Pita Mediterranean Cuisine/473 Albany Street/Boston, MA 02118/South End

For some odd reason, every time I drive by South End Pita I seem to be on the wrong side of the median and can't turn around to try it.  I have done this for at least a year, or however long it has been that they have been open.  I decided after breakfast that I would try this place for lunch.  This is how my brain works.  Always thinking about the next meal.

Falafel, Grape Leaf, Tahina Sauce and Salad

Chicken & Lamb Kabob w/Rice & Cabbage

There isn't a whole lot going on on the blocks that surround Pita.  It is directly next to 93, across from the lovely BTD Tow Lot, on the same street as Zapatos and The Boston Flower Market and that really nice looking soccer field. I mention this because it is actually pretty easy to get a parking spot here, unlike most other parts of the South End.  And for anyone that hasn't noticed, the new $1.25 an hour parking rate has already gone into effect.  Funny how quickly things can get done in Boston when the city decides it can make some money.  Yes, yes, I LOVE it here, don't worry.  I t must be the fact that it is the coldest day since January 22, 2005 that is wearing on me.  

So on to the food.

This place is good.  I like Middle Eastern food, but I haven't had any falafel in years.  Not sure why exactly, I just forgot about it, I guess.  I'm sort of glad I waited.  This falafel was perfect, granted, this is coming from someone who hasn't had any for awhile, but it was that nice deep-green-on-the-inside-golden-crispy-brown-on-the-outside type falafel.  I know, I know, I should have broken one in half and taken a picture, but I'll go back again soon.  Great flavor, well accented by the simple, light, tahina sauce on top.

As for the grape leaf, it was fine, good even.  I have an odd relationship with grape leaves.  They seem to me to be pretty much the same everywhere and never overwhelmingly good, but for some reason, you can tell a lot about a place if the grape leaves are better than just OK.  These were not too dry, not overly spiced, not overly lemony or olive oily, good, solid grape leaves (or leaf) all-in-all.  For a meal I got a little twist on one of the daily specials: Chicken and Lamb Kabob with Cabbage and Rice.  Good choice.  It wasn't knock you out amazing, but there was nothing bad to say about it by any means. The rice was white rice with a barely discernible amount of spice and yellowness, the meat was rolled in a simple, not to spicy-hot rub that seemed to be a mix of paprika and black pepper, and grilled perfectly, and the cabbage came served in a little bit of what seemed like tomato sauce with sumac and onions.  The latter was the most interesting part of the dish ("interesting" meaning "good"), but I would like to stress most of all just how beautifully the lamb and chicken were cooked.  And it was that type of lamb that you could introduce to your friends that don't like lamb and they might just change their mind.  I want to try more stuff here.  I didn't get to try the hummus, or the Moroccan Mint Tea, which you can get hot or iced, but the next time that I am on the correct side of the median and hungry, I'll be sure to stop again.  And this time I will get a pic of the inside of the falafel.  Finally, this is a much nicer place on the inside than it looks on the outside.  There are at least 4 or 5 tables in there and it is pretty cozy, not small cozy, comfortable cozy.  

The King Restaurant/1894 Centre Street/West Roxbury, MA 02132

The King Restaurant

How do you not want to try a place with a name like "The King?"  All signs pointed to the food being good at this modest little spot on Centre Street in West Roxbury.  Pretty pictures of Lebanon on the walls, the entrancing Arabic Language music videos on the TV in the corner, and the two spits of Shawarma in the kitchen got my hopes up for one serious meal.  I wish I had better things to say about the food here because the guy running the place the day I went was nice as can be and extremely accommodating, its just that the food was, in a word: boring.

Lamb/Beef and Chicken Shawarma with Hommous, Pickles and 

Salad 

I realize that shawarma often lives or dies by the sauce that is put on it sopping through the pita bread, and I did get a meal and not a sandwich, but even pouring the tahina sauce on top of the overly dry and not-all-that-flavorful chicken, beef, and lamb didn't do much to help the overall experience.  Luckily, there are bottles of hot sauce on the counter that made the meat more bearable, but it only helped so much.  I count on the Lebanese to make the best hommous anywhere, but this hommous was more Greek that Lebanese--grainy, watery, and sorely lacking in tahini.  There is some good that goes with this story.  The pickles alone were almost worth going back for, the tomatoes seem to have been picked off the vine that day and the salad was quite lovely, but all in all the shawarma meal at The King is pretty disappointing.  I wouldn't refuse to go ever again if I were in the area, but I'm certainly not racing back anytime soon.  Although the music was pretty entertaining.

Garden Halal Restaurant/96 Blackstone Street/Haymarket/Boston, MA 02109

Garden Halal Restaurant

     There is a good chance that for most people in Boston, Blackstone Street, on the edge of Fanueil Hall/Quincy Market, consists of three things: Durty Nelly's, Haymarket Pizza, and the joys of Haymarket on Fridays and Saturdays.  For those of us who like to venture into the literal basements of other worlds, there are some great Halal shops and food offerings that don't include getting yelled at by Vinny if you happen to touch the merchandise.  That being said, it isn't all that often that I go gaga over a place after trying it only once, but there are certain meals that are just THAT good and if need be, you never go back again just so you don't catch the place on a bad day.  Don't get me wrong, Garden Halal didn't change my life, and I was admittedly overly hungry when I popped in for lunch a few days ago, but I'm overly hungry a lot so I don't let that skew my opinions of what is clearly good and that which is somewhat shabby.  The Chicken with Olives and the Boiled Potatoes ($8) are superb here.  One of the best meals I have had in weeks.  I will most certainly try this place again just so that I can see what else they have on the menu.

Chicken with Olives and Boiled Potatoes

     Garden Halal is basically an Algerian restaurant.  They have yet to take down the old menu, so you can't actually get the advertised Somali food, and the prices and meals that you see above the cash register, pizza shop style, are not at all what the place actually has, but most of what is offered here is right in front of you to see.  This is my favorite kind of Halal Restaurant, because they also have pizza that some of the patrons were ordering with pepperoni.  Granted, I know that there is good beef sausage out there and you could certainly call something pepperoni that isn't quite such and not be sued, but I love when people take food more seriously than religion.  Other than tasteless My-Food-Is-Better-Than-Yours Amateur Chef shows, it causes far fewer problems in the world.  I don't know what kind of spices were on this chicken, and the owner didn't have a name for the recipe (he just called it Chicken with Olives) but it was quite impressive.