Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Royal Gyros


8275 W Lake Pleasant Pkwy, Peoria

I get to blame Ayesha for this one. :-) Once again I ventured alone into a restaurant that I had never had the style of food before and had no clue what it was supposed to taste like or how to properly eat it. I too like non chain places if they have something to offer and she made it sound like it was worth trying. I was out that direction to go to Walmart and put a stop here in the itinerary.

Walked in just before 7 and the owner (?) was sitting with friends in the corner. He gave me a minute or so to read the menu and came over behind the counter. I said I would like the sampler platter appetizer ($6.49) and he looked at me strange and said "there is no meat in that". This is something that is mostly a guy thing, When cooking for somebody else the meat is the signature of how many of us cook. Doesn't matter if the rest of the food is under/overcooked or the cat stole the cheese, the meat better be right. In a small restaurant like this where much of what is served has to come from purchased stuff with some seasoning modifications the only chance the cook thinks he has to show off is in the preparation of the meat entree and I had just taken that from him. Never the less I stuck to my original order.

I was started off with a hot bowl of lentil soup, I don't think this was part of what I ordered but I was the only customer in there and he was bound and determined to find a way to show off. The plate came and included hummus, baba ghanoush, dolma, falafel. He took the time to explain what I was being served. On the side was naan and a dipping sauce for the falafel. On the plate was also tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. The presentation could have come on real dishes from a restaurant at a much higher price level, I know the dish could have been take out but a lot would have been lost. Other than falafel all of the dishes were new to me and I had a fun time exploring the different tastes and serving combination's. About halfway through the owner came over to see how I was doing and answered some further questions I had about what I was eating. I only made it through about 2/3 of the whole meal before I was full.

I enjoyed the meal and clearly the owner is all about making the experience a good one. If you are not familiar with the area it is easy to miss. 83rd Ave turns into W Lake Pleasant Pkwy at Beardsley going North and takes a gentle curve West. Guessing, I took the first left into a strip mall I could and landed right where I wanted. Not bad for a guy at night without a navigator. :-)

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