Gyro Plus

1011 West University Avenue

2.5 Thumbs up (certain items are really good while others range from just so-so to disappointing. As long as you get the right thing, you'll be satisfied).

Price Range: Sandwiches are in the 4-6 dollar range

Menu Highlights: Veggie Gyro

Mediterranean food is sacred to me. It is a cuisine that has beauty in its simplicity, full flavor from few ingredients, and should always be fresh. Also, it should never be expensive. All of the best Mediterranean food I've had cost less than 10 dollars per person. Much like other cuisines that I revere (Thai, Italian), Gainesville lacks excellent Mediterranean food. The closest thing we have is Gyro Plus, which really isn't bad if you order the right thing.

Much like another of my conditional favorites, El Indio (conditional meaning that it's only good if you order the right thing), Gyro Plus is capable of some really good food. They actually make their own pita bread, which is quite tasty. They also make their own hummus, babaganoush, tzatziki (aka cucumber sauce), and pastries. Perhaps my favorite menu item is "One Banana" for 99 cents.

On my most recent visit, I ordered the Veggie Gyro, which didn't look all that impressive.It was mostly iceberg lettuce with a few tomatoes, pickles, onions, feta cheese, and cucumber sauce. In actuality, it was quite tasty and very satisfying.

The biggest dissuasion for me is the appearance of the place. It hovers on the borderline of kooky/misguided decor and abject squalor. It really isn't that bad, it's just odd. They used to have a store in the adjacent room that sold really weird middle eastern goods. It quickly closed, though, because no one wanted any canned clam juice, khlav khalash, or any of that other crap.

Many times, you'll be greeted by one of the gruff owners who will begrudgingly take your order and then hand you a small, weathered piece of wood with a number drawn on it in marker.He barks your order into a technologically obsolete microphone and you sit and wait. They serve up their food pretty quickly, and when it comes out, they'll repeatedly, with increasing levels of urgency, call your number until you show some sign of approaching the counter.

All in all, the food can be pretty good here. There are definitely a few items on the menu that will bum you out, but you can avoid them with some due care. The first thing that always lets me down is any dish with rice. The menu features several platters, which are typically delicious at your average place. Gyro Plus' rice, however, is always very old and dense. It's almost like one large, semi-gelatinous piece of rice cake. The other item that I've been disappointed with
is anything involving grape leaves. My family has made grape leaves since I was a little child. I know how they're supposed to taste. Gyro Plus' tend to follow the lead of the rice and are typically soggy and mushy (after all, rice is a key ingredient in grape leaves).

Overall, it's not a bad place to grab a quick bite. It's not the best Mediterranean restaurant in the world, but it might be the best one we have in town.