To Eat or Not to Eat?
By Jessica Wurst
To Eat or Not to Eat?
Gyro Wrap is an excellent place to eat if your expectations are low and your appetite is high, or if you’ve had a few drinks beforehand, according to my dining companion. Located across from the famous arch on the University of Georgia’s north campus, this Mediterranean café looks as if it fed the individuals who founded UGA in the late 1700s and hasn’t changed since. Although Gyro Wrap was established roughly 280 years after UGA, it has a history with the Classic City.
Taking pride in its reputation as a ‘little-hole-in-the-wall’, Gyro Wrap was the first to include a sidewalk cafe in Athens. Thank goodness for this area too, because the inside of the restaurant is dingy at best. Walking through the smudged glass door your eyes fall on the splotchy yellow walls and sweaty cooks hunching over a large grill. Because you won’t be greeted by anyone at the front, you have to wander through the restaurant to find the room with tables around the back. The struggle doesn’t end there. After searching, and failing, to find a sturdy table you must entertain yourself until the one server in the entire restaurant notices your presence. If he didn’t have a notepad in hand, I wouldn’t have known he was a server, as he was wearing a dirty baseball hat and jeans. After returning with paper cups filled with tap water, he very quietly took our order. After the waiter failed to describe the best vegetarian option on the menu, I opted for a falafel pita, Mediterranean salad, and curly fries with extra feta, naturally. My dining companion, a carnivore, ordered the staple item: a gyro. After his smoking break, which was visible through the back window, the waiter came back with two paper plates on metal tins. I used to be a regular customer here, but I was beginning to question why I ever paid for this experience. Then I took a bite and remembered. The food is worth it.
My mouth began to water as I gawked at the perfectly fried garbanzo beans wrapped in a toasty pita. The falafel was decorated with onions, lettuce, and the perfect amount of feta dressing drizzled throughout. On the side, a tempting pile of curly fries radiated heat next to a Mediterranean salad where plump tomatoes and seasoned mushrooms swam in a bowl of red wine vinegar, olive oil, and spices. The traditional pita taunted me from the other side of the table with the visible juiciness of the hand carved roast beef and lamb hugged by a toasted pita wrap. Thankfully, my friend shared. Biting into this meaty goodness I could hear my arteries clogging, and it was worth it. The creamy feta dressing mixed with the tenderness of the meat and the crunch of the lettuce provided a perfect bite every time.
The falafel was equally as delicious, as the browned balls of tangy garbanzo beans were tender, and the toppings complemented each other well. Although an eyesore, each pita is wrapped with tin foil. This makes it so that even a slow eater like myself will experience warmth with every bite, even though it takes me over 30 minutes to finish a sandwich. The Mediterranean salad added a refreshing component, and the aesthetically pleasing curly fries added that extra hint of sodium that one craves when eating less-than-healthy food such as this. In order to get the most out of your meal be sure to request the “seasoning salt” for the fries. The teriyaki wrap and the Cajun chicken wrap are also delicious options if you prefer chicken. You also have the option to pair your hot food with a pitcher of locally brewed beer from Creature Comforts, which is not only recommended but encouraged.
During this specific visit, we were never checked on by our waiter. Without napkins or drink refills, I was still content because my mouth was singing. However, as soon as you finish this phenomenally cooked, authentic meal you are reminded of the dust around the room and wish to leave as soon as possible.
For future reference, I recommend opting for takeout or outdoor seating if you plan on eating at Gyro Wrap. If neither of these options is available to you then be sure to use the restroom before leaving your house, bring napkins in your pockets, and remind yourself that food comes with a history. If the old, mistreated walls around you could talk they would tell you stories of students from the 1980s indulging in the same cuisine before going to the Georgia Theatre to watch “Back to the Future.”
Photo courtesy of Yelp.
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