Pita Way (Portage)
6405 S. Westnedge AvenueJ and I don’t overlap work schedules very often.
One Monday a month, she has to work nights. I work nights on Monday too. Most of the year, it’s not really an issue. J’s parents will watch the kids for a few hours until J gets home.
J’s parents go to Florida for the winter.
There’s three months that we don’t have someone to watch the kids. A lot of times, I can volunteer to work a weekend and ask for the Monday off in return. This month, there was no OT opportunity though so I just used a vacation day.
Monday night’s L skates at Wings Event Center. I don’t get to watch her work with her coach all that often so I did enjoy being able to sit there for the whole hour and see what she’s working on for the upcoming competition season.
She skates a little later on Monday nights so we weren’t even leaving Wings Event Center until about 7:45. I was hungry and I assumed the kids were too so I put in an order to pick up on the way home.
The kids always hate it but I wanted to try something new. A new pita place opened in Portage not too long ago and I thought it’d be worth a try.
Pita Way is a small, Michigan based chain with about 20 locations…most of which are on the East side of the state. The Portage location is in a new strip mall on Westnedge Avenue near Gladys Street in front of the Dick’s Sporting Goods and right next to the new City Barbecue.
The restaurant is counter service but I put my order in online so I didn’t have to mess with it. They have some pre-built options but it’s also really customizable. I like doing online ordering in this situation because I can see all the options and get exactly what I want without the anxiety of just wanting to get it done and paid for.
The order was “ready” when I got to the store but they insisted on warming everything back up. I guess that’s not a bad thing but I wasn’t even late. I was right on time for the order. I was kind of in a hurry so while I appreciate them wanting to keep things warm, the whole point of online ordering, at least for me, is to grab and go.
Since I had a few minutes I took a seat at one of the tables to wait. They don’t have a huge dining area but there are seating options if you’re looking to dine in. It took a little more than five minutes for everything to be warmed up, repackaged, and handed to me.
When we got home, I opened the kid’s meals first. I got them both the Cheese Quesopita. They both like quesadilla’s right so this is the obvious option. The quesopita is made with either cheddar or feta cheese inside a pita that is then grilled. L took one bite and politely declined the rest. B ate about half of his. They both get wierd if the quesadilla is too thick and that was the case using a pita. J and I ended up eating their leftovers because these were actually really good. Our kids are just weird and look for any excuse to not eat something new.
I ordered what they a Sandweech. This a rolled sandwich made with pita. I chose to do the completely customizable one instead of one of their options. I went heavy on meat ordering both gyro meat and crispy chicken. I also added chipotle fire sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and jalapenos. The sandwich was super tasty and really filling. The texture of the crispy chicken added a level to the sandwich I wasn’t expecting. The fire sauce and jalapenos added a little heat but nothing too overwhelming. I picked Pita Way because I wanted to try it but I wasn’t expecting to really like it. I really liked this Sandweech and could go back for more.
I also added fries to my order because I always add fries. I got the large order because I know how things go. Sure enough, when L didn’t really want her sandwich, she reached over and grabbed my box of fries. Those she really liked. They’re battered fries and dusted with a seasoning pretty heavily but they’re not spicy. L ate about half the box and said if we order from this place again, she’d just take a box of fries.
The bill for the three of us was just under $40.
I’m not an adventurous eater. You know I like my hamburgers, wings, and pizzas. Every so often I’ll surprise myself and try something I wouldn’t normally eat. In this case, it worked out well. I really enjoyed my sandwich. Kalamazoo doesn’t really have anything like it anymore. There are great Mediterranean restaurants around town but there’s not quick service place like Pita Way.
SW Michigan Dining 