New to Town: Mezza Mediterranean Grill

The La Grange business community welcomed the village's newest restaurant to the downtown scene with a grand opening celebration for , 1 S La Grange Rd., on Saturday.

Members of the and the came out to chow down on some food and help cut the ribbon on Mezza's first restaurant in the suburbs.

"We couldn't have picked a better location," said owner Sam Joudeh at the ribbon cutting.

Owner Mutaz Abdullah agreed and said they picked La Grange after coming to the village often and seeing the success of other restaurants here. 

"We thought there was a need for our menu too," Abdullah said.

Mezza's menu is focused on Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors and dishes, and items like kabobs, pita sandwiches, wraps and salads make up the majority of the menu. For those unfamiliar with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, you can't go wrong with a chicken shwarma, or a falafel pita. Vegetarians will be pleased with the menu options too. With dishes like a red pepper hummus wrap and a grilled vegetable pita, you wont need to eat meat to get a tasty, filling lunch.

"We focus on fresh and healthy too," Abdullah said. "We make everything in house in our kitchen—even the salad dressings."

Mezza is fast too. While it's not your typical fast food, you won't need to wait long if you're just on a lunch break from work. You can get in, eat and get out in about 20 minutes, even with a line. On Saturday, curious customers were lined up to taste the menu, and the staff at Mezza was able to keep them moving through quickly.

We think Mezza would make a great alternative to places like Subway, and , as it's the kind of place to you can keep it casual and fast. The majority of the menu stays at about $6, so you won't have to break the bank just for lunch either.

Mezza offers a catering menu as well, in case you need to feed the whole office or keep hungry partygoers from eating everything in your fridge. 

Patch was there to catch all the action. Take a look at our pictures.