You can eat upstairs or downstairs at Shapiro's Cafe, at 7 W. Preston St. near the University of Baltimore in Mount Vernon.
The fare — deli sandwiches and Middle Eastern wraps — is the same in both areas, but the downstairs caters to the carryout crowd and the upstairs is aimed at the sit-down set.
The upstairs, a space once occupied by the Sylvan Beach ice cream shop, seems to be a spot designed to attract faculty members. There is a polished wood floor and six tables for two where diners can relax or grade papers. Posters decorate the walls. Sunlight streams in the windows, and the upstairs has a good air-conditioning system, a comfort on a hot summer day.
The downstairs is more of a student lair. It is darker, with a few stools along one wall, and it is warm. The kitchen, with those heat-generating engines known as ovens, is nearby. But the grotto-like downstairs is also home to the schwarma, a slab of layered meats that yields sandwiches and the grandfather, I am told, of the Greek gyro.
I am a sedentary sort, so on the muggy day I visited Shapiro's, I headed to the cool upstairs.
The menu was written on a chalkboard, offering a combination of Jewish deli favorites — pastrami, corned beef, brisket, Reuben — and Middle Eastern delights — falafel and hummus. Chai teas, flavored coffee drinks and exotic fruit drinks are thrown in for good measure. Perfect, in other words, for an eatery near a college.
The hot pastrami sandwich ($6.50) was terrific. The pastrami was thin, yet juicy, lean and faintly sweet. It was as good as any pastrami I have tasted on Lombard Street and close to those I have sampled in New York. The bread, a seeded rye, was the perfect match.
The falafel ($5.25) was also pleasing, even if it did not reach the heights of sandwich delight achieved by the pastrami. The falafel was brimming with a filling of fried chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and a tahini sauce. It had bright, crisp flavors. But the wrap, a pita bread, could not contain these moist contents. The bread crumbled halfway through the sandwich. I hate it when the pita crumbles.
A serving of hummus ($3.50) dotted with olives was solid, if not spectacular. So, too, with the raspberry brownie ($2): good, not great.
The real eye-catcher at Shapiro's is that schwarma ($6.50), a marriage of layered beef and lamb formed into a round and cooked on a spit. When you order one, a server cuts thin slices of meat from the round, then combines them with chopped vegetables in pita bread and tops it off with one of a variety of sauces. I got the "traditional" sauce topping, which was pretty spicy. The meat and vegetables delivered that pleasing combination of cooked protein and vegetable crunch. But again, the pita bread crumbled.
The difference between a schwarma and a gyro, I was told, is that the gyro uses pressed meats and schwarma, which is an older sandwich (hence the "grandfather" label) uses layered meats.
There is not much decor at Shapiro's, but the service is prompt and friendly. Upstairs or downstairs, it is a good place to grab a quick sandwich or wrap.
As for whether you should go for its Jewish deli fare or its Middle Eastern fare, thanks to that dynamite pastrami, I give the edge to the deli.
Shapiro's is open Monday through Friday, with the downstairs open until 8 p.m. and the upstairs open until 3 p.m.
Pizza, I am told, will soon be on the menu, including a Middle Eastern version.
Where: 7 W. Preston St.
Call: 443-220-0050
Hours: Downstairs: 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday and upstairs cafe: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday
Sandwiches and wraps: $5.25- $7.50
Credit Cards: Master Card, Visa, Discover
Food: ✭✭✭
Atmosphere: ✭✭
Service: ✭✭
[Key: ✭✭✭✭: Outstanding; ✭✭✭: Good; ✭✭: Fair or Uneven; ✭: Poor]