Description of shawarma as 'iconic Israeli street food' sparks widespread mockery and derision
With every blockbuster there is always a breakout star. The Avengers is not any different. Well, maybe kind of. The thing that everyone is talking about is shawarma. Thanks to an ad-lib by Robert Downey Jr,, and the culminating end scene of The Avengers where they are eating shawarma, this middle eastern food has become a hot property. Shawarma, or an “Arabian taco” as some people call it due to its portability, low price and prevalence as a street food, is seeing a huge surge in popularity due to this scene. You can even buy a shawarma/Avengers shirt from Be Obscure. What is shawarma? It is spit roasted seasoned meat (similar to gyro meat in roasting only) layered with (and this part varies by region) tomatoes, onions, tahini or garlic mayonnaise on a pita. I can tell you from experience that it’s incredibly delicious and no two places cook it the same. Ranoush, a restaurant in the Delmar Loop area, has fantastic chicken shawarma. It’s served with onions, garlic mayonnaise and tahini....