Baiz Market is a "Mediterranean" type restaurant, or "Arabic" type food. Well, you could get confused and call it that. The fact of the matter is though, that this place has a very unique touch. This restaurant is a staple not only for groceries, but also its food. The owner is persian, so you can tell where the tastes are coming from. Its somewhat hidden in the heart of Phoenix, but that's ok, once you are there you will be glad you found it.

This place is unique because they make their own bread! Are you kidding me? I only recently found out about this place like 3 years ago, and I've been living in Phoenix for 20 years. The chicken and beef shawarma have a special, authentic taste because of the fresh bread. One of the best parts about the shawarma is not only its amazing taste, but the pricing is very fair as well. I don't think I can stress this enough, but the fresh bread just sets this place apart from all the impostors in the Phoenix metro area. Why haven't the other restaurants caught on? I know of maybe one persian restaurant that makes their own bread, but their pricing makes them a different story (I'm talking about 'The Persian Room' in Scottsdale).

I just don't understand how other restaurants can serve the bread that comes in plastic bags from a manufacturer hundreds of miles away. 'Good bread' and 'Arabic bread' are all good forms of pita that have great shelf life due to the ridiculous amounts of preservatives, but they just don't taste fresh.

If you like the bread, head to the back of the store and there is a shelf of freshly baked pita bread, its baked throughout the day, I think. I can tell because sometimes my bread is still warm and the bag has a little condensation. Beware though, the bread gets hard and crunchy after a few days, so you really need to use it quickly. This isn't bad, its just I think they choose not to add preservatives to ensure the freshness of the pita.

I usually just get the chicken or beef shawarma, but I decided I'd get a kabob plate one day because I also wanted hummus. The beef kabob plate came with hummus, bread, 2 skewers of beef kabob, and some pickles and onions. Wow. The beef kabobs were cooked perfectly, and were EXTREMELY tender. It was a tad bit on the lemony side, but I suppose that was necessary to make it so tender. Perhaps some of the best 'persian kabobs' I have ever had. The hummus was definitely good as well, I can't stand restaurants that crack open a can of premade hummus. This restaurant certainly did not disappoint with the hummus.

I know friends in Tucson that make stops specifically at this place for shawarma, and rightly so. If you're weary of persian food, just check this place out. Its not expensive at all, food for two is like $15. The wide variety of ethnic foods is also interesting.