Ali Baba's Middle Eastern Cuisine.

shawarma!... I wrote a post last week about a very disappointing shawarma place, and its good to know you can still grab some tasty middle eastern food without getting blatantly ripped off.  After a study session for our PT exams, we headed out to grab a quick bite at a Ali Baba's Middle Eastern Cuisine at Dundas and University.  Most people have probably seen one one of these Ali Baba's around Toronto as they have a ton of locations around Toronto, so this review is specifically for the one on Dundas near University.  I've walked by this place many times in the recent months and it has always seemed packed at lunch, where they have a different special every day of the week. We went on a saturday and grabbed the Friday/Saturday special, which was 2 Shawarma Plate Dinners for $13.99 + tax. We chose 2 Chicken dinner plates (you can get beef instead), and for $7 each, it was a lot of food.  The plate was loaded with a yellow buttery rice, pickled turnips and some different salads.  They freshly shaved and grilled the chicken for us which was nice to see as some places just give you cold/ old pieces of meat. You can also ask them for a pita on the side, which they toast for you although they didn't seem to give this out unless you actually asked.  It wasn't the best shawarma but tasted better than I expected for the price.

This place seems to have 10+ locations around Toronto, so I would expect some differences in food/ service/ deals. For this location specifically, the best deals appear to be on $8.29/ 2 Chicken Shawarma Sandwiches (Mondays) and $8.29/ 2 Beef Shawarma Sandwiches (Wednesdays).  The service is what you'd expect at a fast food type place, but this place is a pretty decent spot for a quick bite- expect it to be busy during weekday lunches. It's also open pretty late, not exactly sure but I've seen it open around 2 am before.

Ali Baba's Middle Eastern Cuisine

197 Dundas St W

Toronto, ON

M5G 1C8

(416) 538-7001

Taste of Mediterranean.

shawarma... I haven't been updating much lately because I've been busy with school and also because I've just been lazy.haha, so hopefully that will change a little. I have school everyday around University and Dundas, so me and my classmate Henry have been grabbing lunch at places around the area. decided to go check out Taste of Mediterranean for shawarmas instead of getting subway (which many of us were eating for the first week or 2 of class lol). They sell shawarma sandwiches, platters, salads, roast chicken and pizza too.

We both went for the chicken shawarma sandwich (~$4.50 after tax) and they have the usual toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, pickled radishes, onions, hummus, etc). They also grill the shawarmas with a panini machine which I think always makes these wraps taste much better. The sandwich itself tasted pretty good and filled me up for lunch, although other places seem to be more generous with the chicken. One thing I didn't like was that they used some pre-carved chicken for our sandwiches. I prefer having the chicken freshly shaved off the giant spit so you know its hot and fresh. The place was also totally empty considering it was around noon and the area around University and Dundas is pretty busy.

I also noticed that they had a deal for a 7'' Halal Pizza for ~$3.00 which I will definitely have to try next time. There's so many places to get shawarmas around downtown Toronto, but this is right by my classes, so it works out.
Taste of Mediterranean
205 Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario
416-850-3338

Pita Q Shawarmas.

shawarma... After playing ball for a couple hours at U of T the other day, I was pretty hungry so my friends and I walked over to the Pita Q Shawarma place. I eat these middle eastern sandwiches almost religiously when I'm at UT. There is a huge selection of toppings you can get on your shawarma including hummus, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, pickles, picked turnips, etc.. The most popular choices at Pita Q are there shawarmas (beef or chicken), specifically the chicken one. They load up a pita with all the toppings you want and fill it up with tons of shaved chicken/beef meat that comes from a big chunk of meat that is stuck on a spit and grilled non stop. To top it off they throw on a tassssty white sauce and some hot sauce. Finally, it's served with with garlic sauce on top. After the entire sandwich is grilled to perfection in a panini machine (used to grill sandwiches), they are mad crisp and give off a delicious aroma. These shawarma sandwiches are proper. Especially when you haven't had them for awhile, you just can't resist ordering one when you're there, which was what happened to me (even though I had already ate dinner that night haha).
Quick Notes: Pita Q also serves other things such as falafels, fries and shawarma platters, but its most popular item is definitely the shawarma sandwiches. The place is located at South West corner of Spadina/Bloor @ 750 Spadina Ave. right next to the Bubble Tease. Price wise, these shawarmas offer pretty good value. One shawarma ($4.50 after tax) will definitely be more than enough for the average person. If y ou're really hungry grab 2 for a bit cheaper (2 for $8.47 after tax). When they ask you if you want it to go or for here, make sure you ask for the garlic sauce or hummus on top regardless. My vote goes for the garlic sauce. Btw, they are open till 2 am on weedays and 4 am on weekends.