MANY YEARS AGO, when I was backpacking across the Middle East, I discovered there was a subject that divided its citizens. This time it wasn’t about religion, but rather the profoundly bitter and deep-seated debate over who makes the best shawarma. Even the spelling of shawarma can elicit confrontation, as the parody website Pan-Arabia Enquirer observed with this pitch-perfect headline: “Violence erupts at Middle East spelling bee over spelling of ‘shawarma.’”
According to Ali Qleibo, a cultural anthropologist, the word shawarma comes from the Turkish word çevirme, which means “turning.” Typically a shawarma is made from beef, chicken, or lamb and is prepared by rotating marinated meat for hours on a vertical spit. It’s most often served in pita bread and topped with yogurt or mayonnaise.
Thankfully for Portlanders, if you want to engage in the timeless tradition of bickering about which country makes the best shawarma, you can sample a wide range of options from Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey in a single city block of downtown Portland. I call it “Shawarma Square” because of the remarkable fact that between SW Washington and Alder on one side, and SW 9th and 10th on the other, there are 10 shawarma food carts. For less than 10 bucks, you can buy a shawarma, a soda, and a baklava. Even better, a trip to Portland’s shawarma square won’t land you on any TSA no-fly list.