The Pita Pit

The front door of the Pita Pit

The Pita Pit on Court Street might seem like just another chain restaurant cluttering up our college town thoroughfare, but there is much more going on behind this door. First of all there's the smell - or lack thereof. I do not smell grease or grilling meat. The air is sort of crisp, like the vegetable aisle at Kroger. There's the massive safe in the back wall, leftover from the building's days as a bank, that now used as dry storage. It's sort of funny to see literal bread being pulled out instead of the figurative stuff.

This establishment offers a dizzying array of choices that are customizable to be as healthy or unhealthy as you like. Shift manager Eric Gorsack agrees, "We have more choices and that allows us to cater to a more vegetarian demographic. You can make exactly what you want."

For more than six years this sandwich shop in a re purposed bank space has been stuffing pita pockets with a seemingly unending amount of luncheon permutations.

To the left: Manager Eric Gorsack

"If I were to choose a healthy favorite," Gorsack muses, "I would have to go with the wheat pita, hummus, spinach and romaine, onions, mushrooms, cucumbers, a little feta, and either our secret sauce or just a little of the Chipotle sauce."

Minus the mushrooms and onions, that sounds good to me. Sorry to the veggie-philes out there, you'll never catch me munching on either of those.

But for those who are looking for a lunch or dinner that is free of the deep fryer, heat lamp, and general ew-ness that can come from a fast food lunch, may I suggest this alternative. Plus, as George Costanza once remarked to George Steinbrenner on Seinfeld, "The pita pocket keeps it from dripping!"

"All of our food is made to order and served in a healthy and friendly environment." Gorsack says.

This healthy, filling alternative to subway has not just caught my eye. Huntington, West Virginia food blogger Chris James gave a favorable review to his local Pita Pit this month.

And, while I suggest you leave the pita filling to the professionals, you can make your own following some of these simple recipes:

• Chicken and Bacon Pita from The Tiny Bean gives picture-by-picture directions, including a fried potato side dish!
• Pastrami and Swiss Pita from What I'm Cooking shows that pita doesn't have to be Mediterranean or difficult to be delicious
• Peanut Butter, Banana, and Date Pita comes all the way from Zaire! Something tells me this twist on an Elvis favorite might just work, despite not being found on the Pita Put menu
• Salsa, Hummus, and Lettuce Pita from Sprout promotes a localvore diet and heating up the pita before you use it.

All of these sound delicious to me, and I cannot wait to try them. But until I get the time to go to the store, I think I will be stopping by the Pita Pit again to build a pita to my specifications, tastes, and needs.