Critic's Review
The Halal guys started as a street cart in New York City. So it must be good, right? It was after my time in NYC, so I'd never tried the original. It was worth a trip up to Davie. Almost.
Why do I have to hit 2 drawbridges every single time I go up to 595? Every time. This citiy is a disaster. 40 minutes to go 9 miles.
When I drove by I questioned whether they had opened yet. Did I read some review of a different location? A temp sign and card tables on the sidewalk with 2 guys, as if they're taking applications. I had to circle around and check my phone to see if they were open. In fact they are.
I thought the place was a restaurant, but it's just a counter.This is Chipotle without the seating, music or beverage station. Only 6.99 for a Gyro. A girl behind the counter said "JIRO" over and over. I corrected her, "It's YIRO, I'll have a YIRO". They all continued to shout out JIRO. Nice training. They can't even tell employees how to pronounce once of the main products they sell?
Before I could stop her she put lettuce and tomatos on the pita; Lettuce has no place on a Gyro. The pitas are in a warmer; the meat in a steam table. Ugh.
Any wonder if it's real Gyro meat is dismissed by the open kitchen and the verticle broiler.
I asked for red onions twice; the first station chief referred me to the second; they don't have any. Fantastic.
They don't have Tzatziki here (It pays to do your research); they have a proprietary "white sauce". So I asked for sauces on the side. I didn't want my sandwich ruined with a sauce I didn't like. She asked if I wanted hot sauce, and I said "No" quite clearly.
Another draw bridge on Davie Rd on the way home. Good Grief.
I removed to foil to find a pretty sad looking Gyro.
The sauce packets surprized me; they have squeeze bottles in the store and I assumed they'd be giving me some of that. Foil packets that require refrigeration? Notice she gave me the hot sauce. So why did she ask if I wanted it?
I knew I'd be making tzatziki, so I just poured off the sauce to try it. It's not bad, kind of a garlic creamy italian dressing. Maybe good for crudites. It would have ruined a bad-looking Gyro.
I didn't eat this, as is. I tasted the meat and it was cold by now; but it tasted like Gyro meat. I scraped off the lettuce and tomato and some broken bits of meat and had a little salad; Tzatziki needs to meld a bit; I made a batch and used the Pita and meat to make a really good Gyro with beefsteak tomato slices and red onion later in the evening.
Conclusion
When I first moved to Fort Lauderdale, there was a place at the beach named Greek Express where you could get an outstanding, freshly made Gyro. They sold the place to Russians and bough Trata Greek on Las Olas; a place with overpriced food that has been for sale for years.
What you have to understand about street food in NYC is that it's cheap food in an expensive city that has 1000s of people walking the streets all day long. Maybe the cart was better, but this is not good food.
All of the things good about a standard Gyro; the freshly oiled and grilled pita, throwing the meat on the grill to warm it up, big tomato slices and red onion, and nice tangy tzatziki sauce are all missing. If you like this Gyro pretender with italian dressing then you've never had a real Gyro. Even the crap they pass off at Gyroville is better than this junk.
