Mediterranean Kabob in Laurel

There are times when a casual dinner can make all the difference in the world, when you just want some fresh bread, a little grilled meat, some flavor that you don't have to whip up with your own hands.

For example, imagine that you come home every night on the MARC to Laurel.  And imagine that your wife is, say, an orthopedic surgery resident at the University of Maryland.  She is sleeping at the hospital every third night, so you're driving home wondering what you should do for dinner.

Well -- David, yes you David -- you should stop at the Mediterranean Kabob on U.S. 1 just north of Main Street and just over the line in Howard County.  Casual place with counter service and a basic menu of grilled meats.  Kabobs, gyros, side dishes and rice.

It's a basic version of Maiwand Kabob.  Mediterranean doesn't have the vegetables side dishes that make Maiwand one of my Top 10 restaurants, but it's a friendly place that serves a nice sandwich.  I have had the kabobs and the gyro.  Both times, they met my expectations -- delicious grilled meat, crisp fresh bread, and none of the overwhelming grease that comes on cheap gyros.  Gyros rely on fatty ground meat.  It might be dinner that you don't mention to your wife the doctor.  But the good ones leave you satisfied without feeling gross, and Mediterranean kabob threads the skewer right down the middle.

While you're at Mediterranean, consider the kabob-e-kubideh.  I haven't tried it yet, but Shaheen emailed me to talk up that ground beef kabob, the gyro and the baklava.  He and I also hope that there will be outdoor seating in the courtyard outside the front door.  It isn't scenic, but it's relatively peaceful and certainly qualifies as a parking lot cafe.

There is one wild card here: Mediterranean may have completed changed.  I pulled a link from Yelp because you should read the review by Su K., who talks up chicken kabobs in the funny, substantive style that makes him one of my favorites.  The review below Su K.'s said Mediterranean Kabob had hired a new chef in February -- a Thai woman who had added spring rolls and Asian chicken.  That sounded spectacular until I actually emailed with Teacherme, who said new management took over since that review.  Different managers?  Different chef? Totally different place?

Well, David, you'll have to check it out and let me know.

If you're checking out Mediterranean Kabob, you'll probably drive past a bunch of other great food.  I wrote two "tours" that run you past cool places -- one along U.S. 1: The Foodie Frontier and one of southern Howard County that runs through Main Street Laurel.

Mediterranean Kabob

10095 Washington Blvd, Ste 107
Laurel, MD 20723

(301) 498-5000

NEAR:  Mediterranean Kabob is in the ground floor of one of the new apartment buildings in the middle of U.S. 1 just north of downtown Laurel.  One entrance faces the northbound lanes, and another entrance faces the central courtyard where there is parking.