by John Bear
Daily Lobo
You have probably noticed the restaurant that opened on Central Avenue a few weeks ago.
The Pita Pit, with its first location in Albuquerque, sells a variety of sandwiches all wrapped up in pita bread. They also sell salads, chips and sodas. It occupies the space that used to belong to the run-down Laundromat across from UNM - which has the words "Pig and Calf" in ancient lettering above the door (it was a restaurant way back in the day). The Pita Pit delivers until 3 a.m. If you can't fight that late-night munchie attack and would rather skip the body cavity search that accompanies eating at the Frontier Restaurant late at night, the Pit has got you covered. I used to live behind the Frontier and, believe me, it's like Kabul over there on any given Friday night.
Andrew Adey, owner of the Pita Pit, said he bought the franchise about three weeks ago. He said the goal of the restaurant is to offer fast food that's healthy.
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"If you go to McDonald's and pound a double cheeseburger, you're going to work and feel like death," Adey said.
He said the Pita Pit offers an alternative to this deathlike feeling.
I strolled over there with my roommate last week around 11 p.m. to sample the wares. She ordered baba ghanoush, but the restaurant was all out, so she had a hummus pita with all the trimmings. She said it was good. I, preferring the scorched flesh of lesser beasts, ordered a Philly cheese steak with mayo, lettuce and tomato. It was pretty tasty if not a little small. It could have used a little more cheese. Having said that, I am a cheese junky, so the amount on the sandwich will more than likely appease the taste buds of the average person. The price was about $7 including a bottle of root beer - a few more bucks than, say, McDonald's, but I managed to avoid any sort of gastrointestinal turbulence, which is a good thing.
I went back a few days later around 1 p.m. The place was banging - night club banging. I ordered a gyros sandwich with traditional toppings - onion, tomato and tzatziki sauce. It was about the same price as before. I took it back to the Lobo office and devoured it. While not as good as the gyros in a Greek restaurant, where the meat is cut off one of those giant rotating spits, it was still tasty. The tzatziki sauce was a touch bland, but it is a chain restaurant, after all. Overall, I would recommend it.
The place has a wide range of sandwiches from which to choose - everything from chicken Caesar to black forest ham. They also have a variety of vegetarian fair.
The Pita Pit's most valuable asset, however, is its delivery service. Its range is fairly wide - going from Gibson Boulevard and Indian School Road, north to south, and then Carlisle Boulevard and Downtown, east to west. Adey said the restaurant delivers in 10 to 15 minutes, depending on distance. The cost for delivery is $1.
Overall, the food wasn't the best in the world, but it was relatively cheap and its vegetables were fresh. The service was fast, and I didn't have to get wanded to get in the door.
The Pita Pit
2106 Central Ave. S.E.
Grade: B
