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| - I stopped by last Fri. for lunch with a friend. Those of you who follow my reviews know my general disdain for the pathetic lunch options available in Oakland, but occasionally, the need to have lunch at a local establishment arises, this being one of those times. For those occasions, I keep a list of bookmarks of local lunch spots I haven't tried handy, and Beta Bites was the next such bookmark on my list.
For lunch, I ordered the chicken sharmola sandwich (I think it was a little over $7), and my friend ordered the salad with Moroccan chicken. The sandwich came with fries and was quite large for the price (about a foot long, I believe), such that I could only finish half of it at one sitting. It consisted of chicken, greens, bell peppers, and some kind of sauce similar to Thousand Island dressing. While the chicken was nicely seasoned and the sauce added some flavor, I didn't find the sub super flavorful. Upon eating the other half the next day, the addition of some whole grain mustard upped the flavor ante, improving it.
While I didn't try my friend's salad, the chicken appeared to be similarly seasoned, and the salad itself was quite large. It came with a yogurt-based dressing that was green in color, which the cashier informed us was due to the inclusion of fresh parsley. My friend said it was one of the best salads she's had recently, and she enjoyed it very much.
Unlike many local establishments that do most of their business via delivery, counter service was friendly and attentive, which was nice. Prices were very reasonable, esp. given portion sizes, which is important for any eatery where a high proportion of customers are college students. While I felt that the sub could have been more flavorful, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt with a 4 star rating due to my friend's assessment of the salad, the service, the price:portion ratio, and the relative uniqueness for the area. Check it out and see what you think!
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