DAY 12: ROTI MEDITERRANEAN GRILL
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| Chicken Kabob Salad from Roti |
A bit of Mediterranean blood flows through my veins, so it’s no surprise that I really love Mediterranean food.
When Roti Mediterranean Grill opened its first location a stone’s throw from my office, I was ecstatic. Their fresh approach to food and flavor had me hooked. There’s one near my house, too. I’ll admit there have been weeks when I’ve eaten Roti multiple times. It’s that good.
The Roti concept is pretty simple. They offer a selection of fire-roasted meats plus felafel and roasted veggies that form the base for sandwiches (in a pita pocket or a laffa wrap), salads or plates. You order your meat/veggie, then walk through the assembly line as your meal is made on the other side to choose your sides, toppings and homemade sauces. It’s a lot like one of my other favorite spots, Chipotle, in that regard.
On this particular visit, I ordered a
Chicken Kabob Salad and added hummus, cous-cous, cucumber-tomato salad, feta and olives with red pepper aoli and a slice of warm pita on the side. The meal was assembled quickly, and the staff could not have been more pleasant. I was in and out the door in just a few minutes.
My favorite thing about this salad is the flavor. Marinated kabobs, sweet cous-cous, garlicky hummus, briny kalamata olives, cool cucumber-tomato salad, salty feta and spicy red pepper aoli combine to go
*P*O*W* on the tongue. It’s so flavorful and substantial, it hardly feels like a salad. The textures are great, too, with meaty chicken, smooth hummus, creamy cheese, crisp cucumbers and tomatoes, chewy olives and soft cous-cous. And of course there are mixed greens under it all to add bit of fresh garden flavor. The combination makes a really satisfying lunch.
The pita served on the side is a nice touch. It’s light and chewy, which I really like. As someone who counts calories and doesn’t want to pack a ton of carbs into a meal, I appreciate that Roti’s pita is thinner than most other pita. Plus they make it in house right behind the cash register, which means you’ll probably get a piece that’s just rolled out of the oven. I like using the pita to scoop up the hummus.
The only thing to be careful of is calories. Although the individual ingredients on their own are super healthy, Roti’s generous “add what you want” approach makes it easy to be greedy. If you choose a higher-calorie meat or felafel and then pack on toppings, sides and sauces, you'll end up with a high-calorie meal. But it’s a healthy mix of ingredients, not fat-laden fried junk food—and some people actually can afford or need to eat those extra calories.
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| Roti's online nutrition calculator |
Whichever camp you’re in, Roti’s online
nutrition calculator will help you figure out the best ingredients to choose for your diet plan. I took a screenshot* after I calculated the calories in my meal so you can see how it added up my choices. I overshot my calorie target by 118 calories primarily because I added the pita, which contains 103 calories. But it was worth the splurge, and it kept me full until dinner, which wasn’t until after 7pm. [*A note about the screenshot: Roti recently changed their pita, reducing calories from 205 to 103. When I used the nutrition calculator to add up my calories, the calorie count for the pita hadn’t been updated yet, so it shows 721 calories instead of 619.]
One other thing to love about Roti is the loyalty program. You download an app to your phone and use it to photograph and upload your receipts. I was a little skeptical because I didn’t want a bunch of spam and alerts, but I’ve never had a problem with this app. It’s super easy to use and nicely designed. You get points for every purchase, and can trade the points for free items and discounts. For example, during June, you can get a salad for only 300 points instead of the usual 900.
I plan on going back before July starts to cash in 300 of my points for a free salad. I’m already looking at the nutrition calculator and planning my next meal. I'll let you know what I decide.
ITEM
Chicken Kabob Salad
EATERY
Roti Mediterranean Grill, 10 South Riverside Plaza, Chicago, IL 60606
MENU DESCRIPTION
Make your own salad with house-baked pita. Choose one:naturally raised FreeBird chicken roti, aged choice sirloin steak roti (add $1), naturally raised FreeBird Chicken breast chicken kabob, felafel made with organic chickpeas or marinated, fresh roasted vegetables. Add unlimited sides and toppings: tomato & cucumber salad, cous-cous, red cabbage slaw, Spanish eggplant, roasted vegetables, feta cheese, olives and sumac onions. Pick your sauce(s): dill/yogurt/cucumber (mild), tahini (mild), red pepper aoli (medium), s’hug (spicy) or Roti vinaigrette.
CALORIES
619 (516 for salad + 103 for pita)
COST
$8.78 with tax
RECOMMEND
Definitely
