Local chef Jason McHugh traveled the world and then married an Israeli women, Natali, whose father’s friend owns a shawarma shop in Tel Aviv.
When the McHughs were planning Desert Rose, their cafe-cum-grocery in Media, a sample packet of spices and a recipe arrived. McHugh applies his rub — a dozen aromatics such as nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, cumin, white and black pepper — to chicken thighs for 24 hours, then "builds a stick" of the marinated thighs on a vertical spit.
He shaves the meat generously on a platter of hummus, another imported recipe, and serves it with a cold Middle Eastern salad and his own pillowy-soft pita.
