[CLOSED] Mama's Shawarma

🇸🇾 SYRIA
📍 1416 E. Colorado Street, Glendale, Verdugos
🅿️ Plenty of parking in Ralph's lot
🥤 No Alcohol

EDITOR'S NOTE: As of 06 July 2022, the truck has closed down. On Instagram, it is said to be temporary, but seems permanent.

 

With the confident swagger of social media savvy younger generations, Mama's Shawarma hit the streets back in January, setting up shop in front of the Northridge University Center shopping mall on Reseda Blvd. They began spending a weekend night or two in Glendale and have since permanently shifted their Syrian flag-adorned truck to this location in front of the Ralphs on Colorado Street for six nights per week.

What immediately stands about them in a city where shawarma wraps are a dime a dozen, is their devotion to Arabic-style shawarma plates. These are more like what you will find at night in the Levant's largest cities, friends and families in front of plates of cut up shawarma wraps that have been covered in fries, squeeze bottles of ketchup at the ready on each table.

For to go orders the fries are laid out on top of a sheet of wax paper, separating them from the sandwiches. They offer two sizes for this, the Mama's plate is $15 for one cut up sandwich, fries, a small salad, pickles, and of course garlic sauce. A much better deal is the Big Mama's plate ($18, below), which adds a full second wrap to the mix and an extra container of garlic sauce for just three dollars more.

You will know just from looking at their shawarma spit inside the truck that the bird is going to be delicious, and the first bite does not disappoint. Fries for this order were overcooked and dried out, but still decent when dipped in their creamy garlic sauce. For the purists, ketchup packets are in your bag, so do not worry.

The truck sets up by about 3pm daily now and sticks around until they sell out of shawarma. Usually well into the late evening, the hour that happens depends on how many "famous" plates they sell, huge round platters that can contain between 5 and 25 sandwiches with fries. While you certainly should not be having parties at the moment, this seems like an excellent catering idea in the (hopefully) near future.

If the person in front of you orders one, it could take up to 30 minutes to get your order so come with a bit of time. A woman (Mama) in the back of the truck is preparing kofte kebabs on metal skewers for grilling that look quite good, so on a visit that requires more than chicken you do have options.

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