Full name: Shalom Kosher Market & Max’s Kosher Cafe
Schawarma! Think I’ll go get one now.
Linda K
- Welcome to the Lunch Encounter, a blog devoted to the mighty sandwich, with particular focus on American regional specialties. I am Lisa Cherkasky, a Washington, DC-based food stylist, writer and cook. To see some of my work take a look at my website:
http://www.lisacherkasky.com
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The Lunch Encounter 
How could I have lived here this long and never heard of Max’s? The schawarma I had there last week might have been one of the most delicious sandwiches I have ever encountered.
Max’s is a big place, a little bit gloomy, but intriging that way, with a black and white tiled dining room in the back – looks like they made a stab at being a trendy NY deli – and a few more tables up front next to the schawarma bar. Either Max’s was grander at one time or else they had grander dreams that did not come off, at least as far as ambiance is concerned. The food couldn’t be any grander (well, the schawarma anyway, cause that is all I have tried so far). But I liked how plain it was – I’ll take great food in a shabby place anytime over the reverse.
SO….the schawarma…..you pay at one counter (4.95 for a half – that’s a HALF? yikes!) and they give you a little ticket. Take your ticket to the schawarma bar and the nice man there takes a piece of pita and walks you down an array of salads in all colors – picked turnips, turmeric yellow cauliflower, tahini, chopped cucumber salad….garlic? he sez, and dips into a deep vat of what? oil with mass quantities of chopped garlic in it? yes please. Sliced onion salad, onions in a couple other variations. All the while he is tucking little pieces of succulent meat into the bread, nestling it among the vegetation. Tomato salad, hot pepper dressing, what else? Gotta go back and take notes.
He handed me my fat pita, swaddled in deli wrap and resting in a basket trying to catch its breath. What a delicious drippy mess. Ohmygod, it was good. The juice ran down my arms, the crunch and spice and bits and bites made my mouth happy, the schawarma disappeared. Dang I needed a lot of napkins.
They have Dr Browns sodas too, plus corned beef, pastrami, falafel….
Gotta get back there and soon!
Where in Wheaton? The Triangle?