The upside:
-Some of the best darn falafel I've ever had - to boot, the sandwich was only $5.95. Moist, flavorful balls of chickpeas rocking my world.
-Glad to see this space on Pennsylvania boasting something with a wee bit of pizzazz
The downside:
-It's quite possible I could have ran home and made the falafel myself in the amount of time it took for this to-go order to happen. Unfortunately, there were only three tables being occupied during my entire wait. I know you can't rush a good thing, but it just seemed like they had a few kinks to get out in their system (understaffed in the kitchen? hmm - not sure)
-Tabouli salad: cannot be ordered as a side, only in a ginormous salad-as-a-meal portion, which, I don't know about you but I'm not very likely to run out to the garden and wipe out the entire parsley crop in one sitting.
**The falafel was good enough that I'll be back - I'll just have to make sure I have plenty of time to spare when I do return.
A friend and I were at the central library with our two little ones. It was freezing & we wanted to grab lunch. We had noticed this place *that we thought was called Mediterranean Grill* on the way in and thought, "Hey, why not give it a try". Enter some amount of regret. Not wild regret, just some regret.
When we walked in, it felt like we were walking into one of those weird dreams you have after you drink too much and nothing makes sense.
Our waitress was super super nice and super sweet but it seemed like she may have been new to the service industry. The TV's were on there was no music. They also didn't have any high chairs or booster seats. I can understand if you have only one, but none is kind of outrageous. Luckily the chairs they do have are big so we could both hold our babies and eat.
We both ordered Falafel and it was fine. Nothing striking but it tasted fine and was warm. The menu has dichotomy but 'm sure that will eventually work itself out.
While we were there a few other people came in & one table of 2 gentlemen ordered a pot of tea. They mentioned to the waitress at her second table visit that they had a meeting to go so they would just have the tea. She came back a 3 rd time without the tea asking if they wanted any coffee cake or any other menu item and they did not. After about 10 minutes had gone by without the tea, they had to leave.
I think the place has potential, after all people want to eat lunch and that area is dying for more food options. They could use a highchair or two, some nice ambient music and a service trainer. Again, all of the staff was very nice, I feel a little guilty giving it only two stars but I have to be honest!
The name on the window says Mediterranean Grill so this might throw you for a loop. Â It did me when trying to add this Yelp Review!
Anyway, we stopped by here Saturday between workshops at the Central Library and were delighted with the food and the service. Â Our waitress Connie was the best - since we were the only ones there, we had a lovely chat with her after our meal. Â And our meal was fantastic.
We started with the Falafel which came with a wonderful tahini sauce with onion, cucumber and tomato. Â Crispy little balls of wonderful flavor!!
My husband had the Gyro while I had the Gyro salad.  The meat was delicious - perfectly spiced!  I asked my husband how the gyro rated compared to others he had and he said it was very good.  My salad was described with a few vegetable ingredients on the menu but when it came, I was happy to see it also had feta and olives which I don't believe were listed.  It was perfectly crisp romaine with green pepper, sweet red onion and a wonderful dressing.  The side of  tzatziki perfectly complemented the meat.  The only problem I had was with the larger pieces of vegetable which had to be cut down for me to eat them (and I have a big mouth!)
I loved the layout which included a large booth, several small tables with low comfortable chairs (where we sat) as well as bar style and regular tables. Â Clean with beautiful photos of Tunisia.
We'll definitely go back to try the kabobs next time.
I saw another review which said they were overpriced but my salad was quite large for under $6; a good price for the food we received. Â If you got an entree, I believe they were $12-16 and if you wanted a sandwich and salad, you'd spend ~$15 but you'd be STUFFED to the gills on your way out...
I was excited to see a new restaurant open up where Urban Element used to be and after reading the first couple of reviews, I decided to give it a try. Â I was a little disappointed by the food. Â I got the lunch special which included Chicken Shwarama and french fries. Â The menu described the dish as chicken and some veggies in a pita, but instead I got just a bunch of chicken in a pita and that's it. Â The sauce had fallen to the bottom so for the first half of the pita there was a limited amount. Â Coupled with french fries, the whole dish was kind of boring, uninspired, and a little greasy. Â I would have preferred veggies, rice, or some type of middle eastern side with the shwarama to complement the middle eastern spices used to flavor the chicken.
In all, it's just doesn't stand up to Saffron Cafe, which is basically in Panorama's backyard. And while it isn't necessarily the same food, (Saffron is purely Moroccan) there are similar menu choices. Â (Gyros, kabobs, etc.)
Because I believe in second chances, I will likely give Panorama another try. Â It's so hard to judge a place by just one visit. Â Perhaps with a little more time under it's belt, and a different menu choice, Panorama can hold it's own in a neighborhood with such big shoes to fill.
Looks like this newbie replaced Urban Element, but I guess the UE guy still owns the building, so the flexible decor hasn't changed a whole lot. Â The Mediterranean/Middle Eastern menu isn't big but seems fairly adaptable, at least based on my experience there--you can substitute and mix-'n-match to your little heart's content...except for the salads, for some reason (and why not?). Â Ingredients were impressively fresh: while the Greek salad was a bit more generous with the dressing than is necessary, it was flavorful and not to the point that it was waterlogged. Â As for a combo kebab (your call on the meats) the chicken and particularly the lamb were memorable, but most impressive were the veggies: fantastic tomatoes, onions, and peppers.
On the other hand...I ordered a water (with lemon) and an unsweetened iced tea (with lemon), and I'll be danged if I could tell which one was which. Â The service was accommodating enough to ask how we were doing every 5-8 minutes, which isn't too hard since there were never more than one or two other tables occupied...but then when we talked after the meal was over, our dirty dishes sat there in front of us the entire time. Â Lastly, on a 102-degree day, the place apparently had no functional air conditioning. Â It didn't seem all that unbearable (which is why I said "apparently") but we're tougher than the usual blokes, and how would it have been if the place actually HAD been crowded?
The place is obviously still finding its way, but the food seems pretty solid. Â Panorama Grill may really need to distinguish itself amidst a lot of Greco-Lebanese competition, and at this point, adding hookahs outside would probably just be a cliche. Â Getting the whole experience right--rather than just what appears at the end of the fork--should help ensure repeat business for yours truly, and maybe some others, too.
Not wanting to fight the long lines to get into the Pride Festival right after the parade ended, we decided to head home. On the way, we saw that the Panorama Grill was open. Located in the former location of Urban Element, I was excited to see a restaurant in our area actually open for lunch on the weekend! Bonus that I love Middle Eastern food.
The menu is small but covers the basics; I ordered a chicken shwarama with garlic sauce. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat to get the food because I have a long-standing love affair with garlic sauce. I can eat it by the truckload. Problem is, I haven't been able to find a good version of it here, at least not what I am used to having from growing up in Metro Detroit. I was a bit disappointed when my shwarama arrived -- the pita didn't look or taste housemade and I couldn't see any garlic sauce. Sad Panda.
But, my fiance saved the day! Having ordered the shwarma entree, he got a side of garlic sauce. And -- get this -- HE HATES GARLIC! Â I dipped a piece of chicken into the sauce and MMMMMM. Yes! Finally! Success!
When the waitress came out, I told her how excited I was over the garlic sauce. When I told her of the restaurant I used to go to in Dearborn, Michigan, my street cred instantly increased. She knew I knew my sauces. :) She brought me extra and even told the owner how excited I was, lol.
A few quibbles: Service was enthusiastic yet scattered. The restaurant has only been open for 3 weeks but the servers were all at least in their 30s, so I don't think inexperience was the issue. Fries were extra with my shwarma -- had I known they were $1.95, I would have passed. As I said, the pita, although not stale, definitely didn't taste fresh. The restaurant I'm used to makes them on site and serves them as soon as you sit down.
The restaurant was pretty busy, which was nice to see, I'm sure partly due to the number of people downtown. They are open for lunch and dinner 7 days and a week and have a small deck with 3 tables for outdoor seating. I'm guessing a shwarma or gyro from here will become part of my weekly routine -- along with a soup bowl full of garlic sauce!
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