ALONG COMES MARY

With quick dining options becoming more diverse, it is refreshing to see that many are ensuring to not only be fast, but also healthy. “Non GMO”, DF, GF, VG & the rest of those abbreviations that look like that of a personal ad, are actually taking over menus to alert its customers just what is inside their food. I, for one, am a happy camper when I see ‘GF’ as it should mean ‘Gluten Free”.

The newest restaurant to jump on the band wagon? Yalla. When an invite appeared for me to attend their grand opening of their first SoCal location in Burbank, I was intrigued. Yalla, simply put, is much like Chipotle or PizzaRev as you build your own Mediterranean dish. If you didn’t think you would ever become a fan of a Chipotle style dining with Mediterranean food, don’t worry, I didn’t, either!

Dating Mike, who is half Syrian, he knows his Middle Eastern cooking, & scoffs at my love for conventional-in-a-tub-grab-n-go hummus & dolmas in a can (Yes, that exists). Luckily, I think Yalla is food we can both agree on.

With the traditional offerings like lamb kabob, yogurt dips & hummus, I was thrilled to discover they offer falafel that is gluten-free, Greek potato salad & power-boasting salads like The Beet & Kale, I opted for the Yalla plate; adding $2 to my order, I get to select 3 of their sides to go with my salmon skewer. Other options with no additional charge are pita wraps & salads. With my plate, I was interested to try out that potato salad; not one to usually like this dish, I was intrigued that it simply looked like roasted potatoes. In addition, their recipe also calls for red wine vinegar, scallions & some olive oil. I thought it was great & am convinced it was the red wine 😉

Already popular in the San Francisco Bay Area, Yalla (which means “Let’s Go” in Greek), just opened its Burbank location, & next up they will be in Culver City. Check them out HERE to learn more!