Love at First Chomp

For many Iqaluimmiut, the bright orange trailer across the airport is the first stop for a meal when you get into town, and the last snack before you leave. And since Yummy Shawarma is famous for its chicken wraps dipped in garlic sauce, it’s made a lasting impression on more than their breath: by noon on weekdays, the lineup’s already out the door, the phone’s always ringing for takeout orders, and in the summer, Yummy Shawarma sets up a food truck when festivals come to town. 

Aside from the pastries, everything’s made in-house: owner Khaldoun El-Shamaa and his staff marinate the meat and stack it on the shawarma spits themselves; they roll their own falafel, and the pizza dough’s made from scratch. But El-Shamaa won’t say which menu item’s the most popular. “Everybody asks me,” he says. “But really, they all go.” Then the phone rings, there’s another order for takeout, and it’s back to frying falafel.