Restaurant Report: Pita House = Ali from Mediterranean Cuisine
Decatur Metro | February 16, 2012Patrick writes in…
A friend of mine, BulldawgBeth, has found out that the owner/manager of the new Pita House (which replaced Kyoto Joe’s at North Decatur Center) is none other than Ali from the old Mediterranean Cuisine restaurant that closed a few years ago in Avondale Estates (a few doors down from Our Way Cafe in the Twin Oaks Shopping Center). He closed that restaurant and relocated to Australia to start a new restaurant and now he’s back!
For those of you who’ve never experienced it – his falafel is unbelievable. I had a chicken dish there that my tastebuds still fantasize about. A welcome, new option for made authentic Middle Eastern, just outside Decatur proper.
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My favorite flaffel is from Mediterranean Cafe & Bakery on Chamblee Tucker near Embry Hills. Crispy, light and hot. I just wish the dining atmosphere was better.
So that would be Decatur improper? Thank you, thank you… I’ll be here all week. Try the falafel!
Umm, have you bought that domain yet? Because I’m about to.
Funny, right? I was just thinking what an improvement Decatur Improper is over Unincorporated DeKalb.
+1
Parker, your wit adds much to this community!
I prefer Scott’s Postal Decatur personally. The images are insane!
Ha. This reminds me of a recent discussion. What if the Decatur post office closed and they moved/built a replacement distribution center somewhere else? Would all the folks outside Decatur with a Decatur address suddenly have a Scottdale or Clarkston or Avondale address instead? Then let’s see who goes postal…
I guess I can choose between Decatur Improper and Postal Decatur depending on my mood (or my meds.)
His food was wonderful! Will head to Pita House pronto!
Yes, Ali’s is really good. He takes great pride in the quality of his food and in being honest. We have been there twice in the last week, and enjoyed his falafel wrap, gyro, veggie wrap, bakalava and homemade potato chips. (we eat a lot) He is also very straight forward so if you want an honest answer about pretty much anything, just ask him.
Do we really need two Mediterranean joints across the street from each other? With another felafel place on Oxford to boot? I don’t think the Burger King marketing model works with felafel. I liked the Avondale place, but I think he should have found a location underserved by this kind of cuisine.
I’m not a big fan of Med Grill so I’m happy to try this place out! Hope it’s as good as you all say…. !
There are many variations of “Middle East” cuisine, since from here it seems to take in everything from Greek to Turkish to Iraqi to Lebanese. Cafe Agora in Buckhead, for instance, is Turkish. I think the guys at MedGrill are Iraqi. Ali could be Egyptian or Arab or even Syrian.
Point is there are differences in techniques, and there are also differences between good and bad, better and best. Ali seems worth a try.
The Mediterranean Bakery and Sandwich on Chamblee Tucker Road stocks pita bread made by a local Syrian baker. They also stock a lot of groceries from Lebanon which are probably sent from Syria to Lebanon for processing. We love stopping there to eat and then buying groceries and take out. Found that place through an old, very favorable, Cliff Bostock column in CL.
Looking forward to trying Ali’s Improper Pita.
Yay! I loved his old place. I’ll be there tonight. Thanks for the tip.
Ooh, I hope Ali has brought back the okra & tomatoes.
So glad Ali is back! We loved his restaurant when he was in Avondale!
Ate there tonight. Falafel was really good. The chicken was awesome as well as pits tuffed with grilled veggies. We’ll be back!
That was pita stuffed, not pits tuffed….sorry…terrible typist.
yay! we used to LOVE his food at the Avondale place. he was the best kept secret in town and was so nice about helping us pick out new things to try. may have to go by tonight for dinner!
We went for dinner and enjoyed the food, especially the tabouleh and chicken kabob with rice. There’s even kid’s chicken nuggets for unimaginative little ones. The atmosphere is a bit sterile just as it was as Kyoto Joe’s. We might tend to use this for takeout.