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Pita Plus serves up falafel, kosher alternatives
By
Talya Levin
Mitzpeh Staff
Writer
The university’s
Jewish community has a new place to play.
Pita Plus, College
Park’s much-anticipated new kosher restaurant, opened its doors in
mid-August in time for students’ return to campus, with mixed reviews.
Many students who
keep kosher expressed excitement that they now have somewhere to eat out
in College Park. Others who spent time studying in Israel before or
during college feel at home in Pita Plus’s bustling, brightly-colored
atmosphere punctuated by conversations in Hebrew.
Eddie Ahdoot, a
senior neurobiology and physiology major, thinks the new resturaunt is a
good fit for the College Park community.
“Pita Plus is a
great place for the campus Jewish community to hang out,” he said.
Chabad Rabbi Eli
Backman echoed this sentiment, saying “[Pita Plus] can pull together the
community as a whole, even outside the Jewish community.”
However, others are
complaining about the slow service and high prices which, though
comparable to other meat kosher eateries, are slightly above the average
student’s budget.
“It would be nice
if there was a student special, like shwarma, one lunch a week or
something,” said Harris Cohen, a senior government and politics major.
“But it’s really exciting to have a kosher place to eat here in town.”
On September 1, the
resturaunt held a grand-opening party with Israeli music provided by
Maryland student and local DJ Ari Nahmani.
“The idea behind
the party was to help get the word out about the new restaurant and
bring the community together to celebrate Israeli food, dance, and
culture,” said Nahmani, a junior Jewish studies major. “It was a great
opportunity for people to discover the restaurant.”
Israelis living in
and around College Park, as well as observant families from the Silver
Spring area, also make up a significant portion of Pita Plus’s
clientele.
Pita Plus is owned
and operated by Shaul Rafael (owner of Shaul’s Kosher Market in Silver
Spring), Maya Ochayun and Doron Balva, who bring a distinct Israeli
flavor to the food and atmosphere of the eatery.
The menu includes
Middle Eastern favorites such as falafel and shwarma (available in a
lafah or, of course, a pita), Moroccan specialties like beef cigars and
steakhouse-style meat dishes.
Pita Plus is
located in the old Terrapin Taco space on Lehigh Road off Route 1, next
to Marathon Deli.
The restaurant
joins other new eateries to come to College Park in the past year,
including California Tortilla, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Jimmy John’s and
the expanded selections in Stamp Student Union.
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