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Anyone who's confined his pita-sandwich consumption to MacDougal Street and street carts is likely suffering from a common misperception: If you've had one shawarma, you've had 'em all. Disabuse yourself of that notion by ordering the succulent Middle Eastern-Israeli poultry version at Olympic Pita, a bustling kosher restaurant in midtown Manhattan. The flavorful amalgam of chicken and turkey is sliced off the spit and rolled up in a pita or—better yet—a sesame-seeded lafa, the blistered and blackened brick-oven bread resilient enough to contain the juicy, flavorful meat and the awesome sauces (like a sweet-and-sour mango condiment called amba). The sandwich price includes a salad bar, with all manner of crunchy shawarma add-ons like sour pickles, radishes, pickled turnips, and delectably oily deep-fried eggplant. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

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• New York's Best Cheap Eats 2007 (7/30/07)
• Restaurant Openings: Olympic Pita, Blue Ribbon Bar, and Westville East (2/12/07)