Pargiot destroys the Shawarma… I will never go back as well
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fascinating. i’m still in the shawarma camp … the trompa adds a lot
Assume you’ve tried the sabich? If not, I think you might dig it.
No but I already know i’ll be way into it
I tried the falafel pita sandwich today, and it was ok. A little blah (homemade is better). They only had skhug today, no harissa. Maybe that’s why. I’ll get the pargiot next time.
@Chowseeker1999 (or anyone else for that matter)
So I’m heading to Ta-Eem soon (tomorrow hopefully). Just want to make sure I got the tips in your original post and updates:
The pro move is either the chicken shawarma or chicken pargiot plates and to make sure to ask for harissa/skhug on the side and the complimentary grilled eggplant, correct?
Any other “in-the-know” details regarding the sides, salads, ordering tips, etc? 
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you got the pro move down, but go with the pargiot 
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Duly noted! And thanks! 
Shawarma laffa with fries inside. Only jabronis order plates. 
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Hi @DoubleThinker,
Yes you got it right. 
Also, for the Plate, it should come with all of the Israeli salads, but feel free to let them know if they ask you (if you preferences for certain salads only - get them all).
Also, Free Extra Pitas! If you want another one or two.
Enjoy!
Thanks @skramzlife, @Bigmouth, and @Chowseeker1999 for the responses!
I was with a few others so we went with the plate options, one shawarma and one pargiot. @Bigmouth: Laffa for a later solo trip is obviously in order.
Forgive the amateur single shot. We were hungry haha.
The small dish layout reminded me of banchan at Korean restaurants, actually.
As someone who has lived in the Middle East, I really think almost everything was nearly as good as the equivalent dishes I’ve had overseas. Ta-Eem is my first time trying Israeli food, and thus everything was different from the Arab-Levantine and Gulf style fare I’ve had. But it was different in a good way and just as flavorful.
The pita is decidedly fluffier than all Arab style pitas I’ve had. After eating the fluffy pita at Bavel, I assume this is common in Israeli cuisine. The pita is very good and I could tell it’s made with care and not of the run-of-the-mill variety, though I could see the stacks of pita in plastic bags.
I asked for all of the salads and my favorites were definitely the roast eggplant (bottom left small dish) and the baba-ghanouj type dish (top right small dish with the fork resting on it). The only dish not pictured was the purple cabbage slaw, which we received later and was very good.
My favorite meat was actually the shawarma, but marginally so and probably only because I am a bit of a chicken shawarma fanatic. Both the shawarma and pargiot are super flavorful and tender. Neither were dry or lacked in the flavor department. Crispy shawarma edges and charred onion from the pargiot are both amazing. 10/10 on both meats, in my opinion. But the best bite may have been the pita bread under the pargiot that soaked up all the juices of the chicken. A super decadent bite!
I think the hummus was very good. Still not holy grail nirvana good, as I’ve had overseas, but very good.
A pro tip of my own: ask for light on tahini topping on the hummus. I read earlier posts on the runniness of the hummus and I asked for light on tahini, alleviating the problem a ton, though I have no original model to which to compare. I may even say no tahini topping next time because the hummus is so good in consistency on its own!
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Hi @DoubleThinker,
Wonderful! So glad you liked Ta-Eem Grill. Definitely my favorite version for Chicken Shawarma and Pargiot in L.A.
Yes, like you said, the crispiness from the edges on the Chicken Shawarma is delightful, and the combination of various Israeli Salads and their warm, toasty Pita Bread is nice.
Did you like their Housemade Red Harissa and the Green Skhug / Zhoug Sauces?
Yes, both sauces were absolutely great. I don’t think I could have enjoyed the dishes as much as I did without the sauces. The creaminess of the hummus and the unctuous nature of the meats match super well with the vinegar and spice of the sauces.
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Yes! 1 more vote for the shawarma crew :))) this shall be the great FTC debate of 2018
also i’m pretty sure the eggplant is fried hard. holy heartburn but who cares
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Did both Taeem and Tel Aviv Grill this weekend. Love both, but to me the flavors just pop more at Ta-eem. That said, does anyone know where Ta-eem sources its pita from? I asked the owner and he yelled SUPER PITA but as far as I can tell this is not a place that actually exists.
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Perhaps it’s this place?
Seems like it’s been closed for years.
It looks that way at first but it was still in business as recently as 2016 when the health department shut it down for roaches:
I popped in here after a day of shopping on Melrose with the family.
The service at this place leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, literally, it took an hour for 3 plates to come out and in the end an order or French fries and several pitas never came out. Could only convince them to give us the French fries…no luck on the pitas never delivered.
Shawarma seemed almost oddly spice-less?
But the falafels are damn perfect. Merguez tasty. Pitas (if you can get them) prettt fluffy. Good hot sauce, very pleasant salads, particularly great eggplant.
Is there a secret garlic sauce you can ask for? The food could use more garlic in the mix IMO; maybe my palate is spoiled by Zankou though.
Enormous portions but feels almost overdone in a way? Not the worst sin ever I suppose.
My biggest takeaway felt like finding a new appreciation rke the artistry on display at Bavel.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Their service has been pretty bad recently. There’s quite a few new faces food running and cooking I think that’s what’s contributing to the problem unfortunately.
No secret garlic sauce but they do have amba, green schug and red schug