You might call it a wrap. Or a pita sandwich. They call it Chicken Shawarma on Saj.
You might say: It is to die for. But I say: Such things make life worth living.
To find the Chicken Shawarma on Saj, you must head to the community of Rosslyn in north Edmonton, then find your way to the Sunbake Pita Bakery, 10728 134th Ave.
Warning: If you're coming from the south, don't take St. Albert Trail. It is the long way around. Instead, go north on either 97th Street or 127th Street, turn onto 127th Avenue. Head north on 113th Street to 134th Avenue, then turn right again. Clip these directions. You will arrive sooner at your Chicken Shawarma.
On your route, you will pass by places with sinfully sweet baklava, fresh lamb and groceries of mystery and spice. We will get there in a moment.
The Sunbake Bakery is in a strip mall, alongside other Arab businesses and cultural organizations. The bakery is run by two brothers, Alex and Geehad Mouallem. They were born in Canada, but spent almost half their life in embattled Lebanon.
"Lebanon is in my heart, sure," says Alex. "But Canada is home."
I promise you, no politics today. Only food. Let's start with this bread called saj, a big, round flat disc of soft fragrance. A baker woman makes the dough and spreads it thin. She places the thin round of dough on a pillow, then plops it on a cooker that looks like a large, inverted wok.
Sunbake makes several thousand rounds of bread a day, mostly pita, and supplies countless grocery stores and restaurants. But here, a small bag of pita costs less than a buck.
So you can come, buy your bread and head home. Better yet, grab a stool and order from the pictorial menu. The place does a number of pizza-like pies topped with spices, cheeses and meats, then fired in a gas oven. The fresh spinach pie, with three cheeses, comes out hot, crisp and gooey. Depending on your appetite, it will satisfy one or two adults. All for $2.50.
The spinach pie is not the least expensive on the menu, either. A Zatar pie of oregano, oil and spices is only $1.50. A meat pie of ground beef, tomatoes and onions is $1.75.
Now to the Chicken Shawarma on Saj, $6.99. To make it, marinated chicken breast is sliced off the vertical broiler, then wrapped in the soft flatbread, along with pickles and creamy garlic sauce. Hummus is served on the side.
Pick it up and bite into the perfect sandwich wrap -- succulent, savoury and fresh.
No preservative chemicals, no deep-fried oils, but oodles of flavour.
You will be satisfied. But with this blast of garlic, you will also feel the need to refresh the palate with something sweet. Get in your car and head west six blocks.
At 113th Street and 134th Avenue you will find a strip mall anchored by the exotic Elsafadi Supermarket. If you've been to the Italian Centre Shop in Little Italy, well, this is the Arab version. Here you will discover exotic treats unseen at regional supermarkets: tubs of olives, strange-looking fruits, new cheeses and crisp little cucumbers.
Anwar Elsafadi assured me there are no silly questions in his store. Bring in a Mediterranean recipe and his staff will find the ingredients for you. They also have recipe books on hand.
Next to the market is one of my favourite places in all Edmonton. The Paradiso pastry shop is a romantic place that delights both the eye and the palate. Paradiso supplies cakes, cookies and baklava to numerous restaurants in town.
But come here and try it at the fountainhead. My absolute favourite are some small, tube-shaped baklava that crunch and ooze with sweet syrup.
But I also love the kunafe, a bun stuffed with soft cheese, ground pastry and a splash of syrup. Kunafe is a fast-food breakfast staple in the Middle East.
Around the corner is Hajar's Halal Meats, with such delicacies as fresh lamb and spiced ground beef. I once picked up a butterflied leg of lamb here for a backyard barbecue. Perhaps I got lucky that day on the grill, but it was some of the finest lamb I've tasted.
A few weeks ago I wrote a column about the hip little shopping district in Highlands, along 112th Avenue near 66th Street.
I later wrote a column on Santo's Ristorante in Little Italy, on 95th Street.
I have explored this city for decades. I merely want to share with you some of my favourite weekend-afternoon haunts, in case you've missed them.
So try this area in Rosslyn that I like to call Little Lebanon. You will learn a bit about another culture. You will eat well. My advice? Avoid St. Albert Trail. And skip breakfast.
White Bread