Zoë's Kitchen

This place is what I imagine Panera Bread is like. It's a little like Chipotle, but you don't watch them make your food, so it's not as fast (but it's still decently fast). Actually, it reminds me a little of Cosi, just not quite as lovable (no coffee, for one). The food is mostly Greek, with some other "Mediterranean flavors" in there. For me, it's good because they have a nice allergy menu posted online, and while it's true that they do have chickpeas (hummus!) and nuts in some things, they don't seem to have any peanuts and it's also not a ton of nuts in general. They have pitas, sandwiches, bowls, gyros, kabobs, and a few soups and sides and apps. Looks like a fun menu. So far I got:

Greek Chicken Pita, with side of fruit: This was good! It's a pita with chicken, onion, a few greens, and a little bit of tzatziki (spelling??) but not too much at all. The fruit was a nice cup, with oranges, apples, cantelope, and grape. A nice meal that was filling but not too greasy. Oh, and it had feta too, but I didn't even notice/mind it! \o/

Spinach and Mushroom Piadina, with side of fruit: This smells really weird/bad in the bag, so that's a con. It's also kind of boring -- basically a quesadilla with spinach, mushroom, oil and cheese. It's OK, but too oily and not enough prote! 6/10

Steak kabobs, with rice and pasta salad: I like the kabobs a lot, the meat is well seasoned and the pepper/onion/tomato bits are nice too. Savory and tasty. The rice was so-so, moist and not my favorite, but OK. The pasta salad is also not my favorite, less than the rice - feta-y and moist too. I had a weird allergy feeling the last time I ate this, though IDK if it's the food or Quinn's chicken food or just a fluke, but it put me off Zoe's for a while. Too bad. Their allergen menu doesn't contain nearly all their food, so it's tough. 7/10 though.

Chicken roll-ups, with fruit: This was OK; I thought it would make me itchy or something because it looked like egg rolls, but it didn't really. It was kind of boring, mostly just plain chicken flavor, but it was filling though. And the fruit was good. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Q says: The chicken was cold but I'd go back. 6.5/10

Souvlaki Boys

Because I am, in fact, a huge fan of both souvlaki (thanks to the Mediterranean Grille in Newark) and boys, I was eager to try this place. We got some takeout ordered online, but they do also have a parking lot (at the non-food-truck location) so I was happy to see that. I got chicken souvlaki which came with buttery rice and a greek salad, and I enjoyed it. I think next time I might get a gyro or something else, because the kabob was just meat and it was good but not amazing, maybe a little dry/boring (I wish it had veg on there too). Oh and little bits of pita were included, which was tasty. There's also tzatziki but I didn't use too much. Anyway, thinking back, it was a nice platter! The employees are also very friendly and were happy to help with allergy issues (most everything is nut free except the obvious desserts/salads). I would happily return, even though the food didn't wow me. It was solid and I think potentially could be really good!

Pork kabob: I think I like this a little better than the chicken, taste-wise. The chicken is moister but the pork is tastier. Pretty similar though, to be honest. I should try something else, but I do like the salad/rice accompaniments a lot.

Gyro platter: This tasted good for sure, but the meat was fattier than kabob meat and makes me anxious about a stomach ache! It also made me a tiny bit itchy but I'm not sure why. The salad was great as ever, pita was fine, rice is nice and moist. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Mediterranean Grille

This is a fairly new resto for Newark's Main Street. And it's mostly nut free! Furthermore, they're very friendly and knowledgable. Noice. I've always enjoyed it; even though the food isn't amazing, it's never BAD either.

Chicken Marsalla: Really good. Big portions, and the linguini is oily as fuck (but in a good way).

Chicken Souvlaki Sandwich: Good sauce, good meat, good veggies. Good side options. I enjoy this food.

Pork Souvlaki: Kebobs! I could take it or leave it, but a healthy option is good, and the side of rice is very nice.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Chobani Greek Yogurt

Chobani! It's so popular here at least, makes me feel like I should hate them on principle. But they are a good source of protein and convenient and they come in a lot of flavors so. . . . I mean. . . they're all right.

peach: fruit on the bottom style! I enjoyed it, but i WAS hungry at the time. . .

Vanilla: My new job has these for breakfast spreads, which, thank goodness because it's the only packaged thing = the only thing I can eat. Haven't had a chobani in ages, but it was pretty good, and more importantly, the only food I ate for many hours. Tasted a bit tart/sour, I thought it was lemon until I looked at the package more closely. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 7/10