11:40AM, 4/2/2022
I’m so full. Today for lunch I headed over to Falafel Corner on Pleasant Grove near 65, in the same center as Flame & Fire, Chandos, The Habit and others. This location was previously Granites Cheesesteaks and Wings (which I think has moved to Foothills near Blue Oaks, at least there is something there called Granites).
Falafel Corner is a smallish chain/franchise in the Sacramento area with about 8 locations. The other location that is close by is at Douglas and Sierra College and I think I may have been there once a while back but I can’t be sure. The weather is beautiful today and they had the front and side doors open. As soon as I stepped inside I was greeted by a gentleman working up at the counter. I browsed the menu for a bit and then stepped up to place my order. They offer the typical Mediterranean stuff, gyro, chicken, hummus, falafel and baklava. The other main offering they have are a small variety of hamburgers. For drinks it’s pretty much just soda, lemonade or a mango flavored drink.
I went with the Combo Platter (Gyro, Chicken, Salad, Rice, Tzatziki, Hummus and Pita Bread)[$14.99] to try a bit of everything and also added an order of Falafel A La Carte (Shredded Lettuce, Falafel and Cucumbers with Tzatziki and Tahini Sauce)[$5.99] and a soda [$2.49]. I didn’t realize it until now, looking at the receipt, but I didn’t get charged for the soda. They still gave me a small one when I asked about a cup when my food was brought out, so that was nice.
The space is fairly small and very spartan. There’s barely any decoration aside from a few glass-mounted photos of their food near the back tables. No music was playing and the couple of small TVs were off. I listened to a podcast and the occasional noises from the kitchen as they worked on my order for a little under ten minutes.
From the back a different worker brought my two items out. The plating was quite nice, everything aside from the rice was nicely laid out. Underneath the layer of gyro and chicken was a good sized mound of colorful and soft long grain rice. A tiny bit of crisp lettuce, onion and ripe tomato accompanied everything. The pita bread was warm and fluffy, great for scooping up some hummus and a bit of everything with it.
The gyro had this incredibly smooth texture to it, the meat was very finely ground. I thought flavor-wise it was pretty good, but the chicken was really great. Every tender bite started off with a nice hit of spices and a bit of charring. With the Tzatziki sauce both meats were enjoyable to the last bite. The rice was quite nice as well and if I wasn’t so full towards the end I would have finished it all. The hummus was solid. I would have liked it with more garlic but it was perfectly enjoyable as it.
On to the falafel. I got 4 big pieces with this order, each about four bites worth. The outside was beautifully fried to a golden brown and crispy shell. Within, the soft ground up chickpeas had a bright green color, giving this dish a bunch of color that was otherwise only provided by the lettuce and a few slices of cucumber. These were fantastic. Tahini sauce gave this a nice creamy contrast with the crisp outer layer.
Service-wise it was pretty minimal but both people I briefly interacted with were very friendly. I feel like I am beating a dead horse by mentioning the prices did feel slightly elevated. That’s just the new norm though. I post prices on all my posts so from now on I’ll let you decide. I probably won’t comment on it anymore unless it’s really unusual.
Today I decided I better stop being lazy and get to another post. And with that I picked out a spot that’s been open for a while now. That place, tucked back into a corner behind Dimple Records on Santa Clara at Douglas, is Pita Kitchen Plus (I’m not sure what the plus is for – they are also part deli/bakery so maybe that’s it). This is a Mediterranean restaurant which is the 2nd of it’s kind. According to their website they have another location on Arden and have been in Sacramento since 2008.
I arrived right at 6PM to a very quiet dining room. I was the only customer for my entire visit, nearly an hour. I was greeted right away by the only other person I saw who was both the hostess and server. She took me to a booth and asked if it was OK, then handed me a menu and let me look over it for a minute while she went into the back and turned on some music in the dining room. She returned a moment later to take my drink order. I just went with a Dr Pepper [$2.49]. I definitely needed some time to decide so she left me to study the rather large menu for a while.
I figured I wanted to get some humus as an appetizer and then pick out an entree. The appetizers are all well priced, most are in the $3-6 range. Sandwiches (in pita bread) look to be a good lunch option at about $7 a pop. I was looking for something a bit more substantial as I was pretty hungry so I continued on past the soups into the main dishes and eventually settled on the Shish Tawouq (Curry marinated boneless skinless chicken breast, grilled with tomatoes and onions. Served with rice, Hummus, and pita bread)[$18.95]. Since this conveniently came with the hummus I was craving I picked out another little appetizer, a Kibbeh (Ground bulgur [cracked wheat] and onions stuffed with our freshly minced meat, onions and spices shaped into a football and deep-fried to a golden crisp)[$2.75].
Within about 10 minutes of ordering I had the salad for my entree as well as a complimentary starter of pita chips and dip. The salad was super green and fresh with slices of red onion, bell pepper, cucumber and ripe tomatoes in an olive oil and vinegar dressing. The pita chips were nice and very crunchy. This greenish dip that came with it was very light and cool. If I didn’t have a bunch of food coming I probably would have demolished this whole basket.
My entree showed up pretty quickly, just 7 or so minutes after the salad and chips. It was a pretty big plate. Arranged around a big mound of rice were slices of grilled chicken, two tomato halves and a couple big chunks of red onion. Off to the side was a good-sized serving of hummus. Two halves of warm pita bread were served in a side basket, wrapped up in a napkin to keep the heat in.
Almost everything about this plate was awesome. The rice was tender and tasty, the tomatoes nice and juicy and the onions…oniony. The hummus was amazing as was the soft, warm pita bread I used to scoop it up. The chicken, unfortunately, was the weak link here. It was overcooked, pretty dry and a bit tough. Most of it anyway – a few of the thicker pieces weren’t that bad. Coming to it’s aid was the creamy, oddly pinkish-colored garlic sauce. That was really delicious and I used just about the entire little dish to give the chicken a bit of moisture and additional flavor.
A few minutes into my main dish my server returned and delivered the kibbeh, which she admitted she had forgotten about but luckily the cook had remembered. As it happens I had forgotten about it too so it was almost like a bonus. This was really interesting. I cut the crisp little oblong kibbeh in half to reveal packed, steaming hot minced meat inside. The texture of the crunchy exterior was strikingly similar to a churro, so much so that at first I could have swore I tasted cinnamon, but it was just my brain playing tricks on me. The spiced meat was really savory and delicious and I loved the crunchy shell. I would order this again in a heartbeat.
After my meal, along with the check, I was given a couple small pieces of baklavaa (fill strudels stuffed with walnuts and cinnamon,baked and lightly topped with our homemade orange-blossom sugar syrup)[$2.95] on the house. These were freakin’ tasty, super sweet and flakey.
Other the dry chicken, everything else was really good, the server was friendly and attentive and I would be inclined to return and try a non-chicken dish in the future. I do hope that this wasn’t a typical amount of business since it was Monday, because if that’s the case then they won’t last much longer.
Tonight I was joined by the whole family for dinner at the new Kabob & Gyro Grill. This new Greek/Mediterranean joint is located in the Family Fitness shopping center at Foothills & Junction. They are in the old 
I arrived a couple minutes before everyone else and stepped in to look around. The basic layout is the same as it was with Kazoku, a narrow space with the kitchen on the left and dining on the right. The only major change I noticed was that there is now black carpeting instead of the light blue tiles. The chairs are the same but the tables are new. On the menu, for the most part, you have a choice of steak, chicken or lamb in either kabobs, wraps or plates. The prices seem to be in line with a good Greek place I like over in Rancho (Eat A Pita). Everything is between $6-13. For $2.50 more you can add a drink and either fries, basmati rice or a greek salad.
The family arrived and soon after, a similarly sized group. I thought my people were right behind me when I jumped up to get my order in before the rush, but apparently they were still looking at menus. Luckily the observant cook noticed this and, as I stepped away from the register, asked me if I would like him to prepare my order with the rest of my party. That was a good plan and I appreciated him offering to do so.
Most of the family ordered the Combination Plate (thin marinated slices of steak & chicken)[$9.99]. All platters come with basmati rice, salad, hummus, tzatziki sauce and a hot piece of pita bread. They were pretty good sized plates. Everyone was really happy with this. I tried some of the hummus with pita bread (which really was hot) and it was delicious. I might go for a side of that next time. My dad got the Lamb Kabob (two skewers of marinated lamb cooked over fire)[$12.99]. All Kabob dishes come with onions and tomatoes, served over basmati rice with salad, hummus, tzatziki sauce and a hot piece of pita bread. This looked just as good and had nice big chunks of juicy-looking lamb.
I ordered the Steak Shawarma (Thin, marinated slices of steak)[$5.99]. All shawarma dishes are topped with fresh lettuce, onions, tomatoes and tzatziki sauce, all wrapped in a hot thin bread. Basically it was a shawarma burrito. They grill the whole thing a bit to crisp up the wrap. This was much bigger than I expected for $6. I didn’t really need the side of fries I got with the $2.50 combo adder. Those were incredibly hot and crisp, right out the of the frier no doubt. They were a bit bland, but some ketchup easily remedied that. The shawarma wrap was fantastic. The steak wasn’t as heavily seasoned as it is at the Eat A Pita in Rancho, where I most often get shawarma, but it was still quite flavorful. The lettuce and onions were both fresh and crisp and the tomatoes were good as well, though perhaps could have been slightly more ripe. They ask how spicy you’d like your food, mild, medium or spicy. I went with medium and I did notice a bit of spice, though next time I’m definitely going to try spicy.
All in all I was impressed. The price is right and the food is solid. The handful of other reviews I’ve read have been almost unanimously positive. My mom said that while she likes Daphne’s, she thought this was better. I would say that it’s a bit better than the Milo’s Grill in the Galleria, which is probably some of the better Greek food in Roseville. As I said earlier, I’ll definitely be looking out for their future Rancho Cordova location as well.
Eating Through Roseville 