COLUMBIA'S LUNCH REVIEW

Pitas is a good example of the saying that we often throw around on this blog, "you can't judge a book by its cover." After it first opened, I drove past Pitas on my way home from work every day, and I wondered (with my head shaking in disapproval) why anyone would paint a building such an unappetizing yellow color. Based on this simple impression, I refused to give Pitas a try for the first few months of its operation.

Finally, when one of Rabbit's friends sang Pitas' praises, we agreed to give it a shot. The Mediterranean Tea Room has been one of my favorite dinner spots over the past six years. Pitas was opened by the Tea Room's proprietor, and the menu is very similar. To my surprise, some of my favorite Mediterranean standards are missing off the menu, such as spanakopeta and falafel. However, Pitas offers many of the classic Mediterranean dishes including baba ghanoush, delicious kofta, a fresh hummus similar to the Tea Room's, and not surprisingly, a variety of very nice pita sandwiches.

Rabbit, true to his name, has been to Pitas at least 6 times and continues to order the very same thing - a Greek chicken salad - which he thoroughly endorses. Unquestionably, he's a creature of habit.

I've yet to get the same thing twice at pitas, and I have never been disappointed in my selections, until today. This time of year, when fresh salmon abounds, I crave a nice wild Alaskan or Sockeye Salmon fillet. So today, I went willy-nilly and ordered salmon burger. At the outset, I want to say it is unfair for me to judge a salmon patty by the same standards I would a fresh fillet recently pulled from the cold streams of southern Alaska and grilled on a clean cedar plank (hmmm, doesn't that sound good?). Today, my taste buds just refused to be satisfied by the salmon burger. The fault was not the ingredients on the sandwich, which included freshly shredded romaine lettuce, crisp red onions, tomato, and a spicy mayonnaise that did its best to lift the salmon patty. I must take the blame for not sticking with one of Pitas' excellent gyros or fresh pita sandwiches.

Don't let the color of the building or my menu misstep deter you from trying Pitas. It is a nice, quiet spot to sit down and enjoy some fresh Greek classics for lunch. In the future, I'll have salmon at home on the grill, and I'll be going back to Pitas for the kofta.

- Tank