August 3, 2006
The Greatest Gyro Ever?
A few weeks ago we were tipped off to what one reader declared was the greatest gyro of all time. Apparently, a pizzeria near the King Street metro station was turning out a monumental version of what was already one of our favorite sandwiches. Upon arriving at Quattro Formaggi in Old Town Alexandria, we proceeded to dine on what was a fine example indeed. But it got us to thinking – is this really the greatest gyro ever? And more importantly, does the greatest gyro even exist?
Barring the inevitable bad examples of soggy bread and runny yogurt, the gyro is a surprisingly consistent sandwich. Order one at an Italian deli or a Greek diner, and you always get about the same thing: a flat bread stuffed with ‘lamb’ freshly shaved off a mystery meat popsicle that’s been rotating on a vertical grill for at least seven hours.
Now don’t get us wrong. While it may sound a little gross, we can’t deny its greatness. In fact we applaud the consistency of the mystery meat supplier that seems to serve every gyro vender on American soil. The gyro has turned into a wonderful safe bet, and rarely fails us whenever the rest of a menu looks a tad iffy.
So now we turn to you dear readers. Where can one find the greatest gyro of all time? Does one exist within the beltway or would you agree that for the most part, all gyros are created equal? Feel free to duke it out in the comments below. But before joining the melee, indulge in our take on the sandwich detailed after the jump.
Shopping list
2 lb section leg of lamb
1 lb sirloin steak
Fresh oregano
Fresh thyme
Garlic
Olive oil
Plain Yogurt
Fresh mint
1 large cucumber
Lemon Juice
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Red onions
Feta cheese
8 Pita or other flat breads
Start by butterflying or cutting the lamb in a manner to get it to lay as flat as possible. Using a meat mallet, sturdy coffee mug, or sheer man power pound the lamb into a flat rectangular shape as pictured here. Butterfly the sirloin steak and pound into a similar shape.
Combine ¼ cup thyme leaves, ¼ cup chopped oregano, and 4 cloves minced garlic with enough olive oil to make a thick paste. Spread half the mixture on the lamb, the remainder on the steak and season both cuts with salt and pepper. Place the steak on top of the lamb, and tightly roll to form a roast. Secure tightly with butchers twine, and let marinate covered in the fridge for 8 hours, or overnight. For a thicker tzatziki use this time to also drain the yogurt in a sieve lined with a paper towel overnight.
Just before you’re ready to start cooking, let your roast come to room temperature while pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees. In a cast iron or other heavy skillet, sear the roast on medium high heat. Take your time and be sure to caramelize the roast well on all sides. When finished searing, place the meat in a roasting pan and cook to an internal temperature of 155 degrees (approx. 1 hour).
While the meat roasts, dice and peel the cucumber for the the tzatziki sauce. Combine the cucumber with 2 cups of the drained yogurt, and stir in two tablespoons thinly sliced mint, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
After the gyro roast has finished cooking, let it rest for 10 minutes before thinly slicing with a sharp knife. Place in a toasted pita and stuff it to the gills with sliced tomatoes, onions, lettuce and loads of feta cheese. Finish with a healthy drizzle of tzatziki, and ready yourself to enjoy.
The greatest gyro of all time? No. But a damn good Sammie nonetheless.
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The best gyro ever?
Rue de France
Nice, France
The place? Beyrouth (Beirut) Nights. The hotness over there. Very cute girl works the cash register. Right next door to Sam Sandwich. Watch out for the Turkish gang that sometimes posts up on the late night tip.
Not within the Beltway, but my destination tonight, John the Greek stand at the Clearfield County Fair in Clearfield, PA. Can't be beat! :) But I do agree in part that they are all relatively the same in quality...
Astor Mediterranean on Columbis Road near 18th Street, NW has a really great gyro salad. the gyro is equally as tasty. I doubt its the best in the world but its good and near my house.
columbis = columbia
DC Cafe on P St makes an excellent gyro. I would say it's the best I've had in the city.
Did you eat said gyro at 3:00 am after copius consumption of alcohol? Because that's the only time I ever enjoy DC Cafe food.
Best gyro in DC was at Vesuvius Pizza in Dupont Circle. R.I.P. Now it's a burrito joint or a Crapworks or Hitlerwrap or some McDonalds-owned slopshop. Pity. Nothing better at 3am than listening to the insane ramblings of a homeless person while pounding a gyro and riding a benzedrine/Thunderbird high.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/176364?user_name=&query=vesuvius+dupont
From any street vendor in Kuala Lumpur at 2:00 am. Although it's called a Schwarma and it may actually be monkey, not lamb.
Still delicious!!!
The gyros down here suck. Go to Pittsburgh. I'm not kidding. Go to Salim's Deli or Mike and Tony's. It's all in the sauce - everyone down here uses yogurt-based sauce, even though sour cream-based sauce is far superior. The delis down here just don't get that.
Scorpios in Vienna... piles of yummy monkey-free meat...
Huh, I thought I posted this comment already, but it's not coming up. So I'll repost. Gyros in DC suck because they use yogurt-based sauce instead of the far superior sour cream-based sauce. Best gyros I've ever had are both from Pittsburgh: Salim's and Mike & Tony's, in that order.
I don't know if it's the "best", but that greasy little lunch counter on M Street in Georgetown, Mon Cheri Cafe, makes a gyro with italian dressing, which sounds disgusting, and it probably is, but it's strangely addictive.
And to the poster above who mentioned schwarma, you can get some really good shawarma (diff. spelling, same thing) at El Khartoum at 18th and U. I usually go for the chicken shawarma platter, which serves it over rice instead of as a sandwich. Excellent cold weather cheap eats.
ditto on El Khartoum.
i only wish a decent donair/doner kebab/kebap (in the same family as gyro and falafel and schwarma) could be found in this city. or maybe i just don't know better.
best donair/doner ever, for me, seems to be along a strip of cities in eastern europe with significant turkish and middle eastern immigrant populations, in working class and student dominated neighborhoods.
As far as gyros in Vienna go, I have to say that Knossos crushes Scorpios. Plus their fried zucchini is on point. Scorpios is definitely tastey though.
marathon deli in college park.
I have to second the Marathon Deli nomination. Plus their fries have a secret salt/pepper/random spice dashed on them that is oh so delicious. The only downside is they don't have very good hours.
College Park has a lot of gyro-related options, all of which are very, very tasty:
Gyro platter @ Marathon Deli, Ratsie's or Plato's
and/or
Schwarma (on fresh lafah) @ Pita Plus
skorpios kills knossos bakery, both in terms of value and taste
Yanni's in Cleveland Park makes a very good gyro. Not sure if it is the best ever, but definitely up there with the best inside DC and right near a metro.
Moby Dick's.. Not the typical Gyro.. but damn good.
At 3am, Nothing better than the DC Cafe variety.
Marathon Deli in College Park. I haven't found a better gyro + fries combination.
Tarpon Springs, Fl. Plaka's. On the Sponge Docks. Best. Gyro. Ever. The fries were okay.
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Chef Theo's in White Oak, Maryland http://www.cheftheos.com/dirsandmap.html
Marathon Deli, College Park.
best gyro in the US i've ever had was a turkish place right at times square, nyc
Try the shawarma at Max's Kosher Cafe on University Blvd in Wheaton, 1 block east of Georgia Avenue. It's not strictly a gyro... it's what every gyro wants to be when it grows up!
Marathon in CP is amazing. Definitely the best gyro I've had in the area, even though the location is shitty. Also, Greek Taverna in Silver Spring, way out on New Hampshire, has an excellent gyro that I've been known to consume more than once a week. Certainly not convenient for downtown-DC dwellers, but if you're in SS and craving Greek...
My home base eats are skorpios in Vienna. However, the best Gyro I have ever had was at the Sydney airport in Australia. A different take on the gyro, but soooo good. Giant square pita that gets filled with fresh homemade hummus, then the tradional gyro accoutromonts, then it is rolled and put on a sandwich press grill. They then put it in a stadium style hot dog bag so the grease falls in the bag and not your pants. It was only like $7.00 Aussie dollars, which is about $5.25 US.
C'MON PEEPS, GIORGIO'S HANDS DOWN!!!! BUT, SOMEONE PLEEEEZE TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM (20TH & N)????
The gyros at Mon Cherie Cafe are strangely addictive! It reminds me of gyros I'd get at the "grease trucks" during college in Jersey. You can get a decent gryo in the Greek owned diners there.
You really need to look in DC for a decent greasy spoon (or ethnic food) place with all the chains, and organic food/chi-chi resturants downtown.
BTW, never go to Clydes on the Walk for gyros. Large portions, but they do not put ANY tzatziki sauce in their gryos. Even when I asked for sauce there is none! Driest gyro in DC.
BTW, never go to Clydes on the Walk for gyros if you want violent explosive diarrhea.
Fixed that for ya.
Best 'Gyro' is at Cafe Divan..but it's known as a Doner Kebap...faaantastikco.
the best gyro i've had in the DC metro area is at 2 chefs in arlington near wilson and glebe blvd intersection. it's owned by a greek and italian couple. very good. i also hear the greek deli on i think 19th in NW is very good, haven't had a chance to make it over there though.
Zorba's on DuPont Circle. yum.
And Vesuvious also had the best pizza in DC before they turned into whatever it is now.
WTF is up with the fake "portion controlled" gyro meat that seems to be everywhere now? If you haven't tried it, you don't want to. You get five strips of what looks like grey bologna with fleck sof feces in it. Absolutely tasteless. I've been to three shops that used to have decent gyros and now they're peddling this garbage. I can undestand costcutting; if you're not selling enough to justify your Kronos gyro machine, then don't sell them at all. Really, this stuff is the devil's gyro meat. From now on, unless I can actually see the gyro machine, the owner is named Pappadapolis, and all the waitstaff are named Nikki, no more gyros for me.
I can't praise Marathon Deli in College Park enough (what's in that secret spice!?). But damn, if it wasn't so inconvenient for an Arlingtonian to get there. Working in Georgetown, the best gyro used to be a place called Olympus - or was it Olympia? - near Wisconsin & O St., which is now Wingo's. Too bad. I will settle for Mon Cherie for now. Just ask for more cucumber sauce, less mystery dressing.
I am the owner of Marathon Deli, thanks to all of you for the credit. We love our job and i hope it shows. We make the sauce fresh, and all the veggies are cut fresh every day. Our spice is great! Ask me and i can tell you where you might be able to find it. If there is a problem we will fix it, just let us know.
MARATHON DELI HOME OF THE BEST GYRO!! College Park, MD ~VOULA~
if you're ever in chicago, salonica on 57th makes gr8 gyros
If your in British Columbia in New Westminster, THE Hide Out Cafe has the best I have ever tried.
Ive travelled the world and still i travel from vancouver to new westminster for there lamb gyros.
2007
No question best gyros in DC area are at Marathoon Deli in College Park. UMMM tasty. Always go for the gyro platter with fries and a side salad.