Nova Grill

817 West Lancaster Ave.
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
(610) 525-4745
Website

Nova Grill is the Chipotle of Mediterranean food. Which I think is something that would be a welcome addition to the current landscape of walk-up counter service for fresh, reasonably priced meals.

The setup is basically the same, pick a salad, sandwich, or platter and customize it however you like.

They offer gyro meat from the spit (shawarma) as well as skewered and grilled chicken, though I couldn’t shake the feeling that the they were lying when they told me that the chicken they were tonging out of a chafing tray was actually from the rotating spit in the background. Something about not seeing them actually do it is questionable.

The five free toppings stack up quickly, but there is a pretty decent variety of fresh ingredients and colorful salads/reslishes from which to choose.

I tried the chicken sandwich first. The meat was well seasoned, and placed on top of the ingredients, a departure from the standard meat-on-the-bottom.

I went for the cabbage slaw, seasoned feta, kalamata olives, pickled onions, and harissa. It was a solid sandwich, and definitely one I would likely eat on the regular if I were to find myself in or around Villanova for an extended period of time. The pita is served warm, and wrapped up right, tucking in all of the generous components.

As you can see, there was quite a bit going on with this sandwich, and it was more like eating a big Mediteranean-style salad with chicken than a standard chicken gyro, which I was okay with.

The vegetarian platter came with an abundance of sides, including chickpea salad, baba ghanoush, hummus, cucumber salad, rice, and cylindrical, torpedo-like falafel. Everything was pretty tasty, with nothing being mind-blowing, but a solid rendition of a veggie platter.

The falafel was also good, though not as crispy and hot as I would have wished, but not too bad either.

There was a healthy smattering of parsley in there to keep the flavor fresh.

The spreads and the salads were all about par for the course - hummus on the left and baba on the right. Even with all of the combined ingredients, there wasn't any bold stand-out flavor in any of the components, they all sort of ran together. Save for the hot sauces on the side (see below).

Speaking of hot sauce, their green harissa was insanely hot. I couldn’t get enough.

They also offer a bowl version of most items on the menu, which I (well, someone in the group) also ordered. Alas, as anticipated, I was not thrilled. It was all of the same ingredients, in a lackluster bowl format. You know what it was missing? Pita. I guess if you're still on Atkins, then this is the choice for you. Definitely not for me.

Props for doing their part in considering the environment.

The NOVA Grill is a pretty good place to great a healthy(ish) quick meal for a reasonable price. The variety of options they offer are greatly appreciated and I feel it is a quality meal for what it is. It was basically exactly what I was expecting, and there is comfort to be had in that.

Guest Post: Hamifgash

811 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 925-3550
Website

This rating system is new and based on my experience, on a scale of 1-5, I think a 3 is fair, right?

"Glatt - Israeli - Turkish - Vegetarian Cuisine" - That pretty much sums it up, but what they also need to squeeze in there is "mediocre - diner-style - comfort foods." I guess because this is evident in the decor and demeanor of the collective staff, they don't feel a need to disclose that little additional bit.

One in our group is vegetarian, so every 3-4 weeks when we do our lunch-bunch, it's my task to find an establishment that has a variety of offerings to suit his dietary restrictions. I was in the mood for some Kabobs, so Hamifgash was our destination.

We started out with the baba/hummus plate appetizer with warm, fresh pita. Little did we know, this was to be the most redeeming quality of our meal.

I'm not sure if the pita is made in-house; it was soft, fluffy and grilled to perfection for the added outer crunch. I asked for a baba/hummus half/half combo (which isn't offered outright on the menu) and the server kindly obliged the request. The smoked eggplant puree was smoky and smooth, and was a nice complement to the garlic-y hummus. Next to D'Mitri's, this is some of the best I've had.

They offer a "Business Lunch Special" which includes choice of soup + special entree of the day. Today's special was schnitzel, and I wasn't in the mood for a cutlet, so I decided instead to get the shawarma - you can choose pita or platter and because I'd already inhaled my share of pita, I chose platter. It came out as a heaping pile of steaming rice topped with an abundance of pulled chicken and a sad side of soggy, wilted house salad.

Now, if you're in the mood for some Turkish cuisine that's more reminiscent of Chinese take-out, then this is your best bet. The shawarma was tender and flavorful, pulled from the spit and then sauteed on the flat-top to add a nice crisp to the edges of each little piece. Accented with well-cooked chunks of garlic, it was too close to teriyaki stir-fry for me - not that I didn't like it, it was quite good - but it was oily and better suited for a comforting hangover-cure on a Sunday, when I have no desire to leave the couch. The rice was nice.

My vegetarian friend had the falafel and said it was not great. "Mama's is way better." I tasted a little piece and yes, I can't imagine having to eat all of those too-dense, under-flavored, deep-fried balls; not to mention that same old, soggy and over-dressed salad accompaniment. Stick with Mama's, for sure.

The third dish was the Hamifgash Kebob - ground lamb and spices. Again, a very heavy dish, the lamb patties were pretty well seasoned, but too dense and heavy for a business lunch. If you're looking for pita & baba/hummus for take-out in center city, definitely go here. Otherwise, you'd better plan on running a 5K to make yourself feel better after eating any other dish (gut-bomb) at this Kosher diner.

This salad bar is NOT free - yet another negative. It costs $$$. I think. We were too intimidated to ask.