Olive Mediterranean Grill

I used to be a big fan of Olive, but their chicken is not as good as it used to be, they must have changed vendors or something. Now it's that spongy kind of chicken that chews like it's been through something unnatural. Okay, I thought. I'll just switch to the turkey. And I did, but it was cold and kind of dried out. This place has seen a lot of change over the last year with renovations and new menu items coming in and out all the time, so I'm hoping the quality of the chicken improves again. When it does, I'll adjust this yelp rating accordingly.

I'm a regular here, but I've been coming less often lately due to changes they've been making which, in my opinion, have not been for the better. First, the (still) good: the chicken shawarma and kebob are very tasty. When you ask for a sandwich they don't skimp on the pickles, which is nice, and the jalapeno sauce is great. Finally, I can't recommend this place enough for its speed: even if the queue wraps around the corner at lunchtime, you'll have your food in 10 minutes at most; usually the wait is more like 2 minutes.

On the other hand, they sometimes go a bit overboard with the garlic sauce (I usually head this off by asking for just a little bit of it), and they've removed the jalapeno sauce from sight so you have to ask the cashier for it. In addition, the saltiness of the falafel is such that it's become a running joke in my office.

But those are relatively minor complaints in comparison to the significantly smaller-than-normal sandwich I received on my latest visit: both the pita itself and the fillings were noticeably reduced from previous visits. I know restaurants are facing rising food costs, but I would rather they increase the price than sell sandwiches that leave me feeling hungry -- and believe me, I am the last person who would ordinarily complain about restaurant portion sizes.

I think they are better than Naf Naf. You will be impressed by their chicken pitas if you order them with veggies and tahiti dressing. Why charge extra for the veggies though? That's what gets me.. $11 for my pita to come with veggie bits?? Maybe I needed to say that I wanted them inside of the pita, and they wouldn't have charged the extra!