Local restaurant offers taste of the Middle East

By Kevin Bartelt

Sick of McDonalds? Want to eat somewhere different? Consider Mediterraneo Grill, 122 E. Lincoln Highway. This restaurant serves delicious, reasonably priced Middle Eastern cuisine.

One of the best options has to be the chicken shawarma. It is Mediterranean marinated chicken in a pita with tomatoes, onions and the restaurant’s homemade garlic dip. It’s about a foot long and only $7.95. This tasty pita is one of the best values on the menu.

Are you a vegetarian? No problem. The falafel is a pita with fried seasoned chickpeas, lettuce and tomatoes. Plus, it’s only $6.95. I’d recommend it to almost anybody.

The favorite choice by far has to be the gyro plate. It’s an extremely generous portion of authentic gyro meat topped with onions, tomato, feta and yogurt, served with amazing, crunchy fries. The gyro is great, and this is a choice you don’t want to pass up. Now, it’s a little more expensive at $10.95, but if you are ready to spoil yourself and don’t plan on doing any physical activity for about 6 to 8 hours afterward, this is your meal.

If your stomach is an abyss, buy the dessert. The bread princess is a frozen dessert that tastes similar to ice cream but way better. It contains semolina wheat, milk and whipped cream. And it’s only $2.50.

Although the food is delicious, I’ve had less than favorable experience with the service the two times I’ve dined here. The wait can be up to 35 minutes just for the main course, which is a huge buzz kill. It’s not usually very busy, so the wait was unusual. The staff is incredibly friendly, but based on my experiences, I don’t recommend this restaurant if you’re in a rush.

Mediterraneo gets 3 stars. The food is fantastic for the cost, but the service an unnecessary test of patience.