Shawarma tacos and
tacos al pastor.

August 9, 2026·From the kitchen at 930 E Campbell Rd

Tacos al pastor are descended from shawarma. Lebanese and Syrian families who settled in Mexico in the early twentieth century brought the vertical spit with them — the trompo. The lamb became pork, the spice mix picked up achiote and dried chiles, pineapple went on top, and the pita became a corn tortilla. The turning cone of meat stayed exactly the same.

So al pastor is not similar to shawarma by accident. It is shawarma, one immigration and a century of Mexican cooking later.

• Meat stacked on a vertical spit and roasted as it turns
• Shaved off thin, to order, never scooped from a tray
• A marinade with acid and warm spice that goes right through the meat
• Served small, in bread, with something sharp cutting the fat

• The meat. Al pastor is pork. Ours is chicken or beef, and all of it is halal — we do not serve pork at all.
• The spice. Achiote and guajillo in al pastor; cumin, coriander and cardamom in shawarma.
• The sharp thing. Pineapple and salsa there; pickles, tahini and garlic sauce here.
• The bread. Corn tortilla versus pita or saj bread.

Chicken $1.99. Beef $2.29. Same meat off the same spit as the sandwiches, in taco format. Three of them costs about the same as one sandwich and lets you try both meats in one order.

They are also, honestly, the easiest first bite for anyone who has never eaten Middle Eastern food and is not sure they will like it. There is no commitment in a $1.99 taco.

Tacos travel well as a shared plate. For a bigger group, a catering tray serves 10 to 12 and you can pair a shawarma tray with rice and mezze — catering runs about $8 to $10 a head.