ottawa foodies

beef shawarma @ guava's shawarma. surveying many shawarma joints and among them that peaks my preference includes guava's in bbqhaven....errrr i mean barrhaven (or is that farhaven? heheh): from my pitstops, the veg are fresh, crisp cut & clean, the portions generous, the garlic sauce is ok and could be stronger. what i also like very much about guava's is their seasoned rice -- they use a curry seasoning and bits of dice carrots which for me works well as a flavor hit with the hummus, garlic sauce and tahini combined with the beef. i sense the new owner is very very nice, very courteous and cares about customers and repeat business (unlike some a$$hole gordon ramsay wanna-be's.) very picky about shawarma places for food prep cleanliness and when i peer over the counter, they're pretty good and haven't yet had the post-shwarma stomach uncomfortable feeling or the killer gasssseous reflux of death. so the motto when it comes to good lebanese (word to your mother edition): "IF IT'S GOOD FOR YOUR TUMMY, IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!!!"

oh what's this?? lime ricky pop shoppe available ice cold and refreshing! rare soft drink (as all of them are on the extreme end of unhealthy food acidity level) grab as a RARE treat.

chicken shawarma platter.

"under new management" is usually a buzzword for gone bankrupt, sold the business, new owners, new recipes and menu. decided to give these guys a try after prior visits for supersized sharwarmas with average taste.

slightly better offerings with the new guy running the place. the beef and chicken shawarma platters were tasty and juicy. the garlic was on the mild side. still it was a healthy, lower glycemic food choice better than other fast food joints around barrhaven.

i would go back as long as its earlier in the day as with most shawarma places when the meat is freshest and less dry.

I went there on Saturday evening around 5:30 for the first time. Ordered a sandwich, beef samosa and potatoes with garlic sauce. I LOVE how the potatoes were not sitting in a lake of oil, they were not greasy at all and at the same time not dry. The sandwich was really good, and i like how they use jalapeño peppers instead of the same old pickled bell peppers. Nice change. Chicken was moist too. Beef samosa was just okay, it needed to be heated up more. The place was pretty busy and the all the guys behind the counter were very friendly and courteous. I will definitely be going back!