Bowie Restaurant Project: (BB5) Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill

For an explanation of the Bowie Restaurant Project, look here.


For a list of all the Bowie Restaurant Project reviews, look here.

Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill, 14106 South Main Chapel Way, Gambrills
Most Recent Foursquare Check-in: 10/27/2013
Total Foursquare Check-ins: 2
Pre-Foursquare Visits: No
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bowie could sure use a Mediterranean restaurant. Now, my preference would be for Lebanese Taverna -- if you have the time, the closest one is the Cafe in Annapolis. But since I tend to restrict myself to a shorter radius around Bowie for these reviews, Garbanzo is a nice substitute.

Christina and the boys enjoying their meals

Garbanzo opened its Gambrills location in July of this year. It has twenty-some locations, mostly in Colorado, but appears to have an ambitious expansion plan. The basic way to order is to choose, pita, laffa or a plate and then add a protein. The first time I was there, the guy behind the counter advised the plate, since you get a pita with that anyway. The proteins are basically falafel, shwarma or "falarma" (a combination), with a couple of other options. The kids meals are a grilled cheese pita, a chicken or steak rice bowl or a stuffed half pita.

I should note that Salem and I suffered a little bit of discomfort the night after eating the baba ghanoush, so make of that what you will.

Overall, I was very satisfied. I like Mediterranean food. This is good-but-not-great Mediterranean food, and reasonably priced. Given that it's next door to where the kids get their haircuts, I think we'll be going there again. I will also be recommending it to people from work, particularly for its good vegetarian options.

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Bowie Restaurant News

I'm still awaiting the opening of three new Bowie restaurants -- Irie Cafe, Olive Grove, and Anthony's New York Pizza & Pasta. Irie Cafe looks almost done when you peer in the window. Olive Grove has made steady progress and stated a November opening date. Anthony's was doing a lot of work for a while, but it seems to have ground to a halt for some reason.