Mike’s Coney & Pita

Fantastic lunch option in Eastern Market. The falafel is perfect: piping hot and crispy on the outside, moist on the inside — not dry at all. The Chicken Shwarma was great too, very flavorful with an appropriately pungent garlic spread. At under $ 5 per sandwich for such good food, Mike’s is pretty tough to beat.

I love diners, and the more kitschy the better. Mike’s has a bright yellow exterior and a bright robin’s egg blue interior, with black vinyl-​covered stools at the counter. It’s small, with only a few tables, and you can watch your burger being made as you sit at the counter. It’s got a very quintessential divey diner feel to it, and the people-​watching was fun.
While the cook seemed chipper– chatting and joking with a little boy who had brought in his own $ 6 for a burger– the waitress initially seemed quiet to the point of surliness. But she ended up smiling and chatting with the little boy eventually, and she served us quickly and accurately, so I can’t really complain that she was impolite.
My companion had the veggie pita wrap, and it was stuffed full of lettuce, tomatoes, banana pepper rings and big chunks of feta. I had the soup and sandwich deal for $ 4.95. You could pick from one of about 6 sandwiches along with a cup of one of two different choices of soup. I got tuna on wheat and the lentil soup. They were both good. The tuna salad was neither too wet nor too dry and was chock full of finely diced celery. A generous– almost heaping– serving was stuffed between two pieces of toasted wheat bread along with lettuce and nice ripe tomato slices. The lentil soup had rice, chunks of carrots, and pea pods in it. I found that a little strange, but the flavor was good.
Including tip, my companion and I had lunch for just under $ 10.