There used to be a Mediterranean restaurant across from Southeast Missouri Towers on Sprigg Street called Phoenicia.
Phoenicia was, hands down, my favorite place to eat in the early 2000s through the early 2010s. Fresh, lovely, puffy pitas; seared and browned lamb/beef slices; fresh crispy vegetables; and a yogurt sauce with spices, cucumbers and parsley called tzatziki.
Truly a hand-held wonder, and I’ve been searching for a replacement ever since. I will never turn down trying a gyro from anywhere, always looking for that elusive something. I found it for a time at Zoi’s Gyro Corner on Broadway, with its traditional cone of gyro meat, seared and sliced to order. But Zoi’s is no longer with us. I have it now, at Olive’s Pitaria, where the gyro meat is mixed in-house, carefully seasoned with love and intention. These gyros are wonderful, but Olive’s is currently only open three days a week, and my schedule just doesn’t allow for that sometimes. I need something fast. Something available all the time. Maybe a fast-food gyro?
It’s not fair to compare a fast food chain sandwich, of any kind, to a mom and pop place such as Olive’s, and I won’t. What I can do is compare like to like, with sandwiches as equivalent to each other as possible. I found two available fast-food gyros and compared them, back to back, eating half of each one fresh in store and trying the next one immediately. Two gyros, taking notes, and deciding which was better. It was the Battle of the Gyros.
My first stop was Arby’s. Yes, traditional fast food with a Mediterranean flair. I’ve had the gyro here before, because, like I said, I will try a gyro from anywhere in my search for perfection. Arby’s offers its gyro with a choice of meats: Greek Gyro, Roast Beef Gyro and sometimes, Chicken Gyro. I was only interested in the Greek Gyro, which comes on a pita with lettuce, red onion, tomato and Gyro sauce (looked and tasted a lot like tzatziki to me).
Pros for Arby’s: Cheaper than the competitor by more than $4. Pita was soft and warm, yet held the meat and sauce. Tomatoes were seasoned with a sprinkle of Mediterranean spices, nice. Arby’s has curly fries, and when you dip these in Horsey Sauce, eye-watering magic occurs. Also, the cherry turnovers are a sugary treat.
