Try meatloaf on pita at Charlotte’s
Tasty discovery: Meatloaf sandwich on fresh pita Price: $7.95
Destination: Charlotte’s Cafe, 12454 Warwick Blvd., Newport News
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays
More info: 757-599-9400 or charlottescafe757.com
Where Gholam Farrokhpour grew up in the Middle East, folks bought their pita bread three times a day so that it would be fresh for each meal. He still believes in that philosophy.
Farrokhpour, who identifies as Persian, is co-owner and chef at Charlotte’s Cafe, which opened in Newport News a few months ago.
His menu is a combination of American and Mediterranean comfort food, with an emphasis on healthy choices and fresh ingredients. Each item on the sandwich portion of the menu can come on pita or a roll. The bread is baked daily at Charlotte’s, and the pita dough is baked one serving at a time as customers order it — so it can be delivered to the table warm from the oven.
“There is one person who has the job of baking the pita,” Farrokhpour said. “When you come in and order a sandwich, right away that person puts the dough in the oven and I make the rest of the sandwich. The timing is very important.”
The dough is prepared — lightly seasoned with garlic, basil, oregano and rosemary — so that it can bake quickly. Most orders are delivered to the table within minutes of being ordered.
Farrokhpour laughs as he explains that he won’t give away the secret of his homemade sauce on the popular meatloaf sandwich. But as for the meatloaf itself, most of the details are right on the menu. There are chopped artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers to give the ground beef a tangy flavor. He uses only a small amount of bread crumbs to bind the meatloaf, and of course they come directly from the bread baked each day in the kitchen at Charlotte’s Cafe.
“The bread is freshly made, and the garlic is fresh,” he said. “I want to make it as healthy as possible. We keep it simple, for good flavor. That’s what I want to enjoy — watching the customers enjoy.”