Restaurant of the Week: Zaky

Zaky Mediterranean Grill, 1013 W. Foothill Blvd. (at Mulberry), Upland; also 6622 Carnelian St. (at 19th), Rancho Cucamonga

Zaky Grill, which has a mostly-takeout location in Rancho Cucamonga off the 210, expanded to a larger second location in Upland a few weeks ago along Foothill Boulevard.

As an occasional customer at the Carnelian spot, which has just a couple of molded-plastic tables, I stopped in for dinner recently in Upland, where Zaky's shares a new-ish minimall with a Starbucks, a cell phone store and a pizza parlor.

This Zaky's has plenty of dining space. You still order at the counter, and the menu of sandwiches, plates, salads and rotisserie chicken turns out to be exactly the same in both locations. (View it here.)

I had the chicken kabob sandwich ($5), which is prepared to order on pita bread with garlic sauce, onions, pickles and tomatoes. Delicious.

The owner recognized me from previous visits and gave me a dessert, knafeh ($4), a pastry with cream cheese and honey, very nice.

I'd been to the minimall location before when it was B-Man's Teriyaki and later when it was a Philly's Best. The interior hasn't changed much, being a bit stark, with track lighting near the ceiling that is mildly unpleasant. But Zaky's food is pretty good stuff and the dine-in option is welcome. I hope they beat the location's curse.