Got word from Lunch’er James last week that Pick-a-Pita (on 8th btw 39+40th), the home of french fry-stuffed shwarma and one of Sam Sifton’s favorite spots has closed it doors. Sadly, there’s no sign explaining the closure and I don’t think there is any sort of Jewish holiday going on. Does anyone know when they shut their doors or why?

I don’t know if it was divine intervention, or what, but on Friday I stopped in for a little Pick-a-Pita redux.

I went with the spicy shawarma in a pita, with everything + french fries stuffed in the pita (naturally) for an extra 50 cents.  I’m guessing they forgot to add hot sauce, because it wasn’t that spicy… and considering I had ordered the “spicy shawarma” you would think it would pack a good punch.  The layering was not great- leaving me with mostly meat at the bottom, but the pita was good and it had everything you’d want in a good Israeli sandwich (hummus, Israeli salad, pickles).  I’ll begrudgingly admit that the french fries didn’t add anything- but I wasn’t *not* going to get them. $8 for a pita sandwich is expensive for the size, but it’s on par with the rest of the Kosher spots in Midtown.  It won’t replace Baraca (aka Olympic Pita) as my go to Kosher pita spot, and I doubt God sees it as a replacement for going to temple on the High Holidays… but it was still a tasty pre-Rosh Hashanah lunch.

Pick a Pita, 601 8th Ave (btw. 39+40th), 212-730-7482

Related:
Pick-a-Pita’s New Digs Seem to Be Working Out
Pick a Pita (aka My Quest for the French Fry Stuffed Shwarma)

Unlike House of Pita, which struggled to get their customers to travel to 8th Ave. from their original 48th Street location, Pick-a-Pita seems to be having no trouble keeping their clientele.  Granted their original location (on 38th btw. 7+8th) is around the corner from the new larger location (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th_… but this line seems longer than anything they were ever dealing with at the original location.  It looks like the Mandler’s curse may be broken.

Surprisingly the new location of Pick-A-Pita (on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th) did in fact open on Tuesday- before shutting down on Wednesday night, and all of Thursday to observe Yom Kippur. They’ll be back open for business today… and just in time too.  On Wednesday amNY named them one of the falafel places in New York City worth waiting in line for. As for the original Pick A Pita location, which is now closed, they owners still have the lease for another 6 months and haven’t decided what to do with the space yet. We shall see… but if you work in the area, and never knew about the semi-hidden Pick a Pita location on 38th, you should check out this new location. Especially if you like french fries stuffed in your shawarma sandwich.

The original Pick-a-Pita (on 38th btw. 7+8th), home of the french fry stuffed schwarma/falafel sandwich, has closed for the holidays (Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur) and will not re-open.  Instead the business will shift to their new location on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th (the former home of House of Pita.)  Originally they said they were going to keep both locations open, but that didn’t make any sense. The sign says they will be opening on October 7th, but the guy inside said it would open after the holidays. Considering that Yom Kippur starts at sundown on October 8th, it would make more sense if they opened on the 10th. I guess we’ll see.

The holidays may also explain why some of your favorite Kosher lunch spots were closed at the beginning of the week.  Most are back open, but expect Kosher Deluxe, Olympic Pita, Moshe’s Falafel and others to be closed on October 9th (and maybe even the 8th) for Yom Kippur.

Well that answers that question.  Pick A Pita, a tiny but righteous falafel and shawarma spot on 38th btw. 7+8th, will be opening a second outpost in the now closed House of Pita space on 8th Ave. btw. 39+40th.  The tiny closet they currently operate will remain open, meaning you will now have two Pick-a-Pita options right around the corner from each other.  HOP fans could do a lot worse; I have a special place in my heart for Pick-a-Pita since it was where I discovered the beauty of french fries in a shawarma sandwich.  They say the new location will be open on October 1st.

For un-fat people not looking to stuff various foods with french fries, a picture like this might be hard to decipher.  I am not one of those people.  Thanks to Josh, I became aware of the very exciting information that Pick a Pita (on 38th btw. 7+8th) will stuff your falafel or shwarma sandwich with french fries.  Immediately this place went from “that shwarma place I heard was good and should probably try out” to “Pick a Pita.  The greatest place ever invented in the history of mankind”.

Apparently stuffing your shwarma sandwich or falafel in pita is commonplace in many countries in the Middle East… but for some reason I have not seen it done at any of the places in Midtown.  I’m sure there are places I have been to that will put french fries in your sandwich if you ask, but Pick a Pita doesn’t force you to figure this out for yourself.  They suggest it for you:

50 cents is a small price to pay for the greatest sandwich condiment of all time.  Sure, you can order french fries anywhere and put them on top yourself, but then people might think you are fat and disgusting.  Pay someone else to do it, and now it’s not your fault!  “Honey… it wasn’t MY idea.  They put them in the sandwich BEFORE they gave it to me!”  If that doesn’t work, I just go with the more accurate ”I’d be crazy NOT to get the fries stuffed into the sandwich!”

More food porn, and the +/- after the jump…

Besides the whole french fry thing, Pick a Pita is a pretty standard Israeli style falafel & shwarma place.  Tucked away on 38th St. btw. 7+8th, right now- the sign is covered in scaffolding.  Once you find the sign, you actually have to walk through some sort of weird loading dock/hallway to get into the small storefront.  They only have about 4-5 tables, so be prepared to take it to go if the tables are all filled up.

Pick a Pita has falafel, chicken & lamb shwarma, shnitzel and various kebabs all available in platter or sandwich form.  Not sure what to order?  Hover for a little while, and they will probably offer you a taste of the super tasty chicken shwarma cut straight from the hot spit.  I actually saw them give one lady a whole falafel ball, just to try.  A platter comes with 2 side orders, but if you order a sandwich- they pretty much allow you to stuff it with whatever you want.

On a mission, I knew exactly what I wanted without looking at the menu.  1 Chicken shwarma sandwich with french fries please!  “Do you want the fries on the side or in the sandwich?”  Look at my stomach buddy.  What do you think???  I also had them throw some eggplant, tomato & cucumber salad, carrots and cabbage in there, topped off with the fries and tahini.  The picture doesn’t really do the thing justice… all you can see is the tahini covered french fries.  I guess in the end, it is sort of fitting.

The chicken shwarma was flavorful and delicious, and the toppings were all great as well.  You have your choice of everything you could possibly want, including eggplant- which was my favorite.  But the real star of the thing was the bread.  Their pita bread is really fluffly and fresh tasting, unlike alot of the stalish, thin pita breads you find at falafel places in Midtown (Moshe’s & House of Pita I’m looking at you). The whole thing cost $8.00 ($7.50 for the sandwich, 50 cents for the fries)…  A little pricey for a smallish sandwich in pita bread, but considering how great all the ingredients were (and their willingness to stuff it with fries), I didn’t really mind.  As is the case in most places like this, the falafel is the much cheaper option.  $5.00 (plus 50 cents for the french fries of course).  Not as good a deal as Kosher Deluxe, but still a great option for your falafel or shwarma fix.

Despite the hype, the french fries didn’t really add anything to the sandwich- other than me being able to revel in my own fatness, exclaiming that I had a sandwich stuffed with french fries!  But such is life.  Sometimes food is more about fun (and making people think you’re disgusting) than taste.

THE +

• They’ll pretty much stuff whatever you want into the pita for you!
• Really tasty chicken shwarma, and good falafel
• Great selection of salads and veggies for pita stuffing
• The service is super nice, and they usually will give you a sample of something if the place isn’t too crowded and you are undecided.

THE -

• $7.50-$8.00 is a little pricey for a pita sized shwarma sandwich.  Usually for that price you can get a much larger sandwich on laffa
• In the end the french fries were a little limp & soggy, and didn’t really add too much to the sandwich
• The place is tiny, and there isn’t alot of seating (meaning you may have to take it to go)
• The hot sauce isn’t super hot

Pick a Pita, 247 W 38th St. (btw. 7+8th) 212-730-7482

Now located at 601 8th Ave (btw. 39+40th)