{"id":21353,"date":"2026-04-07T10:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T14:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21353"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:57:20","slug":"shawarma-by-any-other-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21353","title":{"rendered":"Shawarma By Any Other Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)<\/em>
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\nYou\u2019ve probably eaten shawarma but have you ever tried shaurma? It\u2019s more than just an orthographic alternative: it\u2019s Georgia\u2019s (the country, not the state) answer to the popular Middle Eastern street food \u2013 and the rendition served at Genatsvale is first-rate. <\/p>\n

Instead of being stuffed into a pita pocket, shaurma is rolled up in thin lavash and then pressed, a technique that happily puts the focus on the filling; you can choose chicken or pork or a mix of the two and opt for spicy or non-spicy. In this photo, I\u2019ve snipped off a bit of bread to reveal the chopped veggies that accompany the generous portion of marinated meat. <\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written about Genatsvale\u2019s best-in-the-neighborhood achma and habit-forming qada here<\/a> and of course, we always pay a visit on my Exploring Eastern European Food in Little Odessa<\/a> ethnojunket where there\u2019s a thriving Georgian population.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious, \u201cgenatsvale\u201d is a touching Georgian word that doesn\u2019t readily translate into other languages. At its essence, it is a term of endearment but it\u2019s actually an elision\/concatenation of a longer phrase which loosely deconstructed is, \u201cIf you are ever in trouble, let me take your place.\u201d Sweet.<\/p>\n

Genatsvale Georgian Bakery is located at 3070 Brighton 3rd St in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
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\nStay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! \u2764
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You\u2019ve probably eaten shawarma but have you ever tried shaurma? Read on…. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[60],"class_list":["post-21353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-good-eats","tag-georgian"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21353"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21359,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21353\/revisions\/21359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}