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Chicken Shawarma Plate from Bay Side on Water Street in Worcester, MA

December Foodies brought us to the Canal District to Bay State Shawarma & Grill; a Middle Eastern casual dine-in, takeout restaurant. They do not serve alcohol, and BYOB is prohibited. They offer a diverse menu, which included several vegetarian offerings.

Shawarma typically denotes the manner in which the meat is prepared, roasted all day on a spit, sliced to order. Although I have seen Shawarma and had Middle Eastern cuisine, I had never tried Shawarma. I was excited to take my taste buds on this culinary adventure.

To start we ordered some vegetarian grape leaves: stuffed with rice, mint, tomato, parsley, and spices. The grape leaves were excellent, the flavors spot on, the leaves held together well, not too tough/stringy or soft. For my meal, I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Plate. Chicken roasted on the spit, sliced over a bed of rice, served with salad, hummus, labneh, pickles, and warm pita bread.

The food was simply delectable! The portion size was perfect; the chicken had a fantastic spit roasted flavor and went perfectly with the bed of rice, the hummus was well balanced in flavor, the pita was homemade and warm. Now… the real star on my plate was the Labneh. I had never tried Labneh, or even heard of it before and while it was fantastically overpowering in garlic and a slight heat, I could not help but want more and more! Labneh is a kefir cheese mix with garlic and mint. I kept using it as a dip for my chicken, for the pita bread. It was extremely addictive!

As I looked around the table, I was overcome with food ordering envy, admiring all the dishes and thinking – what will I order next time. I will be back to Bay State Shawarma & Grill many more times, I can guarantee that. I highly recommend stopping in for a bite or getting a nice meal to go, not only is the food fantastic the prices are extremely reasonable. Bay State Shawarma & Grill is one of my top 5 for Foodies thus far.

Beef Shawarma Plate from Bay State on Water Street in Worcester, MA

Bay State has long been a favorite local favorite of mine. They have grown from a small bakery with some food items into a nice bakery, store, and restaurant with a hookah bar in the works.

After picking up some grocery ingredients and Items from the bakery and store I decided to place my food order. I ordered a Beef Shawarma Plate and added a Kefta Kabob to the plate. The plates here typically come with rice pilaf and side salad mixed with salad dressing that includes middle eastern spices and sumac, garlic spread, hummus, brined pickles and vegetables and pita bread. The beef is shaved off the Shawarma Grill and placed on top of the pilaf and then drizzled with a tahini based sauce. I added the Kefta Kabob which was a perfectly seasoned and gilled meat skewer that was delicious as well. The flavors and smells are a wonderful sensory experience here. The tahini, hummus, sumac flavors, grilled meats, pickled vegetables, labne, all make for a flavorful meal that is a delight to the eat. Sandwiches and plates are an exceptional value.

Bay State is a great place for a flavorful inexpensive great meal. The people are always friendly and helpful and willing to customize a order for you. The baked pita bread, spinach and meat pies, Zatar bread, and other items from the bakery are also wonderful. Searching through the market I always pick up a spice or ingredient home to the kitchen to add to the cooking items. Bay State is a great hidden treasure for Worcester that should not be missed. The one area I would love to see them expand is the homemade dessert items. Bay State Shawarma and Grill has become a weekly stop for me that would be hard to replace.