Sometimes fakers are just that. Embroiled in what I like to call the Ray’s/Famous Ray’s/Famous Original Ray’s phenomenon, Pita Grill is a spin off or copy or franchise of the original downtown/NYU Pita Grill, which seems to no longer exist. There is actually a “The” Pita Grill on the UES. We have no idea of the three are related or not, but this one is a horrendous shadow of the original location, which happily fed the SOHO area for years. Gone are the generous portions, gone is the care in cooking things properly, gone is any hint of taste. What used to be a great, low-priced place filled with fun and good times is now some horrible “health food” nightmare. Basically, the place serves Americanized middle eastern/Greek delights, including falafel, hummus, souvlaki and grape leaves. Unfortunately, it all tastes like the bag that they pack it in. And to make matters worse, they give you so little of the bland stuff, you have to go and stuff your face with pita just to fill the empty hole in the pit of your stomach. [MF]
951 2nd Ave.
212/717-2005