Hopefully the Spitting Will Be Held to a Minimum at Spitz

 Spitz 

1474 Kramer Blvd. 

Placentia, CA 92870

As is my custom when attending my dentist's appointment, I always look for somewhere to eat afterwards. It's like a way to reward myself for caring for my teeth. I'm usually up in North OC twice a year for these appointments on a weekday afternoon, so I try to hit up a place I would not usually get to. Even though my parents live in the area, they are not big fans of Mediterranean food, so since I was alone, I tried a spot that had caught my eye on Instagram, Spitz. 

While writing this review, I was surprised to learn that this is one of 24 locations in nine states, with more to come. This is the only one in OC, and it's in the busy, revamped Placentia Village Plaza, situated at the corner of Kramer and Yorba Linda Boulevard. Clyde's Hot Chicken, Craft Burger Co., Original Pancake House, and Saigon Noodle House are other restaurant tenants here. 

Spitz was conceived by two Occidental College classmates in 2009. Their vision was to bring the Mediterranean street food found everywhere in Europe to the US. The restaurant's name is an homage to the vertical cooking method used to make doner kebab, which is featured on almost every dish on their menu. They also want to de-ethnicize traditional doner kebab by making it healthier and more approachable to US consumers. 

It must have worked because they have become very successful, and all five of their Southern California locations have four-star ratings on Yelp. They have also been named one of the top upcoming franchises for restaurant industry insiders to watch in the future. 

The Spitz menu is divided into sections for doner wraps, house favorites, bowls, salads, sides, gyros, desserts, and a vegan menu. Nothing on their menu exceeds the $15 threshold, except for the combos, including a wrap, a side, and a drink. Favorites included loaded fries and an interesting take on a taquito, which I'll have to try on my next visit. For now, I kept it basic food-wise. Let's see how Spitz turned out for me. 

Please forgive my awkward hand modeling. I promise my hand was not hurt holding this large Gyro ($12.25), although it was stuffed with plenty of fries, onions, tzatziki sauce, Berliner sauce, zesty feta, gyro meat, and chicken. The pita was puffier than the normal pita, which made it softer when bitten and able to hold everything together. I was also a fan of the sauces here, which they were not shy about applying generously. The Berliner sauce, which was a creamy, slightly spicy sauce, was a standout and went well with the insides of the gyro. The gyro meat was nicely done, with a good flavor, but the chicken got lost in the shuffle here and was not a standout. Even after my thirty-minute drive home, the fries were relatively still crisp, which was no small feat considering the amount of sauce on this. Spitz makes a very pleasing gyro.  

This Street Cart Wrap ($14.25) was no slouch either. The grilled wrap was filled with green peppers, garlic aioli, lavash chips, cucumber, romaine lettuce, cabbage, and tzatziki. Again, I went with the mixed meat option, which included gyro meat and chicken. The chicken was more noticeable in this wrap. Both this and the gyro come with tomatoes, but I'm not a fan, so I omitted them. I was afraid they would overstuff this with the cabbage and romaine, but that was not the case. The proteins were front and center, and I enjoyed the many textures inside this wrap. The chips, cabbage, and the grilling of the wrap provided a nice crunch in most bites. The garlic aioli added a big burst of flavor, and I'd ask for extra next time. 

Spitz was a great choice after my dentist appointment. I can see myself exploring more of their menu and customizing the items above, even more to my liking, on future visits. I'll rate the wrap I had recently at the Chicken Shop better than this wrap from Spitz, but it's very close. It's easy to see why they have opened so many locations in such diverse areas of the US in such a short time. I did not get much chance to interact with their staff, as I got my food to go, but it was ready for me at the stated time, and I was on my way with clean teeth and a delicious lunch at home. 

Out of five fillings (not because I had any fillings at my dentist appointment, but because Mark Spitz, the Olympic swimmer from the 1970s, originally went to college to be a dentist, and that ties in nicely with my review and the name of this restaurant), five being best and zero being worst, Spitz gets three fillings.  

For more information about Spitz, head to their website by clicking here: https://spitz-restaurant.com/