Sampling Middle Eastern food at Whole Foods

I sampled the Middle Eastern food at Whole Foods in Parmaus today with Jason and Rachel Perlow, and we all came away disappointed. The food served at the stand called Shish! looked a lot better than it was.

We tried the turkey, beef and lamb shawarma, but the meats were dry. Whole Foods gets points for using good ingredients, raised without antibiotics or growth hormones, but loses points in the execution. Items that should be spicy, such as the muhammara dip, were mild. We couldn't taste garlic, lemon or cumin in most of the food.

Jason, the food lover behind the Off The Broiler blog, also didn't care for the falafel. I had one falafel a few days ago and the tahini sauce I asked for helped a great deal.

Although the Paramus store is convenient, Shish! can't compete with Joeyness Cafe in Fort Lee or any of the storefronts slinging falafel in Paterson and declaring theirs the world's best.