Due to a late departure from work and an unfavorable commute home, I didn't get in from work till after 8:30 tonight. Due to the hour, I wasn't up to cooking. Neither was Fang. That means only one thing (and a true benefit to city living): dinner courtesy of takeout.We order takeout once or twice a week. We've narrowed down our usual takeout preferences to a select smattering of genres: Japanese, Chinese, barbecue and the New York staple, the diner. Our diner of choice, colorfully named Coral, covers the gamut of food options. As with all diners, the better choice resides in the salad/sandwich/breakfast food options and hit is usually within the area that our selections reside. We've been in the habit of ordering Japanese food a lot lately so we decided to opt tonight for some American fare.
Perusing the eight page take out menu, I was indecisive. Diners in New York traditionally specialize in Greek cuisine (this by virtue of the fact that most diner owners are Greek--a curious tradition that bears some research). I love Greek food so I began to look at the usual specialties they offered in this category (located on page three of the menu, by the way; the page just prior to the Italian food and just before the Asian specialties). I suddenly was jonesing for a gyro.
The best gyro I ever had was from a street stand in Santorini in Greece. A close second are those that can be had at summer street fairs in Manhattan. A distant third were the hand crafted versions offered up at a now defunct NYC eatery called Chicken Fair. Ordering one from a diner is a hit or miss prospect. Could Coral end up on the plus side of these odds?
I soon found out. The food always arrives steaming hot from Coral. The gyro, however, featured a lukewarm and chewy pita, a placid tsatsiki sauce, a stingy selection of onions and meat product that had a rather questionable texture. What did it remind me of? Hmm. Let me think.
Yeah, that would be it.I gotta find a street fair before the summer is out.
6 comments:
It's 3:30am and I can still taste the Chinese food I had at 7:00pm. I gotta stop eating that shit!
I wish I were somewhere on an island in Greece right now.
What a disappointment! Maybe try the Skylight Diner. Their souvlaki was good, but then again, I've never been to Greece or a good street fair in NYC to compare!
http://blog.masslive.com/valleyvictuals/2008/01/redemption.html
Always check the equipment before you order. It should be on a gyros broiler; if you don't see one of these in the kitchen, don't order one. You get a version of Greek spam in the diners without that device. Trust me. :-)
I'm down with SR, She sounds like a sister who really knows! Thank you for the advice, my dear.
There are street fairs every week-ends during summer. I'm sure you can find a schedule somewhere online.
The most delicious gyros i ever had was from a street stand near my cooking school in Paris. Gosh, i miss that!!.. and you're right, they had Gyro broilers.
Zen, darling--I have had computer challenges (read: lack of one), but I have been checking out your site when I can and the food featured there in all its lusty foody goodness has left me delirious. In my next life, I want to be Big Boss Man.
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