Daily Specials are a Great Value at Liberty Shawarma

Chicken Shawarma

I went to Liberty Shawarma (@LibertyShawarma) on Queen East for a quick bite to eat during lunch.  Walking in, it was the first I've heard of the place, but I quickly discovered that this location was one of three that existed across the city.  My guess was that the Liberty Village location on Atlantic was the first, given the namesake of this Middle Eastern joint. 

So three locations...this place must be good, right?  Well, I can tell you that Liberty Shawarma's food is fresh, tasty, and priced well. 

Nothing screams value like their Monday special: two shawarma chicken sandwiches for $9.99, especially considering their small is usually $6.99.  You would think they would try to scrimp on quality and size but that simply isn't the case. They took what I consider a medium-sized pita (x2) and packed it to the brim with fresh ingredients: onions, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles with succulent pieces of chicken topped with garlic sauce and optional green hot sauce.  Fantastic!  There was just the right amount of sauce as the sandwich was moist but it didn't drip (this held true even with the second sandwich that I saved for dinner) - a plus if you are on the go. 

If ever in the neighborhood, I would definitely go back... especially for their daily specials.  

Click here to view their daily specials from Monday to Saturday.

On Sunday, all daily specials are available!

Date Visted:  February 23, 2015

WOW! CHIRASHI!

Despite its name, Wow! Sushi is an unassuming sushi restaurant on Charles Street.  At first glance, it appears to be one of the many run-of-the-mill sushi joints downtown.  Instead, it is a hidden gem!

I was very impressed with their version of chirashi, which traditionally is a dish consisting of assorted pieces of raw fish served over a bed of sushi rice.  You pay a little more for a chirashi here than your average sushi place but it's well worth it.  At an average sushi joint, the ever ubiquitous salmon makes up the majority of the dish with other routine pieces such as tuna, surf clam and shrimp.  How boring!  But, at Wow, you can delight your palate with a better selection of fish that involves sea bream, mackerel, and B.C. tuna.  Not only do you get variety, but you also get freshness and flavour.  Such is the case with their butterfish, where you can taste all the subtle nuances of the fish.  At your dime a dozen sushi place, you tend to get served inferior butterfish pieces that have poor texture and taste.  Often this happens because the fish has excess water from being partially thawed from being frozen, but Wow gets it right.

Chirashi ($18.00)
Interestingly, Wow serves the sushi rice in a separate bowl, perhaps to enhance the presentation of the fish.

Wow! is a great option to satisfy your sushi craving for instances when you want better quality fish but do not want to break the bank with the likes of JaBistro, Japango, Kaji, or Yasu.

Spicy Salmon Hand Rolls