ones are coming in and turning the good Muslim people's kids radical. Nobody wants that. These radicals even come here to go to school and to vacation and while they are here they do some brainwashing of the young kids if they can.

I think middle eastern food is a little too spicy myself, they are used to those spices. I am not. I can't eat a lot of the India foods either, they are too spicy.

a reply to: rickymouse

Try drinking twelve pints of beer before you eat it. It will taste like mana from the gods. Lots of mint sauce helps too.

originally posted by: Wide-Eyes
a reply to: rickymouse

Try drinking twelve pints of beer before you eat it. It will taste like mana from the gods. Lots of mint sauce helps too.

If I drank twelve pints of beer, I would not be able to eat anything. Even when I used to drink, a six pack of beer was my limit for the whole day. I had plenty of hangovers, three beers and I was hung over the next day.

I eat falafels almost daily.

a reply to: Grik123

Ironically, I've never had a Shawarma. In fact, I was never really a fan of stereotypical Middle Eastern dishes.

I love baklava & dried dates though ( -starts drooling- ). Breaking fast with dried dates, dried cranberries, dried raisins, chunks of sharp cheddar cheese, and apple slices is pretty much a family tradition w/us during Ramadan. Baklava is usually too expensive to get on a daily basis, but that's probably because I binge on it when I get it.

a reply to: Grik123

Love this. Thanks for sharing.

a reply to: RAY1990

You're meant to drink the Vodka before eating the russian food......it helps.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Baklava = love.

Pity I now live a ketogenic lifestyle.....no Baklava for me.

a reply to: LightAssassin

And now that I'm a vegetarian, no shawarmas for me.


Though a little research is making me see the close similarities between them & gyros (they come from a common "ancestor" dish). In fact, my first gyros had chicken meat, which technically doesn't make them "gyros" since those normally have lamb and/or beef. But they definitely had the yogurt and other "gyro" toppings (& the restaurant called them gyros). Then again, the restaurant owners were Kurdish, not Greek, so maybe they served a variation of the 2 which was technically neither a gyro nor a shawarma. Ok, I'm overthinking this so I'll stop lol.

a reply to: rickymouse

The "trick" with spicy (I'm guessing you mean chili) food is to build it up slowly. You don't go from meat and two veg one day to a ghost pepper the next. That will end in pain, tears and possibly even a trip to the hospital.

Try a gentle chili (my favourite registers around 300,000 on the scoville scale, not exactly gentle!) and build it up slowly over time. The health benefits are legion and once you get used to the heat, it is very comforting. Another trick is to make the meal the day before, put it in the fridge and let the flavours settle.

I cannot live without some good chili peppers every once in a while.

a reply to: Grik123

Actually really good. Heading down to S. E. Dearborn now... gave me a great idea for lunch! Thanks! MS

Surprised by all the Detroit area posters here... howdy neighbors!

Love me some shwarma!
Haven't been to Dearborn in years but I do not doubt that their shwarma game is on point.

Bucharest grill used to be right outside of the Filmore theatre... nothing like shwarma and a pint after a show.

How can you be anti Muslim with delicious garlic sauce in your mouf?
Cool story.


a reply to: Grik123