Cafe Pita's New Galleria Area Location is a Winner
Café Pita is a unique experience and has an exotic menu for
Houston regardless of which of its two locations you might visit. I’ve eaten at the Westheimer location of this
Bosnian restaurant a couple of times and enjoyed it very much. So what’s the big
deal with Chef Omer Okanovik’s new location?
Location and ambience are the big deals for me. Not that the old
location in a strip center near Wilcrest bothers most people, because it’s
always packed.
Café Pita’s new Galleria location is on Richmond Avenue
one block east of Chimney Rock is about five minutes from my house... and it’s in
a little house on the edge of an upscale neighborhood that is
sure to fill tables there. The restaurant is broken into three dining rooms and
the noise level is quite low. The staff are all courteous and very well-versed
on the menu, which IS very important if you are not Bosnian (or Turkish). At this point, Cafe Pita is BYOB.
Beef, Spinach and Cheese Bureks
On this visit, we started with a sampler platter of Beef, Spinach and Cheese Bureks. These
crispy little bites are puff pastry filled with the aforementioned. A Burek might be described as a gentle
Bosnian version of a taquito (gentle because the puff pastry melts in your
mouth unlike the tortilla in a taquito).
‘Grah
Next was a cup of ‘Grah, a Bosnian brown bean soup with sausages and a rich broth. Warming and comforting, we both enjoyed it and felt that we might have enjoyed a large bowl of it as a complete lunch when out shopping sometime.
Mixed Platter
Next we ordered a Mixed
Platter which was overwhelming (and we took most of it home), but was an
excellent representation of what this restaurant and Bosnian cuisine are all
about. It was a selection of Cevapi
(a grilled minced meat which is a national dish in Bosnia) hand-formed in
little links. Stuffed Pljeskavica (a
large beef patty formed from ground beef) served with fluffy triangles of Lepinja (you might say that this is the
Swiss cheese of Pita bread... fluffy and full of nooks, crannies and little
bubble holes to capture and deliver juices of the meats and dips it is eaten
with). Beef and Chicken Kebabs
served with Basmati Rice. Ajvar (a dip made with roasted red
peppers and egg plant) which could have been served in a large bowl as far as I’m
concerned and there was nothing on the platter that this would not pair
beautifully with. I could have just sat there and dredged the Lepinja in this all night. Of
Serbian origin, this is a Bosnian treasure. Grilled Onions and Bell Peppers. Kajmak (a Turkish creamy dairy product,
served in tandem with the Ajvar and is dipable or spreadable with or on most of
the items in this combo.
Chocolate and Hazelnut Crepes
Cheese Cake with a Baklava Topping
For dessert, we had Chocolate
and Hazelnut Crepes with a sweet berry sauce as well as a creamy Cheese Cake with a Baklava Topping.
Live music is unobtrusive and romantic
This location is family friendly and even has a playground
adjacent to a large pleasant patio where parents may enjoy patio dining and
keep an eye in the kids on the climbing and slide feature nearby.
Café Pita
Galleria Location
5506 Richmond
Avenue
Houston, Texas
77056
832-530-4935
West Location
10852 Westheimer
Road
Houston, Texas
77042
713-953-7237
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