Kosher Critic: A street food called shwarma

Anyone who has ever been to Israel, be it for seminary, yeshiva, a family trip, on a business trip or through Birthright, will probably be willing to count shwarma amongst their favorite foods. For those not in the know, shwarma is mix of marinated meat (usually turkey, veal or lamb) and fat that is placed on a spit and then slow roasted. Often eaten in a pita or lafa, shwarma is unquestionably the most common street food in Israel. This omnipresence coupled with its low cost and sheer deliciousness is what so endears shwarma to Israeli tourists. The problem is that shwarma is a very complex dish to make and is nearly impossible to replicate in the home. Many American kosher restaurants make valiant attempts to replicate the common Israeli dish, but most times they fail to faithfully recreate the authentic flavor of shwarma’s Middle Eastern roots.