Pita Grill - Irvine

Force of habit and cheapness rules my daily work-lunch routine. At least once out of the week, if it's not Yoshinoya, then it's Wendy's. At Yoshinoya, I add extra chicken skin to whatever I happen to order (even the beef bowl), and at Wendy's I turn their baked potato into a sort of improvised shepherd's pie by fluffing up the potato good and soft with the butter and sour cream, and then slowly working in their chili. Try it yourself. You'll love it.

But there's now a third on the rotation. Pita Grill is a special place. A place that serves food I didn't expect a place like Pita Grill to serve. Their kebabs explode with juice and cooked to any degree of desired doneness. Twirling columns of meat are shaved with a handheld device that whirrs and whinies. The most popular is the chicken, piled in snowy mountains and eaten with pita bread after being slathered in a potent garlic toum, one of the best I've tasted which is as good as, if not better than, Zankou's.

And then there's the veggie plate (shown above).

For a little less than $10, I can choose any 5 items from their mile-long side dish display, a pick-and-choose array full of veggie entrees that I actually want to eat, including a krab salad I took an immediate liking to. There's also well-seasoned falafels (two per order); fried cauliflower so addictive you forget it's cauliflower; hummus as smooth as butter cream; and many more items that would cost a fortune if you ordered it a la carte.

Pita Grill
3800 N Barranca Pkwy. Ste N
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 552-7482
http://pitagrillirvine.com

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