Panini Kabob, Century City - Dreadful; Green Olive, W.L.A. - good

[Omotesando]

Panini Kabob is not normally the kind of restaurant that I would ever set foot in, but I was at my office in Century City on a weekend and I had what I thought was a $10 off coupon for the Panini Kabob that just recently opened at the remodeled Westfield mall in Century City. I debated between a walk to the mall for lunch or having UberEats deliver from Green Olive (on little Santa Monica Blvd. at Sepulveda). I went to Panini Kabob. Wrong choice.

The only way I can describe Panini Kabob is that it is a pseudo Middle Eastern Cheesecake Factory – large portions of dreadful food.

Started with small bowl of chicken soup. Served lukewarm with a piece of supermarket quality French bread. Tasted like any soup you would get out of a tin can, but at least with tin can soup that you warm up at home, you can serve it at the appropriate temperature and doctor it with spices.

Chicken Kabob plate – a large skewer of the worst kabob I think I have ever tasted. Huge pieces of soft, pillowy tasteless chicken, interspersed with onions and green pepper. I skipped the rice and just got “Greek” salad – some tasteless supermarket mixed greens with sprinkled with tasteless feta and a few olives. No side of pita bread. The whole meal was gross and the $10 off coupon didn’t work because I didn’t read the fine print that you had to spend $40 to get $10 off. However, you couldn’t pay me $40 to ever set foot in Panini Kabob again. It is that bad. So much for the wonderful new food choices at the Westfield Mall – it’s still crappy mall food.

Now, Green Olive is another story. One of the best cheap eats out there. I usually get the Chicken Kabob plate for $10.95, which comes with rice or salad and two sides. Both the chicken kabob and salad are vastly superior to Panini Kabob and the side of spicy Green Olive potatoes is downright crave-worthy, as is the hot sauce and garlic paste that come as sides. The hummus and baba ghanouj are okay, but not stellar. The tzatziki is fine and the falafel is good. I’ve also had the Gyro Meat Plate, which was good. Best of all, UberEats will bring all this to you in a flash, which is great because the parking in the mini-mall where Green Olive is located sucks.

[Bigmouth]

@Omotesando

Now, Green Olive is another story. One of the best cheap eats out there. I usually get the Chicken Kabob plate for $10.95, which comes with rice or salad and two sides. Both the chicken kabob and salad are vastly superior to Panini Kabob and the side of spicy Green Olive potatoes is downright crave-worthy, as is the hot sauce and garlic paste that come as sides. The hummus and baba ghanouj are okay, but not stellar. The tzatziki is fine and the falafel is good. I’ve also had the Gyro Meat Plate, which was good. Best of all, UberEats will bring all this to you in a flash, which is great because the parking in the mini-mall where Green Olive is located sucks.

Is Green Olive part of the chain that used to have a location on Wilshire near Bundy?

[Omotesando]

I am not sure if Green Olive is part of the chain that used to have a location on Wilshire near Bundy. I do remember that Green Olive as I used to work down the street on Wilshire and was heartbroken when it closed, as there was nothing else decent in that Wilshire Bundy corridor.

I only discovered the Green Olive on Little Santa Monica and Sepulveda via UberEats and decided to take a chance and was pleasantly surprised. As I said, the roasted potatoes smothered in spicy sauce are downright crave-worthy, as is their hot sauce and garlic paste and the mains are good too.