Restaurants: Surely shawarma

Even with a bright red sign against its sand-colored facade, Filfilah Market & Restaurant is easy to miss, particularly since it looks similar to so many others on the ethnic-food-rich stretch of Central Avenue in Columbia Heights.

Only three photos of food appear on the restaurant's website, and two of them are blurry. On a recent Thursday afternoon, at the height of the lunch rush, not one table was taken. All of those factors should add up to eatery that's unpopular for a reason, but instead, it's mystifying, because Filfillah turns out to be one of the best purveyors -- perhaps even the best -- of shawarma in the Twin Cities.

Behind the counter, the large, slowly rotating hunks of meat look glossy and succulent, without the constant fat drip seen at so many gyro places. Filfillah chef Ali Kolcak proudly presents them as if they're a gift to each customer. "This is the real thing," he says. "Never frozen, never. Made fresh every day. I just made these this morning. No one else has shawarma like this."

Ironically, during this particular lunch hour, a food wholesaler stopped in to pitch Kolcak on the idea of buying frozen, pre-made shawarma in bulk, to be delivered weekly. The chef listened politely, but his arms were crossed in front of him like a Turkish general defending his border.

What he makes is definitely worth the defense. The lamb and beef shawarma, made with techniques and spices that Kolcak used while growing up in Turkey, is rich and flavorful, and surprisingly tender. No grayish, tough gyro experience here: Filfillah eschews the type of fillers that Kolcak believes are too common in the shawarma business, and which make for lackluster meat.

Also fresh is the tahini sauce, served on the side with a plate of shawarma ($11), salad, rice pilaf and pita bread, or doused generously inside the wraps. Although the yogurt-based sauce is easy to make, the cool tartness of Filfillah's elevates the eatery yet another level. More extra credit points: The pita is shaped like a calzone, smells like pizza dough, and tastes like buttery happiness.

But the truly shiny moment, the one that makes even that divine bread fade into memory, is the baklava ($2 for two). Made fresh on-site, the cylindrical favorite has the usual components: honey, cinnamon, phyllo dough, butter, and apparently, a secret and highly addictive substance. The phyllo doesn't flake or crumble, it just melts, softly, into the honey and pretty soon you find yourself asking Kolcak how much an entire tray of baklava costs (call ahead, he says, he can make you a deal).

Although Filfillah has only been open about a year, here's hoping that Kolcak and his culinary expertise will keep those shawarma racks spinning long into the future.

Celebrity chefs from restaurants including Heidi's, Masu and Meritage will gather at an event called Fish Bites on Oct. 13. They'll prepare sustainable gourmet ocean and freshwater dishes, paired with a variety of new sustainable wines at Minnesota Zoo's Discovery Bay. ($50-$55; details and reservations at www.mnzoo.org.)