Shawarma Review: Marroush International Shawarma, Elgin at Gladstone, Ottawa, ON

For many Ottawans, it begins and ends with the Shawarma Nutsy, pictured above, who has served thousands upon thousands of over-refreshed twenty and thirty somethings well into the wee hours of the morning on Friday and Saturdays since I started hanging out on Elgin Street back around 1998. He's the owner of the one and only Marroush International Shawarma. The flagship location is the one I visited last night, but he's now expanded to Hull, Maloney Boulevard in Gatineau, Rideau at Dalhousie and soon (Oh God, please let it be true) to Sparks St. if all goes well.

Not only are the Nutsy's antics legendary (ask my sister), but the product that he serves is also incomparable, drunk OR sober. Last night, I went there prior to meeting my good buddy the Lodhstone for an ale, and it was just as I had expected, although I was asked if I wanted turnips, hot peppers or onions in addition to the regular lettuce and tomato. This, quite frankly, shocked me, because I had remembered Marroush as one of the only places that served their shawarmas with only lettuce and tomato. The guy behind the counter read my expression and asked "You want it old style?" I responded affirmatively and before long I was ripping into a beef, garlic sweet (those are the sauces).

In was, in a word, incredible.

There was a time that I said without hesitation that if I were a death row inmate and was asked what I would want for a last meal, this would be it. Although in recent years the good ol' $12.95er at Pubwell's has ranked right up there, I have to say that a beef garlic sweet would garner a few moments of consideration.

Still the standard.

Overall rating: 10/10