No. I’m not talking about pledging your favorite sorority or fraternity. This is way less expensive with a better return, because that return is FOOD and a full stomach. I recently took a trip to Eldridge, Iowa (well, not exactly a trip, per say. I mean, it’s 15 minute drive. Maybe “jaunt” is more appropriate.) Michelle the Friend and I decided to check out Gyro 600, a quaint little eatery on LeClaire Road. Let me preface this review with a significant piece of information… I don’t vary much from my favorite meats. You want me to test out a burger or a steak? I’m your top girl. Got some chicken you want to share? Count me in. New pork dish? On it. I will eat turkey on Thanksgiving, hot out of the oven but not leftover. Fish? Well. I’m a fan of the series Parks & Recreation and an even bigger fan of Ron Swanson, who claims, “fish meat is practically a vegetable.” With that said, if you dip some bass or other mild fish in a beer batter and fry it to a crisp and lovely golden color and give me a bottle of malt vinegar, I’m all in. Give me a white, sad filet with no crunch and no substance, AND if I can smell it while I’m eating it, I’m out.
So back to Eldridge. Being the newfound food critic that I am and only slightly unworldly, I was not aware that gyro meat was lamb until I was about to order. And since lamb doesn’t qualify as one of the three main meats I will eat, I was forced to change my order quickly, leaving me feeling a little bummed that I wasn’t getting the full gyro experience. However, Gyro 600 has a nice variety of platters and options to choose from so I went with Souvlaki, which is chicken on a kabob with basmati rice and was served with a Greek salad on the side. I love a Greek salad- the olives, the Feta, even the tomatoes. Normally I pick out all the tomatoes but I ate them this time and it was a supremely fresh salad. The chicken was served with a tzatziki sauce which was slightly tangy and full of flavor. The chicken had a pretty mild flavor and was also served with tzatziki sauce and was overall was a very light dish, which would explain why people who eat a Mediterranean diet are thin.
I wanted to try Falafel, which has always sounded falawful to me, but I found it was rather falwonderful. I did a little research beforehand since I didn’t really know what falafel was and was more than pleasantly surprised to find that it’s a deep-fried ball of ground chickpeas. Well, damn! Had I known falafel was faldeep-falfried, I’d have been on that from the git go.
Last course, we indulged in some honey baklava, a flakey pastry filled with ground almonds, walnuts and of course, you got it, honey. I’ve decided I could quite possibly live on a diet of Falafel and Baklava.
Fast forward to the end of the week, I had managed to muster up the courage to try the actual gyro meat and after Scott the Hubs asked if I’d like to get out for a while for a little drive, I suggested we go to Eldridge for my second trip of the week and do it quickly before my courage waned.
I walked right up to the counter and blurted out that I wanted the “Greek Gyro Platter” before I had a chance to change my mind. And of course, a faldeightful side of falafel. I gave the gyro meat a shot and while I will admit that the flavors are really tasty and the seasoning is fabulous AND there is something about that tzatziki sauce that compliments the flavor so nicely, I’m just not a fan of gyro meat. Honestly, I think it has more to do with the fact that Mary had a little lamb and its fleece was white as snow and eating that lamb is more than I can bear.
All that said, the platter allows you try several things- the Souvlaki, all-beef meatballs (thank God for all beef) and then the gyro and chicken gyro meats as well. It’s all very good but I’ve decided to add the meatballs to my repertoire of favorites- falafel and baklava- because those meatballs are the shizzle and can turn my frizz-own upside-dizzity.
(Scott the Hubs also enjoyed his meal, which was identical to mine, which is another blog post in itself and is coming up soon in the near future.)
About the service at Gyro 600- I tried to find some info on the people that run it- are they family? Random people? Where did they live before this area? I detect some accents and usually I’m very good about getting chummy with people and asking them to tell me more about themselves, but I’ll do that on my next visit. I don’t want to be over-bearing. Haha, I couldn’t even TYPE that without laughing. Anyway, whatever their story, they are a ray of sunshine. Very kind, helpful, great at making suggestions and obviously very happy when you love their food. They aim to please and I aim to add Gyro 600 to my regular rotation.
Next up, another recommendation and a little insight into my marriage with Scott the Hubs.