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| - Pita Land is a franchise chain serving up Middle Eastern fare. It's close by and it's decent, but a little pricey. The decor is a little more modern with clean lines and fixtures like TV menus. The theme is that of a earthy neutral tone, with beige's, green's, and clay red's. The furniture is cafeteria grade, which fosters the quick in/out for a bite turnover every business is hoping for.
Other than the Shawarma's, food is cooked to order here which is a plus. You have to wait for it, but at least it's freshly cooked. The menu concept is similar to Chipotle in that you pick your main protein (or vegetarian), then you pick your vessel (wrap, pita, pita bowl, plate, etc.). Meals will come with sides of rice, potato, salad, pickled vegetables depending on what you order. This concept minimizes the menu board and maximizes the number of combinations available.
Today, I was looking for a fill of chicken shawarma, and gyros, so we got a dinner plate of each.
Each plate comes with Salad, Rice, Potatoes, and Pickled Vegetables.
Rice. Comes in white (butter) or yellow (seasoned). I opted for the white. While it was long grain, it was not Basmati (Indian) as I hoped. It wasn't Jasmine (SE Asia) either. The butter flavour was also lacking. On it's own, this was a bit of a disappointment. 2 stars.
Tabouli. The best tabouli I've ever had was actually at a friends place. The parsley contained only leaves (no stems) and was not blended in a food processor. There was plenty of bulgur to give it amazing texture, the tomatoes were not soft and mushy, and the onions just slightly on the spicy side. Seasoned with simply EVOO, salt, and lemon juice. Here, the tabouli did contain stems, but other than that, it had all the right ingredients. The stems gave the parsley a much tougher (stringier) texture, but stems seem to be the norm when you eat out, so is the food processor. By comparison, there was a decent balance of ingredients, each making a noticeable contribution to the dish. 3 stars.
House Salad. Ordered with the Gyros, this was your typical iceberg lettuce with bits of carrots and purple cabbage for color. it served as part of the base along with the rice, and was not a notable at all. 2 stars.
Garlic Potatoes. This was actually an item that was not made to order, rather they were sitting under heated trays. While the potato chunks were fully cooked and the garlic flavour stood out. Unfortunately, the heated dish did nothing to keep the skin crispy. If made fresh, this would be a much better dish... .pity. 2,5 stars.
Chicken Shawrama. This was probably the main reason I came here, and it did not disappoint. The chicken was well flavoured and showing only slight signs of drying out as expected from something that is constantly exposed to heat coils.The bigger chunks were moist, tender, and juicy. 4 stars.
Gyros. While this is more of a Greek dish rather than a Middle Eastern one, it not to far a stretch and the cooking modus operandus is essentially the same as Shawarma. Processed beef and lamb seasoned with spices, this dish was not bad either. Not as good as their sharwarma, but not bad. 3 stars.
Pita Land is essentially your average run of the mill joint for Shawarma. It's nothing fancy, but then again, doesn't boast to be. If I had the time, I'd go eat a proper Greek or Middle Eastern meal, but in a pinch, it'll do A-OK. 3 stars.
If you would like to experience more, come dine-with-me.yelp.com I'd love to have your company... Bon Appétit!
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