Crazy Pita fine, but we weren’t crazy about it

Crazy Pita is a classic American success story. The original location, in The District at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, developed quite a bit of buzz and was followed in short order by one at Town Square and, recently, a third at Downtown Summerlin, making it easily accessible from pretty much any part of the valley.

When a single restaurant is doubled and then tripled — especially during what have been not the best economic times — I have to figure they’re doing something right, and indeed, there is much to like about Crazy Pita. I was extremely impressed by the friendly helpfulness of the staff in this counter-service place, as they practically rush to grab a dirty plate if you make a move anywhere in the direction of a trash can. The original location, which we visited, is filled with light and color and, on a recent evening, holiday sparkle added to the decorative accents. There’s even free Wi-Fi.

Nevertheless, I’m a little mystified by Crazy Pita’s popularity. There weren’t any real negatives during our visit, but we found ourselves comparing it to a number of restaurants in the valley that serve similar food and, in many cases, better versions.

For instance, the rotisserie chicken, one of the things for which Crazy Pita seems to be known. Our half chicken ($11.99; $7.99 to $8.99 for a quarter, $19.99 for a whole) and was reasonably flavorful, but the white meat was exceptionally dry. It was accompanied by hummus, which was OK, and pita, which was warm but not as pillowy as what we frequently encounter elsewhere in the valley. And while the menu said the feta salad served on the side would contain romaine, very little was detectable, in favor of a lot of diced cucumbers, tomatoes and onion, tossed in a vinaigrette and with a sprinkling of feta. It was fine for what it was, but there was an awful lot of it, and this is one of those instances when a little goes a long way.

The same mixture, minus the feta, was used in the lamb pita ($8.99) and this was a much more effective use, contributing crunchy texture, flavor and color to the Mediterranean version of a sandwich. It involved a folded round of warm pita in which a skewer of the restaurant’s marinated and roasted lamb cubes had been deposited. Again, the meat was a little dry, but overall it was quite appealing.

Stuffed grape leaves ($3.99 for small, $6.99 for large), which are widely available in Southern Nevada and elsewhere in both hot and cold versions, were served cold in this case, nicely chilled, the leaves briny. The 10 little rolls that came with the large portion were served with more of that flat pita and some cups of what we first assumed was tzatziki but turned out to be a scallion-based sauce. That added some zip to the stuffed grape leaves, which were stuffed with a rice mixture that needed some spark, both to make it more interesting and to better balance the briny leaves.

And so we return to the central questions, and that is what makes Crazy Pita so popular? It’s not the food — at least not in a vacuum — because you can find more inspired versions elsewhere. But Crazy Pita seems to have hit on a winning combination of superfriendly service, low prices and convenient locations, and as a business model it seems to be working just fine.

Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com, or call 702-383-0474. Follow @HKRinella on Twitter.