First Look: Vegan Kebab Mediterranean Grill in Garland Is a Meatless Dream

The kebab is a long-established culinary staple of Middle Eastern food. By combining aromatic meats of Mediterranean cuisine with the more recent worldly fascination with food on a stick, the dish has become comfort food.

Yet, to the frequent disappointment of vegans, the meaty basis of this delicacy continues to be incompatible with a modern plant-based diet. There’s little room for veggie-friendly customization.

Vegan Kebab Mediterranean Grill, which recently opened on the outskirts of Garland, is on a mission to change that. The owners of the store pride themselves on being the first establishment to serve vegan kebabs in the North Texas area. All of the menu items are crafted from 100% Gardein meat – a meat substitute made of soy, wheat and pea proteins – and flavored with the same spices and condiments as a typical kebab. Gardein is lauded for its unique ability to assume the stocky textures of meats ranging from chicken to lamb.

By crafting all of their dishes from this plant-based alternative, owner and chef Atta Noori hopes to not only offer the flavors from his hometown in Oman to a broader range of people but also to mitigate animal cruelty.

Co-owner Iqan Noori says their Chicken Rocket Sandwich is one of the most popular items, largely a result of how it mimics both the flavor and texture of a real chicken shawarma wrap. A warm pita is stuffed with shredded “chicken” that has an elastic texture when bitten into, much like real meat. Tender potato slices add a starchy consistency to balance out the firmness of the “chicken” inside. All of it is smothered in spicy garlic butter.

The gyro sandwich, another popular menu item, consists of chunky Gardein meat, thinly sliced like a typical gyro. The meat is coated in savory spices then blended with tomatoes and pickled bell peppers to form a slightly tangy and aromatic gyro stuffing. A creamy tahini paste adds unexpectedly cool tones to finish off an otherwise spicy dish.

If you have a sweet tooth, finish your meal with a piece of freshly baked baklava. Noori says that baklava is difficult to make vegan; butter is a central ingredient and necessary addition for achieving the desired flaky texture between the sheets of layered file dough. However, some trial and error has landed Vegan Kebab Mediterranean Grill an authentic recipe for vegan baklava, a guilt and dairy-free end to the meal.

Vegan Kebab Mediterranean Grill, 520 Shepherd Drive (Garland), 10:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. Monday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday