Ok, so everybody knows Ottawa is a one-horse government town full of WASPs with full pensions and great health plans. We don't even try to join in when Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver square off for the Best Ethnic Food heavyweight championship. (Toronto wins, by the way, though Van-city gets mad bonus points for having take-away sushi joints like other cities have 7-11s.) But there is one thing that we do better than the rest: Ottawa boasts the best shawarma this side of Beirut.

Shawarma, for the uninitiated, is a lot like its more generic cousins, donair and kebab. "Authentic" is a slippery word these days, especially when you're talking transplanted regional food that is by definition inauthentic, but I'll throw it out there anyway. You've got your pita, and your meat, and your garlic sauce, but your typical shawarma could also come with some hummus, plenty of veggies, parsley or even a full-on dollop of tabouleh, all sorts of pickled things, and a hot pepper or two to cap things off. It's the breakfast of champions.

Shawarma Palace, Shawarma King, Shawarma Deluxe, Capital Shawarma... There's a shawarma place on almost every corner, and they're all open late for your post-bar needs. The classic is Marroush International, in the middle of the Elgin Street bar scene - the owner made his name as the infamous "Shawarma Nazi" in the late 1990s, and has since expanded to a couple of new locations.

My favourite, though, is Civic Shawarma - a bit off the tourist track, in the not-quite-downtown residential neighbourhood called The Glebe. (Worth the trek not just for the shawarma and falafel at Civic, but also for the sweet people-watching. The Glebe is primarily peopled by ex-hippies who still bring their own shopping bags, buy homeopathic, wear Birks and drive Volvos, and swear they haven't sold out. It's got a great little strip of neat shops, an uber-granola bakery serving fresh soups and sandwiches, and the best bagel place in town.)

Ottawa's shawarma craze is also excellent news for the hungry vegetarian... Have your falafel and eat it too!

Civic Shawarma & Pies - just follow Bank Street all the way from downtown
915 Bank Street
613-230-0800

Marroush International - next door to another classic, The Elgin Street Diner
C-380 Elgin Street
613-563-4550

There's also a Marroush location at the corner of Rideau and Dalhousie, near the Byward Market, Rideau Centre, and Parliament Buildings.