bana parte - farmer's market edition

The place: Bana Parte at the Salt Lake Farmer's Market



What we hoped for: another tasty, cheap Mediterranean place like O'Falafel at one of our favorite Salt Lake events.

What we got:
lamb kabob


grilled cheese


orangina


The pros: Very good smelling, fresh ingredients and fast service.  Plus they had red pepper spread and tasty beverages.

The cons: The preparation of the food.  The lamb was overcooked, the pita bread was very dry and should have been toasted, the cheese wasn't melted at all, and the menu said it included eggplant but it didn't.

Rating (changed for Farmer's Market)
Potential: 4.5 mo-mos.  We sure love Mediterranean food; especially lamb.  It was pretty, smelled good, had a good menu, great ingredients, and we had high hopes.
Taste: 2.5 mo-mos.  It turned out to be pretty average.  Perhaps they were too rushed with the crowd of the market, but we were disappointed with how they prepared things.  Overcooking things that shouldn't be, under cooking others.
Price: 3 mo-mos.  Our grilled cheese was $4 and our lamb kabob was $7.  Pretty average price.  We would have rated it higher, had the food been better.

Will we be back? Probably not.  There are many other places to try at the market, and only so many Saturdays until it ends.

o' falafel

The place: 
O' Falafel (website)

What we hoped for: a tasty, cheap Mediterranean place.  We love places like Mazza and Layla Grill, but can't afford them too often.

What we had:
Beef Shwarma and Kifteh

The pros: Delicious sandwiches with fresh ingredients and wonderful spices.  The owner brought out free hummus and pita bread to our son, who was having a hard time.

The cons: The entrees, which sounded great, were a little out of our under $10 budget, but considering the type of food, the price was still reasonable.

What to get: We loved our sandwiches, but we'll be back to try some of the entrees like makhshi and mousakka.

Rating:
Atmosphere: 4 mo-mos.  It's clean, has plenty of seating, and friendly staff.
Price: 3 mo-mos.  While some of the menu is a little higher than we like to pay, it is definitely cheaper than other Mediterranean restaurants.
Food: 4 mo-mos.  Fresh, flavorful, and healthy.  It was very good, and a nice change of pace restaurant.

Will we be back? Definitely.  There are many other dishes we would love to try.