10e in downtown L.A. has duck shawarma and za'atar pizza

posted on: May 9, 2015

Name of restaurant: 10e, named after the owner’s daughter Tenny. You could also think of it as a nod to the nearby 10 Freeway.  

Concept: A McDonald’s-turned-Lebanese restaurant with high ceilings, two floors, ornate white molding and elaborate light fixtures that give the illusion of lamps falling from the sky. The restaurant opened just six months ago with its version of Lebanese food, including some classics (kebabs, cold and hot mezze) and some not-so-traditional dishes, including duck shawarma. 

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What dish represents the restaurant, and why: The duck shawarma. The shawarma is almost gray in color, heavily spiced with cumin, caraway, cardamom and nutmeg. If you didn’t know it was duck, you might think it was beef. The bread is thin and chewy, almost like a tortilla — unlike the bread served along with the dips; those are more like warm, puffy pillows. Inside the wrap, there are strips of lettuce dressed with tahini.

Source: www.latimes.com