Walking in, I started to see what makes Karam stand out from food carts selling similar cuisine. The counter is full of Mediterranean dishes and along the back wall, two spits roast chicken and beef shwarmas — not gyro meat.

On my first visit, I ordered the Lahme Meshwi sandwich ($10). An upgrade to the cart souvlaki, grilled, skewered lamb chunks are splayed open and heated on the griddle then wrapped in a pita with lettuce, tomato, tahini and hot sauce.

It’s a decent size for the price and certainly for the quality of ingredients. My one complaint is that the pita isn’t as soft as I’d like. It’s a different style from the various kinds I’ve had before — it’s more firm than I’d prefer … not really my thing. Still, I enjoyed the filling and was excited to try the shwarma on a future visit.

A long time drunk food favorite of mine, it’s been ages since I’ve had a proper shwarma. The last good midtown version I’ve had was from the dear departed Sahara Grill on 40th & 7th, but they’ve been closed for years. At Karam, the spit of roasted meat wasnt quite as layered as some of my favorites, but it still looks good and i was pretty curious.

The meat was good — moist, with crisped edges and the addition of a smokey harissa and a little tahini on the side certainly help. It still wasn’t quite right though. That tough pita just doesn’t do it for me.

I don’t usually get desserts, but the display of Lebanese cookies, baklava and other treats catch my eye every time I’m at Karam. I’ve enjoyed the baklava ($2.50) so much that I never remember to take a photo of it. This date-filled cookie was another story. Scented with what my co-workers guessed must be rosewater, my initial bite made me think of nothing so much as soap. After a few minutes, I adjusted to the flavor, but I can’t say it was something I’d order again.

I was drawn into Karam by the sandwiches available, but there is a good deal of other options available that require further investigation. That includes the display case full of a variety of vegetarian side options that are sold in combinations of 3 for $6 and 5 for $10 or individually in 8oz containers for $5. Also, in the back, a brick oven bakes small Mediterranean pizzas. Toppings range from mozzarella and romano cheese ($6) to zaatar with vegetables ($6) to ground beef and lamb ($7). It sound very interesting and will have me returning to try out more for a good long time.

The + (What someone who likes this place would say)

• Real shwarma roasting on a spit is a beautiful thing.
• I’m a vegetarian and love all these meatless options.

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• The pita bread ruins the sandwiches.
• Dude, what’s in this cookie?

Lunch’r Mike sent us the heads up that Bread & Olive (45th btw 5th and 6th) is now under new management. The restaurant has been rebranded as Karam, but I paid a quick visit yesterday and the menu seemed exactly as I remembered it (same signage, too with the Bread & Olive stripped off). Any regulars notice a difference in the food? Let us know in the comments.

Bread & Olive is a Lebanese take out place on 45th btw. 5th & 6th ave.  They have both beef and chicken shwarma, kafta, delicious homemade breads, and an array of maza (Lebanese salads and dips).  There is a small seating area in the back, but most people take the food to go.  Everything is Lebanese style, so the spices are going to be different than the shwarma at an Israeli place, or the gyro from a Greek place.

What we ordered, food porn and the +/- after the jump…

The chicken and beef shwarma are probably two of the most popular items at Bread & Olive.  Go too late in the day, and they may be out.  I went with two co-workers around 1:30 and the spit with the beef was running pretty low… but luckily we made it in time.  We each got a sandwich, and split.  One chicken, one beef and one kafta.  Rather than regular pita bread, Bread & Olive is famous for their Lebanese flat bread that is apparently baked right on premises.  I didn’t try the chicken shwarma, but it’s supposed to be excellent.  Instead I opted for the beef, which was really tasty, and the kafta which was also delicious.  Kafta is a Middle Eastern meat patty, usually made from lamb, beef or a mixture of both, with herbs and onions (Bread & Olive’s is made with beef).  My friend who ordered the chicken shwarma seemed to enjoy it.

The sandwiches are good, but the Lebanese small plates are hard to ignore.  They sit in the glass case, staring out at you as you wait in line-whispering “Don’t I look delicious?  Please order me.  You don’t want the shwarma…”  One of my co-workers and I caved, and ordered a “Small Combo” of any two vegetarian items from the case for $6.  We chose the grape leaves, which were good, and the potatoes which were garlicky, and delicious (but would have been better warm).  It was a tough choice though… there were tons of other delicious looking salads, including eggplant, lima beans, chickpeas hummus and falafel.  If you are a vegetarian, or not a fan of shwarma- there is a 5 choice combo for $10 that is pretty tempting when faced with that glass case full of goodness.

At $7 the meat sandwiches are not a huge bargain, but they aren’t expensive either when you factor in the fresh bread and the fact that it doesn’t come from a cart.  The one downside is at peak lunch times there is a long line and the service can be a little slow.  If you are interested in reading about the Falafel, check out my original Bread & Olive post from last June.

THE +

• Great Lebanese take out, for reasonable prices.
• Delicious Beef shwarma, Chicken shwarma & Kafta sandwiches
• A ton of great vegetarian options
• Sandwiches are wrapped in this big, fresh baked Lebanese flat bread, and grilled a little

THE -

• The seating area in the back is kind of cramped
• The service is slow when the line gets backed up
• Prices are reasonable, but not stupidly cheap (i.e. you may be able to find a better “deal” elsewhere)
• The salads are delicious… but some would be much better warm (like the fried potatoes)

Bread & Olive, 24 W. 45th St. (btw 5+6th), 212-764-1588

DAY 4 of Falafel Week

It’s day 4 of Falafel Week and I was supposed to go to Miriam’s, which I have never seen but was told is on the SW corner of 46th & 6th.  It was recommended on Chowhound… but when I walked by on Wednesday it was not there- so for today I decided to go to Bread & Olive (also recommended to me on Chowhound), and find another place for tomorrow.

Bread & Olive has falafel, along with a ton of other options, including chicken and beef schawarma, numerous pastries, vegetable entrees, and what looked like lebanese style flat bread pizza.  All of it looked delicious… but alas, this is falafel week, so falafel is what I got.

This is a lebanese place, so a beet juice pickled vegetable made it’s first appearance of the week (I’m pretty sure it was turnip, but not positive).  It was one of the first layers to go down on top of the fresh baked flat bread- that I believe they make on site (another first for the week).  It also had lettuce and slices of tomatos, and then the falafel and tahini, all rolled up burrito style in the flat bread.

A picture of the sandwich, and the +/-, after the jump…

The falafel is made fresh (you can see the bowl of ground up chick peas next to the fryer behind the counter), and it is fine- if not a tad bit on the dry side (as so much falafel can be).  Although, they try to alleviate that by smashing it down into the other ingredients before rolling it up in the flat bread.  The flat bread was pretty good as well, and if you are into that, rather then pita bread- then this is the falafel for you.  The mystery vegetable (I’m still pretty sure it was turnip… but can’t be positive) pickled in beet juice added a different element then many of the other falafel places in the area.

All in all it was a decent falafel… but there were so many other delicious looking things, I’ll probably try something else when I go back (which is guaranteed!).

THE +

• If the Lebanese style of falafel is your thing… then this is your place (flatbread, beet juice pickled vegetables, tahini)
• Rolled up like a burrito, so it makes it really easy to eat
• Decent size and price ($5.00)
• It’s a storefront, and has tons of other options- so if you’re going with a group, everyone will find something they like
• If you want sit down falafel, there is a place in the back of the store to eat

THE -

• If you like pita bread better then flatbread, you might want to go somewhere else

Bread and Olive, 24 W. 45th St., between 5th & 6th, 212-764-1588

There is one downtown, but that doesn’t really concern us.

Helpful Links

• Official Website & Menu