It seems that the revolving door of restaurants continues to turn. What was previously Kolette’s Kitchen on Lexington and 56th Street will soon be a second location for the popular falafel place Soom Soom whose first home is located on the Upper West Side.
The new location is set to open in 2 months. Stay tuned for more details.
It’s official. The popular UWS restaurant Darna has closed it’s doors permanently. Koshertopia has confirmed that Darna’s last seating on Columbus Ave. was last week. Management cited negotiations over a lease renewal as the reason for the closure. They will still offer off site catering from their new commissary in the Bronx and a new facility in midtown.
Koshertopia has confirmed that Pita & Co. has opened at 1213 Teaneck Rd under the Supervision of the RCBC. Offering homemade falafel & Israeli cuisine, and a free salad bard, Pita & Co. serves authentic Israeli shishkebabs, shwarma and more.
Pita & Co.
1213 Teaneck Road
Teaneck, NJ 07666
Rectangles on the Upper East Side is now is now under the Supervision of the Rabbi Israel Mayer Steinberg (Cup K).
Not too long ago, Koshertopia reported that the Diamond Dairy located in the Diamond District had closed. As we lose one restaurant, another opens. Recently, Gan Eden by Jacob has opened at 74 West 47th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenue, on the third floor). They will be offering Bukharian and middle eastern style food for sit down or takeout.
They are under the supervision of Kehila Kashrut
Olympic Pita has been going through a bit of an identity crisis lately. When I first discovered it last year, it was a casual falafel and shawarma restaurant. Then, it became Baraca with dimmer lighting, more modern décor, a much pricier menu, and sushi! In recent weeks, the name has reverted back to Olympic Pita. All of these changes never affected the quality of the food, fortunately.
Olympic Pita is fantastic for many reasons, but mainly because it offers something that most pita places in Manhattan do not: homemade laffa. For those of you who may not know, laffa is freshly-made, over-sized pita baked in a tandoor oven that comes out with the perfect combination of soft and crispy at the same time. As soon as you open the door to the restaurant, you can smell the laffa baking.
On the way to our table the main dining area, we strolled by the laffa oven and the salad bar. Everything looked delicious. We started with an order of hummus, which came with a piping hot laffa for dipping. The best way I can describe this combo is “heavenly.” The hummus was garlicky and creamy, and topped with great tahina and olive oil. Although it doesn’t say it anywhere on the menu, the basket of laffa can be refilled as long as there is hummus left – so, be sure to ask!
Every lunch order comes with a trip to the salad bar. You are allowed to fill up one small plate with a delicious assortment of coleslaw, Israeli salad, pickles, etc.
For my main meal, I ordered a falafel laffa, which comes with hummus, harisa, Israeli salad, and French fries. I have had fries in pita before, but those were always bland and soggy. Olympic Pita’s fries were actually good on their own, and even better squished in with falafel and covered in hummus! The falafel was absolutely delicious…a little spicy, crispy on the outside, and a ton of flavor.
Even with all its changes and my few minor complaints, I can’t stop raving about Olympic Pita. It is definitely as good as any falafel I’ve ever had in Israel.
And finally, a few additional Miss Menu pointers…
