Mediterranean food. Super healthy, right? Y’know, with the lack of processed sugars, chemically engineered super oils, and redonkulously good cuts of lean meat? Yeah, that’s all fine and all, but what does any of that matter if the meal doesn’t taste that good, hm? Well, I guess we’ll never know, because Mediterranean food is bomb, and this week for CT Eats, I got to eat one of the best pita pockets I’ve had in Rochester at a little place called Cedar Mediterranean Restaurant.
Cedar is a family business that opened up on Monroe Avenue, the lesser known, slightly grimier, but way more down-to-earth sibling of Park and South avenues, about a year and a half ago. The place is in a plaza with a sign that doesn’t make it stick out much. I’m under the impression that this sign was put up to leave you with low enough expectations that’ll be surpassed by Super Saiyan three levels once you walk in.
To start, the counter has one of those sandwich station glass covers that lets you see the wares Cedar has to offer, and behind it is a giant chalkboard with the menu and its prices. Your choices at Cedar consist of salads, appetizers, Manakeesh (flatbreads with different assortments of toppings), and pita pockets.
For those of you out there that haven’t had a pita pocket, let me take the time to give you the rundown. The idea goes like this: take a pita loaf, open up the inside so it looks like a pouch, and then shove in what you want and heat the whole thing up. In the case of my visit, I went with a chicken shawarma pita pocket, a sweet cubbie of roasted veggies, garlic spread, and butter-soft chicken carved off of a burning hot rotisserie of flavor.
Now, the best thing about my order was that I didn’t just get a chicken pita pocket on its own. No siree, I got the chicken pita pocket combo, which came with a salad on the side and a well-sized drink, all just for $10. And I’m telling you, this platter was stupidly huge. $10 nabbed me a beautiful mix of roasted veggies, a little bit of cheese on top, my warm, doughy pita pocket, and a seltzer on the side to help bubble down this delicious Mediterranean feast. (Note: Seltzer doesn’t count for the $10 combo. Only fountain drinks count, but the cashier was a nice guy about it for this one time.)
After wolfing down my pita pocket in about half the time that it took my friend Sean, who was selling me on this app that he started working part time for, I immediately fell into a half-awake food coma, slowly losing my grasp on the reality surrounding me. I continued talking to Sean about deep philosophical forays into topics like the division of people due to the desire for a like-minded community and how people are constantly facing the same internal troubles as history goes on, cycle after cycle. All this while the schwarma slowly settled into my stuffed belly.
Cedar is located right at 746 Monroe Avenue. If you bring about seven bucks, you can get pretty much any of the pita pockets they have as its own order (so that includes chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, falafel, and a few others). If you bring 10, you can nab one of the combos I mentioned before, which can be made with any one of the pita pockets that they have. The place won’t pop out in your face when you pass by, but if you stop in, I guarantee you won’t regret having a sit down for some lunch. See you all.
