JULY 6 • 2023 | 33
pop in a can or bottled water customers pulled
from an ice-filled cooler. On the day I dined, the
choices were Shawarma Sandwich, including a quar-
ter-pound of chicken and medium fries; Shawarma
Plate, with a half-pound of chicken and large fries;
Kids Meal, a half pita with shawarma and small
fries, and Sabich, an item not familiar to me.
Sabich, a pita bread sandwich popular in Israel, is
filled with fried eggplant, hard-boiled egg, chopped
salad and two sauces. One is tahini, a creamy, earthy
paste made from ground sesame seeds. The other,
Amba, is a tangy mango pickle sauce I learned that
Iraqi Jewish immigrants brought to Israel. Red zhug,
a Yemenite hot sauce, is another condiment available
to spice up pita sandwiches.
A separate board listed Pita Kabob as “Today’s
Special,
” and I went with that choice for my lunch. I
took my bag of food to eat at a table on Aish’s cov-
ered, secluded patio. The sandwich had an enticing
smell and tasted even better. The beef-lamb kabob
was nestled in a puffy pita pouch along with tiny
diced pickles, tomato, red onion and a couple strips
of fried eggplant. The sandwich dressing was tahini,
but it was suggested that I should also try some in a
small cup for dipping my fries. That was a first for
me — using tahini as well as ketchup for fries. I used
both condiments and actually thought the tahini
tasted better. By the way, the steak fries offered here
come perfectly golden and are not an afterthought.
Next time, as good as my pita meal was, I’m eager
to try the sabich and shawarma. Abramov said he’ll
be adding falafel, a hummus plate and more vegan
and vegetarian options in the coming weeks. Salads
and dips will be available on Thursdays. He also
plans to offer a creamy, coconut-based milk pudding
called Malabi. Israelis like this traditional Middle
Eastern dessert.
It appears that chicken shawarma is already the
big attraction here. I encountered Yeshiva University
student Adam Siegel of New York, spending his
summer in Oak Park. Siegel told me he was eager
to place his first order at the TAIM truck he’
d just
heard about because “I’m a shawarma fanatic.
”
And then there’s David Snider of Oak Park, who
posted on Facebook, “This was easily the best sha-
warma I’ve had in Michigan by, frankly, quite a wide
margin. I will be a repeat customer.
”
When I reached him, Snider told me he went
back to eat at TAIM several times during the truck’s
first weeks.
TAIM’s operating hours on Sunday through
Thursday are noon-7 p.m., “or until the food runs
out,
” Abramov said. Don’t let that happen to you! He
recommended arriving no later than the 5 o’
clock
hour to avoid disappointment at dinnertime.
FROM TOP
TO BOTTOM:
The Aish logo
plaque can be
seen beyond
the back of
the food truck.
Owner Dennis
Abramov, left,
and employee
Rami Habouri
inside the
truck. “Today’s
Special” was
Pita Kabob
on June 5,
2023. Dennis
Abramov in his
TAIM Middle
Eastern Street
Food truck
with a slab of
shawarma.
PHOTO COURTESY AARON TOBIN