pension333: John Kerry makes unscheduled shawarma sandwich stop in West Bank

US secretary of state darted into fast-food restaurant Samer's in Ramallah for a shawarma sandwich and dessert

It's enough to give the healthy eating lobby a heart attack. US secretary of state John Kerry made an unscheduled pitstop in his diplomatic circuit on Thursday, darting into a fast-food restaurant in the West Bank city of Ramallah for a shawarma sandwich, a staple snack all over the Middle East.

Shawarma ? shavings of meat grilled on a rotating spit ? is usually served stuffed inside pitta bread with an assortment of salads, pickles, hummus and tahini. Its succulence comes from the fattiness of the meat, which means a sandwich with all the trimmings can clock up more than 1,000 calories.

At Samer's Restaurant, Kerry chose a turkey shawarma, slightly less fat-laden than its lamb counterpart. "Man, that is good," he is reported to have said.

But not quite sated, the secretary of state then dashed across the road ? ill-advised when considering driving protocols in Ramallah ? to Samer's pastry shop, where he consumed a portion of "knafeh" and a serving of thick, and typically heavily sweetened, Arabic coffee.

Knafeh is a dessert made with gooey sweet cheese and drenched in syrup. Usually it is topped with bright orange shredded filo pastry; Kerry's came with additional crushed pistachio nuts. Another 500 calories.

Kerry is urging an economic package to boost the Palestinian economy. Perhaps as a signal of his commitment, he insisted on paying for his food.

Harriet Sherwood

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/23/john-kerry-west-bank-shawarma

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