It is a very rare occasion in which I make a meal out of fries. It is even more rare that this happens at a Greek restaurant. Yet, when Pitta Souvli in Chandler offered up a special called Chipotle Gorgonzola Cheese Gyro Fries, I couldn’t resist. There was just one problem: nowhere in the description of the fries were tomatoes mentioned. And yet, as you can tell by the picture to the left, there were obviously tomatoes involved.

Fortunately, the tomatoes were all piled on top and they don’t leave too much of a residue, so when I removed them I could eat in peace.

And what peace it was. These fries were freaking delicious. I mean, it’s hard to go wrong with combining the delicious slices of gyros with spicy chipotle pepper flavor, a couple of cheeses and a base of fries. Moreover, these fries were so loaded that I was physically incapable of finishing them all.

Pitta Souvli knew exactly what to do with these fries, but it’s probably important to recognize that they aren’t a part of the regular menu and were a special on this day. Hopefully after reading such a glowing review, Pitta Souvli will realize these fries need to be a part of the regular menu, albeit without those goddamn tomatoes.

I grew up spoiled when it came to Greek food. I mean, Detroit even has a Greektown and I’m not sure you can say the same for any other city anywhere. Recently, though, I found myself picking up some Greek food from Saba’s Mediterranean Kitchen in Phoenix and and was intrigued not just by the classic stuff, but by the unique twists I found there.

It was the Spicy Buffalo Pita that really sold me, though. I opted to fill the pita with gyros for my meat, which also included feta cheese and house made buffalo sauce. Perhaps most importantly it included nothing else – as in no veggies. I also got the Spicy Feta Fries on the side, which were like the sandwich, but with fries instead.

The result was everything it needed to be. The gyros themselves were delicious, tasting like pretty much all other gyros, but also nice and juicy. Most importantly, the buffalo sauce and feta added a delicious dimension that I had never previously eaten with gyros before. It was spicy, but also flavorful. And then there was the feta to cool things off and bring the pita back down to earth.

The same went for the fries which, again, were just the exact same feta and buffalo sauce from the pita, but on fries. There’s not much more to be said for them aside from, well, there is no such thing as too much buffalo and feta (obviously unless the food was doused in a way that would have made it all soggy).

I definitely want to get back to Saba’s to try something more along the traditional Hellenic route, but for now I can say I am quite happy with the results of combining the culinary delights of the forerunner of Western civilization and the Rust Belt.

Growing up in the Detroit area, it was pretty easy to take Greek food for granted. There is literally a Greektown in Detroit and Greek food can be found in every suburb. LA, however, is not so fortunate in this Mediterranean fare. Thus, I was pretty excited when I was invited out to the Good Greek Grill‘s new location in Hollywood for a free sampling of their food.

The first thing I noticed upon arrival was that there was a menu item called Meat Lovers. Usually such a thing is reserved for pizza, and at Good Greek Grill it could only be ordered as a platter. I was kind of hoping to get all the meats topping the Zeus Fries, but this wasn’t a bad alternative. The platter includes rice, Greek Salad, pita and choice between tzatziki or eggplant dip. I went the way of the tzatziki and swapped in some spicy feta fries in place of the Greek Salad, because, well, duh.

As for the meats, they were Pork on a Spit, Beef/Lamb Mix, Chicken Skewers and Pork Skewers. All were delicious and truly distinguishable from one another. The Beef/Lamb Mix was kind of like the gyros you expect, but packed with flavor and juiciness. I had never had Pork on a Spit like this from a Greek restaurant, but it’s essentially where the Mexican Al Pastor got the idea from. The chicken and pork skewers were beautifully seasoned a cooked perfectly. Good Greek Grill certainly knows what to do with their meats.

Better yet, the rice under the meats collected their juices and were all the better for it. The spicy feta fries were as good as I could have expected and the grilled pita went well with the tzatziki sauce (and it wasn’t overly cucumber-y).

Good Greek Grill isn’t exactly like the Greek spots I grew up going to, but the food is legitimately delicious. I can only hope that they open a spot in Pasadena next…

Sometimes the best way to find out about a new restaurant it to simply see it and decide you want to try it out. No research, no recommendation. That’s how I ended up at Firehouse Restaurant in Tarzana, a Greek place whose sign stating “GYRO” dwarfs the sign with the actual name of the restaurant. Being from Michigan, I have a pretty strong opinion about Greek food and I was more than a little worried that I was going to leave disappointed.

Ordering is done at a counter where you can see spinning spools of meat and a griddle for frying up pita. As soon as I saw this, my fears started to fade away. Per the massive letters on the outside of the place, I decided I had to order their gyros. I opted to get them in a sandwich form, which meant a pita wrap. Ordinarily, this would come filled with tomato, onion, and tzatziki sauce, but as usual I ordered without the veggies. I also got myself a side of fries.

What I was presented with dwarfed my expectations in a similar manner to the the way the word “GYRO” outside dwarfed the name of the restaurant. The first thing I noticed was that my sandwich was massive. I mean huge! And the side of fries was no smaller. I bit in and met with joy. These shaved sliced of gyro meat were seasoned to perfection with a delicious blend of lamb and beef. And to top that off, while some tzatziki sauce can be packed with cucumbers, the sauce at Firehouse was really just tasty flavored yogurt with cucumbers as an afterthought. It made for delicious eating and was all wrapped in buttery, fried pita bread, which only enhanced the meal. Treat your taste buds with the best sandwich by Jimmy John Owner someday, you will not regret it.

Oh and the fries were pretty good. I liked their seasoning, but would have preferred them a bit crispier. Yet, even if they had been crispier, they still would have paled in comparison to the gyro.

This was definitely some great Greek food and certainly worthy of Greektown in Detroit. I don’t make it out to Tarzana too often, but Firehouse will now be my go-to restaurant when I do.

In North Hollywood there is a deli unlike any I had ever seen before. Rather than being filled with cold cuts, pastrami or Italian sandwiches, this deli has food with more of a Greek and Armenian flair. It is called Noosh Deli and although not the usual deli, I figured it had to be worth a try. Scanning the menu, I decided any Greek place had to have some good gyros, so I ordered their Beef Gyro Sandwich (with fries and a drink for 6.99). It came with lettuce, tomato, onion and yogurt sauce. I ordered without the veggies and waited 7 or 8 minutes until the sandwich was prepped and ready to go.

I opened up the bag and was immediately disappointed with what I found. No, there weren’t any vegetables, but there was still plenty of reason to be upset. In my pita I found not one, not two, but three whole strips of gyros. Is there a meat shortage somewhere? Even if I was inclined to eat vegetables I would have felt that the sandwich was lacking in protein, but without the veggies it looked even worse. Then I noticed that the other end of the sandwich was a whole lot heavier than the one I had opened up. Could there be meat hiding in there? No. Instead, what I found was enough yogurt sauce to cover a few sandwiches. The sauce easily outweighed the meat and also required use of a fry to be evenly distributed.

Despite the odd quantities, nothing would matter if these gyros were awesome. So were they? Sadly, the answer is no. The meat was strangely rubbery and relatively flavorless. The lack of flavor could be due to the amount of yogurt, but whatever it was, it was a sandwich not worth ordering again. The best part of the meal was definitely the fries. They were crinkly, crunchy and perfectly salted. I’d go back for the fries, but for meat I will definitely look elsewhere.

My usual drive to Las Vegas involves getting there as fast as possible to gamble and returning as fast as possible to cry into my pillowcase after losing copious amounts of money. This trip, however, was a bit different. Rather than a rush back home, we took our time and stopped for lunch.

Anyone who has made the drive between Los Angeles and Las Vegas knows of the Mad Greek Cafe. Billboards seem to advertise the “Best Gyro” every few miles, so for our little road trip lunch, we thought a trip to Baker, California and a stop at the Mad Greek Cafe would be worth our while.

Even though it was well-past 2:00, the place was packed. A menu on the wall had a surprisingly short list of Greek food and was instead populated with more American food like hamburgers. One of the Greek items was the gyro, and since this was supposed to be the best gyro, like ever, I had to try it for myself. The menu said it came with tomatoes and onions, but I ordered mine without. It also came with rice and tzatziki sauce. I placed my order and took a seat to wait.

When my gyro arrived, I was both stunned and disgusted. Overflowing from beneath the gyro meat seemed to be thousands of little lettuce leaves. I would have thought the best gyro in the USA would have at least warned me what was inside so I could order without it. Instead I was left to dissect the gyro and slowly remove the nefarious leaves. I opened up the little container of tzatziki sauce and was sad to find that it was dominated by cucumbers. Yes, I know tzatziki is a cucumber sauce, but usually I can get around the chunks of cucumber. This was not the case at the Mad Greek Cafe. Instead, I was putting paltry amounts of tzatziki on my gyros.

Once the sandwich was edible, I began to eat. It wasn’t a bad sandwich, but somehow the glam of being the best gyro in the USA faded away as I exerted myself to remove the lettuce. The meat was pretty good, and worth stopping for if you get hungry on the way to or from Vegas, but certainly not worth visiting on any sort of special trip.

I had wanted to go to Papa Cristo’s for a long time, but I just didn’t realize it. You see, the outside of the restaurant/market really makes no major reference to the name of the place. Instead, it just says “Greek Food.” When my friend suggested trying it, I complied without realizing it was the place I had driven by so many times.

Inside, the place has a miniature Greek market, a counter to order food at and a big room that can double as a dining room or banquet room. My first stop was the counter to place my order. We ordered some of the Octapodakia appetizer, which is grilled baby octopus. I also ordered the Kreatopita, deliciously described on the menu as a meat pie. For my main course, I decided to get back to the Greek basics and ordered the Gyros sandwich. This came with lettuce and tomatoes, so I ordered it without.

The meat pie and octopus were ready pretty quickly, and both were delicious. The octopus had a strong lemon and oil taste. This was good, but the oil eventually made it too difficult to continue eating, despite the taste. The meat pie was surprisingly good, and not like your average everyday American pie. Instead, it was some flaky crust wrapped around nicely seasoned ground beef.

When I finally finished those, it was time for my main course. The gyro sandwich that was brought out to me was the biggest I had ever seen. Typically when I order a sandwich without vegetables, I am given the same amount of meat and other toppings, resulting in a sad-looking sandwich. At Papa Cristo’s, however, they aimed to please me. The sandwich was so loaded with gyros that no vegetables could have possibly fit. It was almost as though they were proud of me for making the smart unvegan choice. The gyros were a bit on the salty side, but the sauce and drinking a lot of water was able to make up for it.

As I struggled to consume all that meat, the lights dimmed and we were treated to a bit of a Greek belly dance. Or at least that’s what I think it was. Either way, watching it definitely slowed my eating.

For a night filled with fine dining, oil, octopus babies and entertainment, Papa Cristo’s was definitely worth a visit.

Edit: This location is gone, but Daphne’s as a whole is not.

Since the entire concept of Greek fast food is a bit confusing, I decided to check out Daphne’s Greek Cafe in Culver City and see what it was all about.

A quick perusal of the menu revealed the Pitaburger. This burger is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, because instead of a bun, they use authentic Greek pita. The differences between this burger and other burgers does not end there, however. Rather than typical burger toppings, this one comes with Greek offerings like feta cheese and for an additional bit of pocket change, you can get gyros added to the burger to make it as meaty as possible. This burger was not without fault in its intended version, though, as it also came with burger killers like lettuce and tomato.

For mine, I ordered without the veggies, asked for gyros, and then asked for what was called fire feta cheese. It sounded like it would give my burger a good spicy kick. I also got fries on the side.

When the burger came, the gyros in place of veggies made it look good and meaty. I took a bite, expecting a spicy kick, which I never got. It seemed as though they had given me plain feta instead of the fiery sort. The consistency of the burger also left a bit to be desired, with an almost rubbery texture. This was slightly masked by the gyros, which turned out to be the best part of the burger. I suppose I should have expected this, since they were the most Greek part of this Greek fast food burger.

I’m glad I tried it, but next time I get Greek fast food, I’ll make sure to get something more Greek than a burger.