Dining pick of the week: Shawarma Vegas

PICK OF THE WEEK:

SHAWARMA VEGAS

2521 S. Fort Apache Road
at West Sahara Avenue, 651-1818

Here is a glatt kosher restaurant specializing in Mediterranean and Israeli food. Without going into detail about the technical definition of glatt kosher, know that the meat has been processed under strict kosher dietary laws. As for shawarma, it is a Turkish word for "turning," and shawarma meat is typically shaved off a large rotating cone of layered meat. Pita sandwiches, such as Moroccan-spiced chicken, falafel, rib-eye steak, schnitzel (breaded chicken cutlet), Moroccan meatball and beef kabob, are served with hummus, Israeli salad or tahini. These same sandwiches can be ordered on a baguette. Larger entrees come with two sides (rice, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, potato salad) and include hot and spicy sausage, fish ball in tomato sauce, schnitzel, Moroccan fish, baked salmon filet, rib-eye, kabob and Jerusalem Mix, which is a mixture of chicken. Several soups are vegetable, bean and matzo ball, while all-you-can-eat salads include red or white cabbage, eggplant and tahini, baba ganoush, Moroccan salad and picante eggplant. Popular desserts are baklava, sesame seed cookies and Abadi, a type of salt cookie. Pita sandwiches start at $6.99, and entrees start at $9.99. Shawarma Vegas is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Friday.

-- Jack Bulavsky