Damascus Gate Ethnic Grocery

Ever since my favorite shawarma place closed, I have been searching for a suitable replacement. Luckily, my friend Paryse (owner of The Stuffed Beaver) stumbled across Damascus Gate Ethnic Grocery and put and put them on my radar. We grabbed our spouses and headed down for lunch one weekend to eat all the things. We took a seat and the owner came over to take our order. We wanted a variety of items, so we pretty much left it up to him to decide what to bring us. We knew we were in for a treat when he started bringing out the dishes. First up was the Falafel. I typically shy away from falafel since many restaurants tend to cook them more on the dry side. Luckily, that was not the case here. Each piece was perfectly formed and beautifully browned. The insides were soft and pleasant to the taste buds.

Next up, we received a platter with different menu items including beef sausage, chicken chunks, Kabsa rice, tabbouleh, fries, tomato, and onion over a bed of seasoned pitas. All of our eyes did that cartoon thing where they got big and popped out of our heads when the platter was brought out. We quickly dug in, each person grabbing something different. Everyone started telling the others about what they were eating, then we all started going from one thing to the next. I am typically not a huge fan of sausage, but the Arabic seasoned beef sausage was unlike anything I have had before. The meat was packed loosely, but the herbs and spices are what really make this sausage special. Nothing is too overpowering; all of the seasoning compliments the meat and really brings out the flavor. 

Our next course consisted of Beef Shawarma and Chicken Shawarma Sandwiches. These sandwiches are pita wraps that typically come whole, but ours was cut up for sharing. The beef wrap contained bewaz salad and tahini sauce while the chicken wrap consisted of pickles and garlic sauce. They both were drool worthy, but I preferred the chicken. It was fresh, thinly sliced, and that garlic mayo put it over the top for me. It is so tender and warm that it melts right in your mouth. If you look past the counter, you can see the meats spinning on their spit. When an order comes in, the meat is cut off and served. There aren’t many places that do it this way, and you can really tell the difference in the taste.

While you might come in for the menu items mentioned above, don’t disregard their pastries. We tasted a few and were blown away. My favorite is the croissant filled with halloumi cheese. I could sit there and eat endless amounts of those. They also offer meat and cheese pies, and even homemade ice cream. I would highly recommend checking out everything they have to offer before ordering. 

Verdict: Loved it!

Wow, I loved everything about this place. Everything we tasted was very fresh and I could not get enough. I have been thinking about that shawarma pita wrap for days, it was that good. I cannot wait to go back and try even more items. Luckily, they are only a hop, skip, and a jump from my house, so they will be seeing a lot more of me…whether they like it or not!