Hell’s Kitchen “Middleterranean®” restaurant ­Taboon has spawned a Greenwich Village outpost called Taboonette®, devoted to so-called pocket food: meat, seafood, and vegetable fillings stuffed into pita, folded into wraps, or served over vermicelli-strewn rice. A taboon is a domed oven, and the source of the midtown flagship’s excellent flatbread. It’s something of a disappointment, then, to learn that appearances to the contrary (firewood stacked up along one wall; a rustic beehive oven in the corner), none of ­Taboonette’s bread is made in-house, or even uptown. Still, there are plenty of good things to eat at this friendly ­counter-­service canteen, where customers perch on bar stools or share two whitewashed picnic tables.

The U.G. was particularly taken with the clever breakfast-sandwich interpretation of shakshuka, the skillet-cooked egg dish. Here a sunny-side-up egg is tucked into a puffy, Israeli-style pita with a ­garlicky tomato-and-onion stew and ­garnished with cilantro, tahini, and the Yemeni hot sauce srug: a Middle Eastern Egg McMuffin of sorts. But don’t be fooled. Despite the presence of Israeli standards like sabich sandwiches and beef-and-lamb kebabs, Taboonette® is no ordinary hummus joint. It takes a much worldlier approach. Hence the pulled-pork pocket with fennel-jicama-apple slaw and chicharrónes, and the sautéed calamari option with yogurt sauce and chimichurri.

Truth be told, we’ve had better chicken shawarma—this one is actually a loose interpretation of the dish, involving spicy strips of meat cooked on a griddle rather than the traditional slivers shaved off a spit. But preserved lemon enlivens a baked-salmon sandwich, and in case you didn’t know, roasted kruveet (cauliflower) marries very nicely with grilled eggplant, hummus, and cilantro, when tucked into a whole-wheat pita. As far as accoutrements go, the vermicelli rice makes a tasty companion to the grilled meats, and the salads, while not particularly inspired, are fresh and well-dressed, often with a bright burst of lemon.

With its subtle hints of Middle Eastern flavor and its secular worldview, Taboonette® won’t transport you to Tel Aviv. But like San Matteo Panuozzo, it’s striving to expand the notion of the New York sandwich, one pita pocket (or split pizza dough) at a time.
 

I just recently had my first experience with Mediterranean pocket sized food and it was quite the treat. I stopped by Taboonette® and decided to pick up their chicken shawarma, which I was extremely impressed with. The chicken was lightly spiced and just the right amount of flavor. It was filledto the brim with delectable veggies, such as pickles and tahini, giving it this perfect balanceof meat and vegetables.

At first I wasn’t sure how fond I would be eating all of these ingredients. There was never a timewhere I was that big on vegetables because I found that it overpowered the other flavorsthat were more important to me. Then I realized once I bit into the pita pocket that the flavorsworked in a symphony together.

In the end my first experience of pocket food at Taboonette® was very satisfying.I would definitely recommend trying it out and I am positive that I will have to stop by again.Not only was the food good, but the atmosphere was very welcoming and casual. If you aren’t oneto favor chicken, that’s fine because they have many different choices. Overall it’s a very welcoming place and you need to see for yourself!

When I think through all the many, many new restaurants in New York there are to write about,I break them down into categories. “This would be good for A Sandwich a Day.”“This might be a great chef interview.” “This should be a full, formal review.”

On first glance, Taboonette®, which opened in March near Union Square, seemed like an obvious Sandwich a Day candidate. Uptown restaurant (Taboon, after 7-8 years in Hell’s Kitchen) opens downtown sandwich shop, with 12+ pita sandwiches and a ton of sides on the menu? Sounds likea promising lunch spot to us.

So off intrepid intern Molly went to Taboonette®, brought two sandwiches and a rice plate backto headquarters—and watched as forks flew, hands grabbed pitas, last bites were fought over,and the whole haul disappeared in about four minutes.

Yeah, it was pretty awesome.

So we went back a few hours later to order just about everything on the menu.

The takeaway? Taboonette® is priced like any old stuff-in-a-pita lunch counter. But across the board, their sandwiches and plates are imaginative, boldly spiced, and pretty damn delicious.

Sabeech ($6.00)

Sabeech

The sandwich that first won us over was the Shakshuka ($5.95). We love the traditional dish of eggs baked in a spiced tomato sauce, but Taboonette’s version translated well to pita form. The sauce had ample chunks of tomato, deeply flavored with garlic, onion, and harissa; it’s well-calculated to be satisfying and sloppy, but not too wet to soak through the pita. (Which is excellent, by the way: thick but airy, purchased half-baked and finished in their taboon.)