Pita House - Lombard

Any intel on this place? I've driven by it several times, and since I do not have a tried and true Mid Eastern option in the western burb neck of the woods, I thought I should ask the crowd before trying this place out. Menu looks really similar to the Pita Inn (which I have become a huge fan of since moving the office kinda close to the one near 83 and dundee. Lunch special is quite the bargain, and the food at that one is FAr better than the Milwaukee ave location)

I searched a few diff ways, and came up empty. Would not be surprised if it was user error however. Either way, sorry or thanks in advance if you can post anything to help out with this one.
http://www.pitahouse.com/display_html_pages.php?PageNumber=1

Have not tried that one but I frequest the same Pita Inn you do. It comes pretty close to the food I had when I lived in Saudi. Though it is Americanized a bit. I say that because they do not have she schwarma sauce I loved in Riyahd. The one that sat in the 120 degree sun for hours. I remember cringing when I first ate it. It tasted great though and no bad side effects.

I go there when I am in the neighborhood and have a taste for middle eastern. I generally end up having grilled meats since they have two lunch combo plates that are an irresistible deal (to me anyway, who has a hard time ever resisting good, marinated grilled meats), $4 for a plate of chicken, shish and kefta kebab with rice, falafel, salad and pita, plus sauce. How can you beat that?

Not as good as a couple of other places I like in Naperville and DG, but quite good and if I lived or worked nearby I surely would be a regular.

Best sign: when I usually go it is late lunchtime, and the clientele is almost always all Arabic.

Go, enjoy. Glad you brought it up since I have meant to post on it.

Here ya go;

http://www.pitahouse.com/

I've eaten there a couple times, but nothing they serve is as good as Pita Inn. It is never very busy at night.

Until recently, I lived near the Schaumburg location which usually was pretty busy at night. IMO, the falafel at PH is better than than PI's. (Otherwise, I would agree that PI is better.)

dicksond wrote:I go there when I am in the neighborhood and have a taste for middle eastern. I generally end up having grilled meats since they have two lunch combo plates that are an irresistible deal (to me anyway, who has a hard time ever resisting good, marinated grilled meats), $4 for a plate of chicken, shish and kefta kebab with rice, falafel, salad and pita, plus sauce. How can you beat that?

Not as good as a couple of other places I like in Naperville and DG, but quite good and if I lived or worked nearby I surely would be a regular.

Best sign: when I usually go it is late lunchtime, and the clientele is almost always all Arabic.

Go, enjoy. Glad you brought it up since I have meant to post on it.

David,

Where in Naperville do you go? I assume you refer to Cedar Grill for DG.

Flip

I eat here with some frequency and have always enjoyed it. It is reminicent of Pita Inn in the early days. I like their tabbouleh in addition to the grilled meats. We often get take out for dinner. Decent falafel, too.

I suppose in order of food preference it comes second to Cedar Grill and way ahead of Athar in Elmhurst. But for convenience it comes first as I live closer to Pita House then Cedar Grill.

So far, sounds like it shouldn't be a horror story if I grab some stuff from this place, just probably should not be expecting food as good as pita inn?
For the prices, though, it might be a quick/decent value play compared to the Reza's in Oak Brook considering other "Mid Eastern dinner to go" options in the area. I think I might give this place a try very soon. Thanks for the input. I'll revisit this with a review.

Reza's is one of those places I really want to like but am always disappointed by. Maybe it's the price, maybe it's the differences between Lebanese and Persian food but I've never put my finger on it. Pita House is an extremely casual order-at-the-counter kind of place. As with movies, my enjoyment of food tends to be inversely proportional to what it costs.

Diannie wrote:Reza's is one of those places I really want to like but am always disappointed by. Maybe it's the price, maybe it's the differences between Lebanese and Persian food but I've never put my finger on it. Pita House is an extremely casual order-at-the-counter kind of place. As with movies, my enjoyment of food tends to be inversely proportional to what it costs.

I stick with this at Reza's, and have only been let down once or twice out of about 20 meals. (And those two bad meals were at the North Clark location)

Appetizers:
Grilled mushrooms, baba ghanouj, vegetarian shami.

Entrees:
Grilled whitefish, or dark meat chicken kababs with dill rice.

For two ppl, I'd order all the apps, and only one entree. I've also found that all of their vegetarian stew type dishes that I've tried are just not very good at all. For value and quality, I stick with the stuff above, and always walk out happy, and with enough leftovers for a good sized lunch for two.

Reza's is a much nicer place, in terms of the room and atmosphere, but the food is generally not as good, IMO, as Pita House. Plus you pay a lot more. So if you want to eat in a nicer setting, Reza's is better.

A better comparison with Reza's is actually Raffi's on Fifth in Fifth Avenue Station in Naperville, though they combine Middle Eastern food with European upscale and it is probably even a little pricier than Reza's - definitely pricier if you go with the other stuff, and probably pretty close for the Middle Eastern standards. Raffi's is definitely better than Reza's.

Flip, for Middle Eastern in Naperville I get carry out from Mediterranean Oasis, which is Palestinian, as opposed to Saudi at Pita House, Lebanese at Cedar Grill (I think) and a sort of pan-Mediterranean at Reza's and Raffi's. Then there used to be Jordanian at the Olive Branch in N'ville before it closed - wonder where he went. Anyway, the differences are not too big unless you really know the cuisine.

It makes me happy that there are so many Middle Eastern choices out here now. Every few months I get a jones for Middle Eastern food and will eat it non-stop for a week or so, then go on break for a few months. Not sure why because there is no other food I eat that way.

Mrs. Roadhouse and I happened to be driving up Roselle Road last night, looking for some good Middle Eastern food, on our way to the Woodfield Theaters to see "True Grit", when the Garmin informed us that Pita House was in sight. I whipped into the parking lot and found them at the south end of their mall.

Walking in, it struck me that in some ways Pita House is very reminiscent of Pita Inn, and yet not an identical twin. You order at the counter, just like Pita Inn. They give you a number to retrieve your order, just like Pita Inn. They even have the three signature beverages, lemonade, mango, and tamarind (try a half mango, half lemonade), just like Pita Inn. Yet, this place seems much more homey, perhaps due solely to their smaller size, or maybe it's the hodgepodge of found Middle Eastern themed art scattered on the walls.

We started off with a trio of dips; the requisite plate of hummus (Mrs. Roadhouse's choice, not mine. Frankly, unless there is some new genius interpretation of hummus out there that is waiting to be found, I am bored to tears with hummus), a plate of baba ghannouj, and a plate of "mama" ghannouj. The last of these is actually a fictitious name for a dish which I have only seen at Pita House, but the cashier swears is a traditional dish made in Middle Eastern homes, but not usually seen on restaurant menus. He said there is a traditional name for the dish (which he declined to give) and that calling it "mama" ghannouj is their little joke; a play on the baba ghannouj so familiar to us.

Anyway, the "mama" is char grilled zucchini, mashed and blended with tahini, olive oil, parsley, and a whole lot of garlic. Maybe because it was something new, or maybe because it was just that good, but "mama" ghannouj is my new favorite pita bread dip. Too bad Pita House is the only one to serve it that I am aware of. The baba and the hummus were both good, not the best I've had, but certainly tasty and both totally worth ordering.

We then split a Super Combination plate which included shish-kabob, shawarma, kefta kabob, chicken kabob, and falafel, all served on a bed of rice with a shredded lettuce salad nearby. I've got to say, there wasn't a weak link in the bunch. All the meats were tender and moist-I was particularly impressed with the chicken as that has a tendency to dry out and get tough-and quite flavorful. The falafel was a superior version; light and fluffy, and not oily at all. The pita bread was abundant and very good, although as it sat, the outer edges seemed to dry out and get hard.

I'm not sure I would call Pita House a "destination" restaurant, but I would highly recommend it if you're in the Schaumburg Area looking for something fast, good, fairly healthy, and reasonably priced (the entree, three small dips, and two fountain drinks were just over twenty bucks!).

Buddy

Pita House
365 S. Roselle Rd.
Schaumburg, IL
(847) 352-4750

Second Location:
340 E. Roosevelt Rd.
(630) 576-5060

I finally made it to Pita House, and when I got home and opened my bag, they forgot my baba ghannouj, and my extra falafel. There was nobody in the place, so I'm not sure why this would happen. I called them up and explained the situation. Why do restaurants think I want a credit, or that I want to come back and get what was forgotten? Rhetorical. I know it's all they can do, but sorry, my choice will generally be to not try to comprehend why the contents of a list cannot be placed into a bag, and spend my money at a place that actually takes pride in their efforts. Inexcusable, and yes, I told them that there was no real way to rectify the situation, and that I was just calling to let them know why I won't ever return. So, unless the stuff that they were so regal as to remember to place in my bag from the list of items they charged me for is stellar for the price - my one trial of Pita House was not a pleasant one. Try to surprise the Mrs on Sweetest Day, and no Baba Ghannouj to go with the rest of the meal. Sorry Pita House - you just cannot be a part of my rolodex.