The Best Damn Thing I Ate In East Texas: Tiba Grill In Tyler, TX
DISCLAIMER: The Best Damn Thing I Ate series is where Melz On The MIC checks out restaurants and food trucks all across East Texas for the purposes of review. Melz was not compensated or given free food for his review.
Its been awhile since I've been able to check out restaurants in the area but I decided to get back outside and try some new things since its a "new year" and all. For the first review of 2023, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something I've never had before, something outside of the normal "American" or "Texas" stuff I'm used to and this "change" in me is actually due to another restaurant CLOSING.
Tiba Grill Is Considered By Many To Be The Best Mediterranean Restaurant In Tyler.
Our studio is literally a block away from Tiba Grill and on most days I walk right past it on my way to grab lunch at one of the "fast food" spots on Broadway. But when the news broke that "Zoe's Kitchen" was closing, I noticed a lot of social media comments from folks recommending Tiba. So my natural sense as a "journalist" kicked in and I had to investigate.
Tiba Has A Beautiful Dining Space Where The Vibes Were Chill When I Stopped By.
When I walked in, the vibes were great and it wasn't loud or chaotic during lunch despite a nice crowd. Now my experience with Mediterrean food is borderline ignorant because outside of a "gyro" here and there, I've never really tried anything else considered Mediterranean.
There's Also A Shop Filled With Mediterranean Foods.
Real quick before I tell you about the food, there's a cool shop inside filled with Mediterranean food items you probably won't find in Brookshire's including candies, sodas, spices and more. After checking things out, I was ready to try the food and thankfully the young lady behind the counter was patient with me (because I was THAT "so what's good here?" GUY) and she recommended several things. But I decided to go with something I've seen LOTS of folks on the socials have.
Try The Mix Shawarma
Based on reviews on Yelp and on social media, I tried the Mix Shawarma which is essentially chicken, beef and gyro meat smothered in seasonings served on a bed of yellow rice and served with buttery pita bread. I'm literally shoveling food into my mouth as I write this because its that's good.
Tiba Grill Is Located At 211 Shelley Drive In Tyler.
This is where I remind you that my knowledge of Mediterranean food is borderline IGNORANCE.. so I wasn't ready to be adventurous enough to try one of the other sides like "Baba Ghanoush" or "Hummus" so forgive me for reverting back to bad habits and ordering "French fries" ok? And while I suffered from sticker shock from the cost of it ($23.99) I will definitely have this again and not walk past them to go grab a "burger" so often.