Elite Event Farah’s Pita Stop Cafe

Great food, great people, and a great time. We must be talking about a Unilocal event!
It is always great to see my Unilocal friends, especially when there is so much good food involved.
The staff was great, and these sort of events are the reason I love to be a Unilocaler!

Once again, Unilocal has done it… taken me out from under my little rock and pushed me past my comfort zone as far as food is concerned. If it weren’t for these awesome events, I’d be perfectly content living on my usual things like burgers, pizza, and chicken. Of course, I must say, Daisy D. also has a lot to do with it. I’m not sure how she does it, but she has a way of managing to make me try new (and what I consider weird) things. I think it also helps that I’ve known her for so long now she has a pretty good understanding of what I will and will not like. I love you, Daisy, D!!! :D
So this plate of lamb and chicken shawarma lands on our table and I immediately look at it with my puzzled «what the hell is that?» face. Daisy knows this face by now and she begins to explain before I can even ask. Lamb… hmmmm… she wants me to eat lamb?! Well, I ate the duck last year at Hawkers (albeit I was tricked and told it was chicken) and loved it. Ok… why not. My oh my, I love lamb! Who knew?! I even liked it better than the chicken! Seriously?! Yes, seriously! And the rice was sooooo good! I can say with absolute certainty I will be returning here again for that shawarma! Not real sure I can pronounce it, but I can certainly point to it on a menu! LOL
The ladyfinger baklava was so outstanding I have not been able to get it off my mind! That’s really saying something too because I have tried baklava from various places, countless times in my life, and I have just never really cared for it. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting to like this baklava either, but their ladyfinger baklava is like crack! It would be seriously dangerous if I lived on this side of town and could get to their baklava on a daily basis!
I didn’t try anything else b/​c it was all a little too weird. I don’t understand hummus (mashed up chickpeas or something like that?) and I will never understand hummus b/​c I will never try it. It’s just too weird. But, I’m still proud of myself from trying what I did (and I think Daisy is proud of me too)! :D
It was a great night mingling around and talking with everyone. Every time with fellow Yeeps is always a good time!
Thanks again to all who pulled this together… you know who you are! =)
Until next time, Yeeps…
SYOY
PS: Love my new Unilocal ice tray!
PSS: Allie, you are and forever will be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Love you!

Great job Allie, Naomi, and Daisy on setting up this wonderful event. As always everything was amazing… This was a really good choice for an event.
As always it was great seeing everyone; the new and «old» faces alike…
I had a good time and can’t wait for the next one!

Allie you did it again. When I first saw Farah’s Pita Stop I was almost thinking about missing this one. But, no Allie put it together and George Knocked it out of the park. Together you two put on another great event. George was funny all night with his wit and hilarious comments. George and family came in and put on a spread for sure. The apps table was slap packed full of yummy. The food was delish from the salad which George came over to tell me to go eat. Was that a fat kid joke George? It was good but when I got back to my table it was gone. Then the kibbe, tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, and meat n spinach pies. Yummy yummy yummy. All I wanted was more. then all of a sudden here comes more. The chicken and lamb Shwarma was fabulous and seasoned just right. I also had to chase down some of the hasel nut and lady finger baklava. Now those were the perfect finish to a wonderful evening. With a little speak about the history of this restaurant we closed out another absolutely fantastic evening. Thanks George and Family. Then another thanks you to Allie, Adam, Daisy, and Kris. Oh yea it was nice to talk to the new intern of soon to be greatness Naomi.
PS, listen to Allie she is all that.

This place was a wonderful stop for a Unilocal Elite event. I was so excited when I heard that we were going here. This is exactly my kind of meal! The owner and his family were so wonderful and welcoming and hospitable to us, giving us many wonderful things to sample from their menu. I wondered if I was going to need to stop and get something to eat afterwards if we were just doing a sampling, but nope we got the royal treatment. The hummus was some of the best I have had, the pita was soft and wonderful, and the gyro sandwich took me back to when I was a kid visiting Crete and Rhodes and walking down the streets eating these things. It was absolutely fantastic. It was so good that I have told my friends who are at a weekly co-​op group on Tuesdays and we are going to be coming and visiting. We are also bringing the kids with us for a family dinner.
Thank you Allie and Daisy for all you did for this and Naomi (? is that our new wonderful intern’s name?)!
What a wonderful event full of laughter and good and yummy eats. See you guys next time.

When I heard about the elite event at Farrah’s, I was pretty excited. According to my roommate (and fellow elite) Daisy S., we visited Farrah’s a few years back but I only vaguely remember it. We arrived a few minutes after 7 and the place was already packed! Everybody seriously showed up for this one. I was excited to bring along a friend who doesn’t really use Unilocal but loves Mediterranean food, too.
We were given drink tickets, name tags, and a fun Oscar themed ice breaker game as we walked in. We set our stuff down (and snagged one of the adorable Unilocal ice trays off the table!) then headed to the wine and appetizers. I absolutely loved the spread of appetizers. I’m a big fan of almost anything pickled (though I do draw a line at pickled meats, but that’s another story) so I ate up the pickles, cauliflower, carrots, and olives. The hummus was also very good as was the cheese.
Once everyone got settled a little we got some salads to share. Fantastic. It all tasted very fresh and when George came around and mentioned that they make the dressing in house, I wasn’t one bit surprised. After that we got a plate with kibbie, stuffed grape leaves, and meat and spinach pies. Kibbie is one of those things I see on menus and always think about trying but I’ve never been sure that I would like it. Boy, have I been missing out. The outside was crunchy without being hard or too heavy and the meat inside was perfectly seasoned. The grape leaves and pies were good too but the kibbie really impressed me on that round.
A big plate of chicken and lamb shawarma came out next. This was my very favorite of the night. The meat was so tender and the flavor was fantastic. The rice was perfectly cooked and the juices from the meat mixed into it. When I go back (and I will, I live 5 minutes away), this is what I’ll be ordering. So good. At this point we thought all we had left was dessert (and it looks like we weren’t the only ones under that impression) but nope, more dinner first! We were each handed half a gyro and it was well worth being so stuffed when I left. The bread, the meat, the veggies, the tzatziki sauce, all tasted super fresh and homemade.
We finished the meal with some baklava. I have to be honest, I’m generally not a big baklava fan because I find it tends to be way too sweet for me. The way Farrah’s served this was perfect. They were individual «lady finger style» portions and they were not dripping in honey or crazy sweet. I really enjoyed it was a perfect light but satisfying end to a huge meal.
Before we all left Allie gave George (the owner) the floor to give us some info on Farrah’s. He explained that the restaurant was previously owned by his brother and sister-​in-​law but due to some health issues, they could no longer run it and he bought it. He also explained that they’re sort of in a re-​branding process to make it clear that they are not just a lunchtime sandwich shop. They have a huge menu with lots of diverse dishes and are open well past dinner time. George was so funny and this whole family was so welcoming. As I mentioned, I live nearby and now that I have a take home version of their menu, I’ll be back for sure.
Big thanks to Allie, Daisy, our new Unilocal intern Naomi, and George and his family. It was another really fun night thanks to Unilocal

We were all Oscar winners at this Elite event and I loved Allie’s idea of finding our «Oscar» mate by way of name tag clues. I was paired with Linda B. and it was a hoot sitting with her and getting to know her a little better. If you haven’t had the pleasure to chat with Linda B., seek her out. She’s the
–an interesting and lovely dining partner. In addition, we saw the changing of the guards as Daisy D’s internship ended and Naomi M’s has just begun. How bittersweet…
We started out with some snacks. Okay I’ll admit, I loaded up way too soon on the hummus, baba ghannouj, pita wedges and maza platter at the very beginning even though I was warned. Honestly, I could not stop eating the appetizers because they were so good. It was a poor decision on my part since I wore the control tops, but I persevered…
Over the course of a couple of hours, we indulged in an arsenal of flavors from the house salata to the kibbie, lamb and chicken shawarma, vegetarian grape leaves, tabouli, meat and spinach pies and falafel. I seriously had to take a break for a moment to digest and then reconvened with the gyros and tzatziki sauce (loved the tzatziki!). And finally the baklava lady fingers with a wonderful cup of hot coffee. A perfect ending to the delicious feast.
Although I was rolling out, this was the perfect place for a fine February Elite event! It’s a rare occasion to see a restaurant owner take such good care of his guests like George did and from what I’ve heard, he’s always cordial like that – and funny. The entire staff was outstanding and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their establishment to friends.
Overall, I’m so glad I had this opportunity to go. Farah’s is a solid restaurant run by genuinely warm people serving up some terrific fresh food made with love for us Unilocalers. I thoroughly enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere of this family-​owned restaurant and understand its success.
A humongous thank you to Allie & crew who made us feel like the true «stars» for this Oscars themed evening. 5-​STARS!

What a great event we had a Farah’s Pita Stop Café. I can say that it was very well organized and the hosts were really well prepared.
This is a small restaurant with a myriad of items on the menu. They offer Mazza ala Carte, salad platters, pita specialties, sandwiches and slides, sides & extras, premium side dishes, deli board choices, children’s choices, dinner entrees and beverages including beer and wine.
I believed the owners of this restaurant did a good job selecting a very special menu for this event:
Appetizers:
Traditional Middle «eats»: Arabic cheese, olives, pickles, hummus, baba ganoush, pita wedges
Salad Choice:
Fattoush salad or House Salata (cukes/​tomato/​feta cheese in house dressing)
Sampler Platter:
Kibbie, grape leaves, Meat pie /​Spinach pie (Vegetarian choice available.)
Shawarma:
Chicken or Lamb with Couscous or Rice
Greek Gyro Plate with side Greek Salad
Desserts:
Baklava assortment
Highlights: fresh and delicious food, well prepared, friendly staff, and enough to eat for everyone.
Most delicious dish: Shawarma, which is a seasoned chicken and ground beef, served over mushroom rice. It was sensational.
I enjoyed of every single entrée. I had a good time sharing my meals with three other friends, all males. Great conversation with a table full of dudes!
I definitely will be back. I think the food was awesome, superb, magnificent, great, delicious, outstanding, excellent, remarkable, wonderful, splendid, admirable, impressive, exceptional, terrific, fabulous, etc. Seriously…

This was officially my first Elite event and I’m so happy I got to attend it. I used to come here when my job was at Southside and Beach for lunch but I didn’t know that the ownership had changed. It’s still the same awesome food that I had before. The appetizer of hummus, veggies, olives, cheese and pita bread was especially yummy! Next was a salata with the owner’s homemade dressing and that was very good. The owner came by and joked around with us which made us feel comfortable. The next plate of kibbeh, meat and spinach pies, grape leaves and tabbouleh was pretty good as well. I’ve never had kibbeh before and it reminds me of a stuffed hush puppy, which I do like. Then comes the chicken and lamb shawarma, and I LOVE lamb shawarma, laid out on a bed of rice with onions and mushrooms. Mmm-​mmm. We almost forgot that we were supposed to get a greek gyro too and we were getting stuffed by then. Luckily it was a half-​portion so it went down easily. And for dessert, there were lady finger baklava and while I’m not a big baklava fan, it was pretty good.
When we came in we were given name tags relating to the Oscars and we had to go around and find out who we matched up with. It was fun idea and a great ice breaker to get to know your fellow Unilocalers. We also got to meet the new Unilocal intern, Naomi M. (I believe?)
Thank you Allie for putting this together and thanks Danielle for the suggestion!

Farah’s I don’t quite know where to start so I’ll start from the very beginning from when I saw Ally and Naomi’s smiling face to the end of the evening when my husband had to roll me out of the door. Everything was amazing the food the people the atmosphere and oh my goodness George! That man is something else I want to go there just to eat lunch with him! And also I got to meet my twin Michael Keaton LOL! It was definitely amazing I’m coming back hopefully this weekend with my whole family and it will definitely be a treat for them also I have already started to pass on the word Farah’s is the place to go. Once again Allie nailed it. You do so many amazing things! Also, I appreciate it and for being a part of such a great event with great people. Naomi you go sister congratulations and it’s wonderful and meet you. Glad to see everyone again until next time!

This was a great event a sweet new venue. Farah’s Pita Shop is the answer to a need in Jacksonville, affordable Mediterranean fresh food, I will be part of the lunch crowd for sure! Fresh bright ingredients made all the offerings tonight for sure awesome tastiness. The lamb gyro the yummiest tzatziki sauce I’ve ever tasted. The tabouleh was so good I brought some home for a coworker who eats it a few time a week from somewhere else that’s not nearly as good. Leah and I had such fun matched together by the movie «wild» we had «a tin foil licking good time» together, but we did fill up on the hummus and pita too quickly. Welcome Naomi out newest addition to Allie’s team, and thanks y’all for a fun and tasty evening! Thanks to Farah’s for the new lunch spot for me!

I started this review while I was digesting all the amazing food! It was an evening of great food and company with a touch of Oscar’s. George, you definitely know how to get the word out about your establishment and help us better understand the story behind Farah’s Restaurant and Pita Grill.
Kudos for having food and beverage ready for everyone from the start. Serve yoruself appetizers work great with Mediterraen/​Arabic/​Greek food and I didn’t mind having a larger plate – more for me! Very generous beverage pours put a smile on many faces.
My top food choices were the salads and the combination chicken and lamb shawarma. I love gyros and that is my usual go to for this cuisine, but the fantastically seasoned meat and rice along with the homemade dressing on the salad was second to none.
The menu shared in advance seemed ambitious, but it was all there as promised and the portions were such that no one at the table left hungry. Even if you didn’t like lamb or certain vegetables, I still think you were able to eat to gastronomic satisfaction.
I am excited about their catering and I anticipate ordering from them to feed hungry attendees at a future meeting.
In conclusion, with a future coupon in hand (I LOVE that!), I would like to thank the staff at Farah’s, the Unilocal Elite crew led by Allie and the Academy for this amazing evening.

I showed up right at 7 with a serious appetite last night. The song «Hungry like the Wolf» by Duran Duran was playing at max volume in my mind, and I was ready to gorge myself on Mediterranean food.
Thankfully, the good people of Farah’s and Unilocal were ready for me. After checking in with our fantastic new intern Naomi and giving Adam a hug that lasted approximately 2 seconds too long, I was treated to a free brewski and a plate of olives.
Over the course of the next two hours we were given wave after wave of delicious food. I had kibbeh, spanikopita, two salads, three entrees and a dessert. I’m sure there are better descriptions of the food by other reviewers than I could muster today, because I also had ¼ of a table full of beer (see photo evidence from Freddie.)
Bang up job by Farah’s last night. I really enjoyed all of the dishes, and the staff was awesome. Of course, it’s always a pleasure seeing my favorite Unilocalers, and it was really nice to welcome aboard Naomi.

This event was very near and dear to my heart, I met George through my best friend almost a year ago and have always been welcomed by name, to warm open arms each time I come in.
Fabulous food is one thing but to also top it off with wonderful people just makes my day and quickly gains my loyalty.
I love George, Chris and Charlie, they are truly genuine souls doing what they love with their family, and willing to welcome all who enter their doors as family as well.
My favorite go-​to dish here is the shawarma pita, I like to mix it the meat with my tabbouleh and make it into my own kind of salad then dip the pita in my hummus ;) The desserts are my guilty pleasure, true to my first visit I’ve never picked my dessert, that is something I will always leave up to their discretion so I can enjoy the heavenly surprise.
I’m so glad to share this gem with you all and that Allie was able to make this happen! I love small business and this one definitely deserved some recognition!

And the Oscar for the FUNNIEST host goes to George, the owner of Farah’s Restaurant and Pita Grill!
This jovial host had us in stitches the entire night as he described the dishes coming out and the history of the restaurant. He also took EXTRA care of me since I was «eating for two.» Somehow my husband also caught his favor and received some extra Baklava — I wasn’t complaining because I got some too!
It was SO nice coming home from an Elite event and not feeling guilty about all the deep fried bad-​for-​you foods we normally ingest. I knew that even though we FEASTED, everything was fresh, healthy, and chock-​full of vitamins. They talk about «The Mediterranean Diet» prolonging life for a reason!
The two standout dishes of the night were the Fattouche and the Shawarma! Fattouche is a refreshing Mediterranean salad with their own home made dressing with bits of Mint mixed in, but the best part was the toasted pita chips in lieu of croutons! The crunchy pita chips soaked up all the delicious dressing for a special treat!
The Shawarma was juicy, tender, flavorful, and the rice alongside was equally as luscious as it absorbed the Shawarma’s juices too. Mmmmmm. There wasn’t a speck of leftovers on our platter after they served it to our table.
Normally Baklava is a bit unwieldy and VERY messy to eat as the layers flake off and the honey runs down your hand. Farah’s has solved this problem by incorporating it in Lady Finger format. Their Baklava has all the great crunchy texture of the pistachios and flakiness of the Phyllo dough in a lovely, compact cigar shaped dessert sweetened with honey!
The owner really wanted to get the word out that they are more than JUST a sandwich shop and have plentiful options for a delicious Mediterranean dinner! After sampling their menu, I am in FULL agreement of his statement! We cannot wait to go back and get more!!!

It’s my first Unilocal Elite event for 2015 and it was a great one folks! We were treated to a Greek and Middle Eastern cuisines. Food was fabulous!
We started off with the Mazza apps — traditional Mazza, cheese, olives, relishes, spices, oil. Then, the House Salata — cukes, tomatoes, feta cheese marinated in house vinaigrette. For Entrée #1, Farrah’s sampler platter which includes kibbie, grape leaves, meat pie and spinach pie. For Entrée #2, Shawarma (my favorite). It’s chicken and lamb served over wild mushroom rice. For Entrée #3, Greek gyro. The entrees also came with side Hummus and Tabouli. We finished it off with Baklava.
We met the owners and they’re very friendly. They did a marvelous job hosting this private event.
As usual, Allie did an awesome job putting this event together. Thank you Allie! And it was really nice meeting her new intern, Naomi.
I will definitely be back and order me some Shawarma!

What a lovely Monday night Elite Event at Farah’s Pita Stop Café. The owner George and his family welcomed us in and made me feel like family as well. Allie had fun name match ups from the academy awards the night before as a way to meet new Unilocalers and mingle. I had a nice complimentary merlot and then we began with the food. The appetizers were olives, cheese, pickled veggies and the best hummus and pita bread that I have ever had! Then we had a tasty salada. Moving on to the Mediterranean falafel, kibble and tabouleh… Spinach and meat pies, and my favorite grape leaves! Yum! By this time I was full but the food kept coming! More grape leaves and a hero sandwich. I heard the hero was great but I’m saving mine for tomorrow because I had to save room for the finale of baklava. It was just perfect! Thank you so much Allie, your interns and to our gracious hosts. It was delightful and delicious!!!

AT Farrah Pita Pit the Grape Leaf, kibbie, meat pie, spinach Pie and tabbouleh was very delicious if you are looking for a Greek meal this is the place the owner George is so nice look them up on Southside Blvd, I would like to commend Allie and her team for a job well done she has a beautiful personality, very creative the restaurant look good with all the Unilocal swag keep up the good work Allie

Oh Allie, thank you again for taking us to try another spot I have never been to!!! How have I missed this Mediterranean restaurant? It is a lil tricky too get to coming from mandarin, but it’s worth the trip!
We were greeted with appetizers of hummus (excellent!) baba ganousch, assorted veggies and cheese with some soft fresh pita. These were very tasty, the hummus was very good, next get a drink of wine or beer, the white wine was really good too!
Then we sat down to feast on many courses that kept coming!
We got to sit with people (Waheed and Vahal (sorry?)) I have never talked to before and this was really great because they were so nice and funny and made the night even better!
Now the food, first course: two types of salad, fatoosh, and traditional Mediterranean salad. .I loved the the traditional salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, dressing and feta cheese absolutely delicious!
Sampler platter of, kibbe, tabouli, grape leaves, and meat and Spinach pies. … all were good the stand out was the kibbe, great flavor with the cracked wheat great nutty flavor on the crust.
Next chicken and lamb Sharma… chopped up meat with sauteed onions over rice.. great buttery flavor we all loved this dish, scrapped clean!
Lamb gyros next, this was a small serving in a pita flat, good but I would want more if I got this for a main dish.
Then last but not least was a baklvah for dessert, philo dough with honey and cashews (?) It was prefect ending to a great meal.
I love when a business is passionate about what they do, and this is definitely a business like that, the owner was a pleasure and very wonderful for hosting us tonight, and making all this yummy food for us to eat! !! We will come back and make good use of our coupon! Thank you for everything! !!
And I love the Unilocal ice trays! Can’t wait to make some cool ice! ;)

Everything was great! The music, the food, the drinks, the deserts, the socializing, the games! All was great. I had the name tag «Birdman Director». I shared some Unilocal Swag with two new friends tonight. Thanks so much the Farahs, Danielle, and Allie. I left a nice tip. Succharan!