Tahina's, Owings Mills

Dan's chicken pita with all sorts of toppings

Dan and I had a coupon to Tahina's, a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant in Owings Mills, that we were really excited to use since the menu looked so great.

However, there were some oddities about the place that may prevent us from returning. For example:

1. The menu looks simple enough online and when you walk in the shop, but it is NOT complete. They don't explain that you can make your sandwich into a "meal" by adding french fries and a drink, but it only applies to SOME sandwiches or even some type of bread. You are also limited to three types of toppings, unless you get some other kind of deal. Basically, it gets confusing once you start asking questions.

2. As soon as we walked in, the server behind the counter immediately apologizes that she is sick, but then starts preparing our food......

3. Another server then comes out of the kitchen to help her with our order and he has a hard time with the lavash bread (a flat wrap) because it keeps falling apart. He then tells us that the bread must not be so good today.

4. ANOTHER employee sat in the restaurant with her boyfriend/lover/boytoy having a serious discussion about who knows what. Regardless, she didn't help a bit and was ENTIRELY unprofessional.

5. Luckily the restaurant was quite empty because they were slow in getting our order and making our food. We felt like all the employees were new, though we're not sure if they were.

Anyway, all of that is a shame because the food was surprisingly good. Thought the lavash bread was quite flimsy, I liked my sandwich combination of zesty garlic sauce with hummus, chicken, feta and cucumber/tomato salad.

My flimsy wrap

Dan got the pita bread sandwich with chicken and other various add-ons, and we both definitely agreed that the pita was the much sturdier choice of bread. There are a lot of toppings with which you can customize your sandwich (or platter, if you're not interested in bread), such as feta, cucumbers and tomatoes, cabbage, chickpeas, red onions, lettuce and others that I may not remember.

Sweet Potato fries and a side of Falafel

Our favorite item was the side of falafel ($2.49). Nice and crispy on the outside with a strong taste of cumin. I loved it especially with the tahina sauce they had on the side.

I can't imagine that Dan and I are going to return to Tahina's. There are far too many places for us to try, and we had such a weird experience that it really turned us off. Though I must note a friend went there recently for lunch, and he raved about the place and said the service was friendly and helpful. It's always so funny when people's experiences are so different!

Have you been to Tahina's? Have you ever had such a weird experience at a restaurant that it completely turned you off, despite liking the food?

Cypriana Cafe, Inner Harbor

As mentioned in an earlier post, I love Cypriana's pit stand, but I hadn't been to the actual restaurant in a while, so I finally decided to make an appearance.

I ordered a gyro ($6.90), obviously, and devoured that sandwich happily. This is a good gyro, hefty too. You don't need a side with this. One thing you do need? Napkins. Actually, you need a huge wad of them because I got pretty messy eating this.

I also tried a bite of my friend's hummus - and it was lovely and creamy.

I would definitely come here again.

Cypriana's Pit Stand, Baltimore

I've been excited to try this Pit Stand for a VERY long time, in fact, I even blogged about wanting to try it because it smells soooo delicious every time I pass by.

Well, finally I decided to run over and get a lamb pit sandwich (for $6) with everything on it, which includes their signature Cypriana sauce (which is a mayo-based sauce, handmade at their restaurant), onions, tomatoes, and lettuce on a (HUGE) kaiser roll.

Oh man, what a DELIGHT. I didn't want to finish this sandwich because I didn't want it end (luckily it took a while to finish anyway because it's quite big!) The lamb was succulent and wonderfully flavored, especially being grilled. The sauce fit well with the sandwich - and I'm pretty sure would go perfectly with their beef and chicken pit sandwiches as well (which are $5).

I can't wait to go back and try their other sandwiches! I should probably make my way over there soon since the Stand won't be around forever (they don't sell these items at their restaurant, and the stand will only be around weather permitting).

So make your way over - it's on the corner of Redwood and Light street, and often has balloons tied to it! If you happen to miss it, check out their restaurant just down the street at 120 East Baltimore street. I remember having a yummy gyro from them about a year ago.

Mr Souvlaki, Cockeysville

OK I know this is totally random. I mean, this is the hot dog cart outside of Home Depot. But I need to review this place because I’ve gone there about 4 times in the past three weeks! This place is DELICIOUS AND CHEAP. If you’re like me and have to go to Home Depot at least twice a day to pick up home supplies, then this is the best place to stop for a quick bite. I’ve had their all-beef hot dog before which is great (and around $2.50 I think), but now my favorite is their Gyro. This takes a little longer for them to prepare, but for $4.75, it’s worth it. The tzatziki sauce is tangy and cucumber-y and the meat is grilled to perfection. Oh I love stopping by there for a quick bite!

Mr. Souvlaki
(Outside of Home Depot)
125 Industry Lane, Cockeysville MD 21030