Walking into Mediterreanean Grill one afternoon, I was stumped.
Let me explain. I have become very used to the hostess-directing-guest-to-table-handing-menu and all the standard actions one encounters at restaurants and so, when I entered Mediterranean Grill and found a roomful of diners, eating and talking, a busy counter where platters of food were periodically placed, a guy at the register… you can figure out why I was stumped. But I recovered quickly. Found an empty (and clean) table, sat down and looked around. No server in sight. Ok, I get it. I walked to the counter, scanned the menu, placed my order, paid for it, went back to my table. Soon afterward, a guy called out, “Vegetarian Plate!” and I went to pick it up.
Mediterranean Grill is one of those little hole-in-the-wall places. The decor is plain and functional, the dining room is busy-noisy, there are no servers or fancy menus, the food comes quick! And it is delicious and cheap. Take a look at my Vegetarian Plate.
Vegetarian Plate
It featured green salad, one pita bread, two falafel patties, baba ghanouj, hummus, Jerusalem salad and tzatziki sauce. The platter generally features Tabouli Salad but it’s too sour for my taste. So I asked for Jerusalem salad instead. Actually, I had asked for Fetoush Salad but the guy told me that he’d have to make it specially. Ah, well… whatever that means. The falafel patties were excellent. Fresh and vibrant in flavor, easy on the garlic, fried to perfection with zero grease. The Baba Ghanouj was one of the best I have eaten in the United States, so also the Hummus. Tzatziki sauce was a little too sour for my taste but the texture was soft and creamy. All the items tasted wonderfully fresh and flavorful. It has been a while since I enjoyed food this much.
Can’t keep a good thing secret for long, so I went back to Mediterranean Grill with P. This time, he ordered the Vegetarian Plate and I got myself the Grilled Vegetables. I also ordered a bowl of the Lentil Soup. P liked the Falafel a lot but he thought that the Pita bread was too chewy. Actually, I felt the same. It was soft and fresh-tasting but way too chewy. My platter of Grilled Vegetables included eggplant, zucchini, squash, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, mushroom with hummus and rice. Pretty good although I didn’t care much for the rice. It was cooked well but lacked seasoning. As for the Lentil Soup, it was wonderful. I am guessing it is made from Masoor Dal… Lightly spiced, piping hot, very homely and comforting.
On a whim, I ordered a piece of Walnut Baklava. The place had all but shut down but the guy behind the counter was nice, so he let me buy it. And he almost waived the price! But it was a sad piece of Baklava… 🙁 The filo layers fell off the walnut filling, sheesh. It was tasty (not overly sweet) but maybe we picked the wrong time to get it?
I can easily recommend Mediterranean Grill to a vegetarian. There are a few more vegetarian items on the menu remaining to be sampled, so another visit may be in order!
Mediterranean Grill
1255 Johnson Ferry Rd
Marietta GA 30068
678-996-0045
www.mediterraneangrill.com
