Restaurant of the Week: King Wrap

This week's restaurant: King Wrap, 373 W. Bonita Ave., Claremont.

With King Wrap as the latest Mediterranean place to hit the Village, following Pita Pit, Saca's, Yanni's and Casablanca, the pita must now be the official bread of downtown Claremont.

King Wrap, which occupies a narrow storefront between Quizno's and Taco Factory, opened a couple of months ago but isn't a total startup: It was formerly located in Rancho Cucamonga under the name Mama's Grill. Several readers here lamented its closing, leading the grill's mama (actually, the grill's daughter-in-law) to pen a message in response a few days ago.

I'd already been to King Wrap three times before her note, not realizing the connection to Mama's Grill. The new place is a smaller operation, a literal mom and pop, with four tables and a limited menu of wraps, sandwiches and salads. Nothing is more expensive than $6.99. (Mama's Grill seated 100.)

I've had a gyro and a chicken shawarma ($5.49 each) and a Caesar wrap ($6.49) and found them all tasty, unexceptional perhaps but solid examples of their type. And the price is right.

My only suggestion would be to offer combos that include a small salad and a drink. Nobody wants to order a $5.50 sandwich and a $6.50 salad, but when the tray is delivered with nothing but a cylindrical sandwich resting there in a wrapper, it looks lonely.

After writing the above, I had a fattoush salad (cucumbers, peppers, onions, parsley, toasted pita; $6.45) on Wednesday evening and noticed there's now a lunch special: kabab, hummus, rice and salad for $7.49. So there's a partial answer to my suggestion above.

Quibbles aside, in the often-pricey Village, King Wrap is a nice addition. I hope Mama settles in for a long stay.