Arby's Gyro

[CB]

On the way to work today, I saw that Arby's is offering a Roast Beef Gyro for $2.99.

Now that lunch is about a half-hour away, I'm thinking that I'd like to try it. Has anyone else tried these? Are they as good as a real, Greek Lamb Gyro? Is it enough food for a whole lunch?

[primesuspect]

I haven't tried it, but I can give you my 99% "Prime's Life Experience Promise" that it is NOT going to be as good as a real Gyro......

[Gargoyle]

If they use good flatbread, it could still be pretty good (despite not being Lamb-based). I haven't seen an Arbys since I left OK, though :(

[CB]

Okay, well I'm gonna go get one... I'll report back after lunch.

[primesuspect]

If we publish your review, we'll pay you ;D

[Gargoyle]

If we publish your review, we'll pay you ;D
Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?

[QCH2002]

If we publish your review, we'll pay you ;DTHAT'S Funny.... ;D

[profdlp]

Ha ha ha!!! ;D

I'm curious too, CB, let me know if it's any good. I haven't seen an Arby's here in the Cleveland area, but I'll probably be visiting VA soon where they have a few.

[GHoosdum]

I'm skeptical of the comparative quality as well... Crystal used to work at Arby's and she's told me about their "Roast Beef"...

[CB]

Isn't everything that gets posted on SM technically 'published' as it is being made available to a mass-audience?

Anyway:

The Arby's Gyro was really good.

The sauce was very accurate. It tasted exactly like the sauce from a 'real' Gyro. The only difference was that the sauce was a bit thin (as in 'not creamy', not as in 'sparse'), which I've noticed varies a bit from Greek restaurant to Greek restaurant anyway.

The flatbread was great. I'd have to say it was better than the flatbread you would ordinarily get with a 'real' Gyro. It was bigger, softer, and better tasting. I didn't lose even one drop of the sauce, because the flatbread was big enough to hold it all in soft-taco-style. Usually Greek flatbreads tend to break apart on me. They usually tear at the ends of the fold. This flatbread never showed a lack of constitution, and they didn't have to make it any thinner to get the job done.

So, the real difference was the meat. The standard spiced mutton was replaced with the same roast beef that Arby's throws on their sandwiches. They didn't skimp on it either. There was about a french-dip sub worth of beef slices in the flatbread, much more meat than you'd get at the Greek restaurant. However, the beef is also spiced the same as it is when they throw it on the sandwiches (as in: not at all). So the major taste difference lay in the meat, as could probably be expected. I've never had any lamb meat that was not in a Gyro, so I always took the meat and the sauce as a single taste. Now that I've tasted it with a different meat, I finally know what spiced mutton tastes like. ;)

Overall, it was a very good sandwich. It tasted great, and was plenty of food for a normal person to make a whole lunch out of (it also went really well with my Coca-cola). It's now my second favorite Arby's menu item. The French-dip sub is still the best (Mmm... Hot Beef juice), but it rarely goes on sale. If Arby's keeps this item, and keeps it at the same price, I think it will become a regular item on my lunch menu.

[Leonardo]

Has anyone else tried these? Sounds like SPAM mail to me!

Roast beef Gyro? That's an oxymoron. That's like a fish hamburger. It just ain't. A Gyro (Gyros) must have Middle Eastern/Greek/Turkish style flat bread, slow roasted mutton, and usually sour cream.

[GHoosdum]

Actually I think it's yogurt.

And CB, any place that's giving you a pita instead of a flatbread is not making you a Gyro. Pita is designed for a totally different application.

[Leonardo]

Actually I think it's yogurt. Yeah, you may be right. Onions and garlic are often added as well. Normally, I don't like mutton, but on authentic Gyros it can really be good. I used to get Gyros from Turkish street stands in Germany when I lived there. They were very inexpensive, fresh, hot, and very good.

I wasn't knocking Arby's in my previous post. It's just that fast food restaurants will take an authentic food and bastardize it completely, to where it has almost no relation to the original food. But other countries do that as well. Try finding a decent hamburger in Europe! ugggghhhh (McDonalds doesn't count. They are the definition of mediocrity in my book.)

[CB]

I meant 'flatbread', but typed 'pita'. I'll go edit my review :)

[primesuspect]

Nope, no good. I'm not paying for this crap. :shakehead


;)

[profdlp]

Isn't everything that gets posted on SM technically 'published' as it is being made available to a mass-audience?...
Good point. :thumbsup:

Hey, prime - 'bout payday, ain't it? (http://www.short-media.com/forum/memberlist.php?&order=DESC&sort=posts&pp=30) :D

Let's see $50 multiplied by...

[RADA]

If we publish your review, we'll pay you ;D

:wow2:



Gee, maybe I can get paid if I review the KIX cereal I had this morning? ............................................ it was with blackberries.....




...need to pay for this move to Cali some way...

[Thrax]

CBDROEGE IS A PAID ARBY'S SHILL.

[CB]

You caught me... All these years of banter and trust gathering, even attending your LAN events and meeting many of you in person... It was all in anticipation of the release of Arby's Gyro this week. You caughtme, however, so I guess my secret Arby's infiltration mission has failed. :(

Oh well, I guess I'm done here...

/quit

[primesuspect]

Yes! Another shill caught and hung out to dry!

And when you come to the LAN this year, you'd BETTER not bring any Arby's gear! We won't have it! :rant:

[CB]

and to think, I was going to bring about 30 Arby's brand gaming mouses.

[QCH2002]

{but right in front of Prime's house, I'll be willing to try your "Arby Gyro"... just don't let anyone know... ok? It will be a secret... }

First SM LAN 06 mantouch event :rolleyes:

[profdlp]

...you'd BETTER not bring any Arby's gear...
A sackful of those gyros would be alright, wouldn't it? :buck:

[QCH2002]

First SM LAN 06 mantouch event :rolleyes:

HEY!!!!!! Someone messed with my <s>pole</s> post!!!! :rarr:

[-tk]

Actually I think it's yogurt.



FYI for all you non Balkans:
The sauce is called tzatziki. It’s a mixture of strained yogurt, shredded cucumbers, garlic, olive oil and salt. The proportions and thickness vary from recipe to recipe so sometimes it’s really runny and sometimes its thick like peanut butter, it all depends on how long you let the yogurt and cucumbers drain. Maybe I'll make a big batch of it for the LAN and smear it all over you bastards.

[profdlp]

...Maybe I'll make a big batch of it for the LAN and smear it all over you bastards.
Moo Moo, Buckaroo! :clap:

[QCH2002]

Oh... yummy.... :D


oh wait. I'm fighting to keep myself distanced from the Mantouch thing... I should say the recipe sounds good. The smearing thing... yuk.

[Zanthian]

I always knew CB was a shill, but I always thought we were paying him for Team Nexlia DURRRR. This whole time he was just working for arbys.
We want our money back :P

[RADA]

You caught me... All these years of banter and trust gathering, even attending your LAN events and meeting many of you in person... It was all in anticipation of the release of Arby's Gyro this week. You caughtme, however, so I guess my secret Arby's infiltration mission has failed. :(

Oh well, I guess I'm done here...

/quit



Before you leave could we get some Arby's coupons? Free gyros for all!

[Crazy Joe]

And when you come to the LAN this year, you'd BETTER not bring any Arby's gear! We won't have it! :rant:

Speak for yourself... I'd pretty much always accept free food...

[CB]

Actually I think it's yogurt.

And CB, any place that's giving you a pita instead of a flatbread is not making you a Gyro. Pita is designed for a totally different application.

Hey! I believed your correction, and even changed my article, and now what do I find? A real Gyro is supposed to be inside of a pita, not a flatbread.

I can't find any site that refers to Gyros as being in a flatbread, and even Arby's calls their Gyro-bread a pita!

And you had me wondering why I thought that Gyros were supposed to be in pitas...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyros

[CB]

That article also claims that original, Greek gyros were made with any number of different meats, including beef...

In fact, even the special sauce is not a necesity. It seems that the only thing you have to do to call it a 'Gyro' is put sliced meat in a pita. Everything else is bonus.

[GHoosdum]

Huh. So is it a pita without a pocket then?

[CB]

Well, the article says that they are supposed to be made in the pocket of the pita, but sometimes (especially in america) the pita is just wrapped around the meat.

[GHoosdum]

Wikipedia also says that a pita is a flatbread, so, I have no idea where I was going with that thought.

In modern history (in the 1970s), much of pita's popularity in the West is due to this pocket. Instead of using pita to scoop foods, the pocket is filled with various ingredients to form a sandwich. These are sometimes called "pita pockets" or "pocket pitas". Certain manufacturers have taken steps in packaging to clarify the difference between pita (which has no pocket, and historically meant flat) and pita pita (wuk nuk) pockets (which have pockets).


Arby's. heh.

I was watching some show on the Food Network with Bobby Flay - he went to a Greek restaraunt where they actually had the big rotisserie they sliced chunks from for their gyros - they served it disassembled, with quarters of pita to stack the food on.

I guess that since 'gyros' really only properly refers to the meat, and the sandwich only colloquially, that none of this really matters.

[CB]

Unfortunatly, the article doesn't say what makes the meat 'gyros', instead of just being 'sliced, roast meat'... it's proly the spices, but I can't find any place that says how gyros is meant to be spiced, if at all. It all just describes gyros as slow cooked meat, cut into strips.

Would that mean that a Christmas Ham is actually gyros?!

[primesuspect]

omg i guess I have to get my greek-as-hell friend in here to school you all....

[GHoosdum]

omg i guess I have to get my greek-as-hell friend in here to school you all....


Hell is Greek? Oh ****, I guess I have to reassess my religious standing now.

[Black Hawk]

IIRC, it's this big slab of meat that's on this big pole that rotates. Not sure about others but Mexicans put Pineapple on top so that the juices seep in. Kinda like a Shawarma I think. Link (http://images.google.com/images?q=Shawarma&oe=UTF-8&client=firefox&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi)

[RWB]

Guess I have to go back to Arby's and get one of these Gyro's.. they look smaller than the picture though, my cousin bought one and damn it was huge.

[TequilaSunrise]

Gyro meat is sometimes a combination of lamb and beef, but traditionally lamb. It is cooked on a rotisserie. It can be seasoned with a number of things. The most common are dill, basil, parsley etc. It is then thinly sliced onto a grilled pita bread with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki sauce. I'm Greek; I answer questions about this stuff all the time.
Are you happy Prime?

[primesuspect]

σασ ευχαριστώ!

σε ευχαριστώ για τις προσπάθειες που ανάλωσες :)

[V|P]

Now the people googling Gyro recipes will end up here and we can get Prime to use his hypnotic powers and yellow hair to make them stay.

[TequilaSunrise]

You're welcome. Any time... Yiayia would be so proud of you!

[Thrax]

σασ ευχαριστώ!

σε ευχαριστώ για τις προσπάθειες που ανάλωσες :)

I'll take you to our leader. :( Don't hurt me.

[madmat]

So, Arby's has a gyro? I wondered what kept them from falling over.

[CB]

bu-dum-ching...

[CB]

I've been having Arby's new BBQ bacon sandwhich lately, for lunch because it is very tasty (although, it could do with a few less whole peppercorns on top. Today, however, I decided to have a French Dip sub, it had been awhile.

The new sub bread is not very good :P I was quite disapointed.

[profdlp]

...I decided to have a French Dip sub...
What's his name? :range:

[CB]

:p

[Enverex]

Grrr, I wanted to eat at an Arby's before I left the US but everything went to hell and I never got to, this thread has made me regret that even more... and incredibly hungry for meat >.<

[Thrax]

and incredibly hungry for meat >.<

Now offering the potential burn to the highest bidder. Please PM me your offers, Freudian disbelievers, GTFO. :tongue2:

[GHoosdum]

Arby's is not all it's cracked up to be. Their "roast beef," before it is sliced and cooked, is more reminiscent of a block of ballistic gel than actual meat. You didn't miss much, Enverex.

[Gargoyle]

Arby's is not all it's cracked up to be. Their "roast beef," before it is sliced and cooked, is more reminiscent of a block of ballistic gel than actual meat. You didn't miss much, Enverex.
The beans at Taco Bell look like chocolate-flavored corn flakes before they're stirred into 190*F water, but that doesn't make them any less delicous :)

[Enverex]

Now Taco bell, that's somewhere I ate at many times (mainly because they don't exist in the UK apparently). MMMmmmMaximelts...

[profdlp]

Arby's is not all it's cracked up to be. Their "roast beef," before it is sliced and cooked, is more reminiscent of a block of ballistic gel than actual meat. You didn't miss much, Enverex.
Having a vegetarian offer an opinion on meat is like having a virgin tell you about sex. ;)

[GHoosdum]

Having a vegetarian offer an opinion on meat is like having a virgin tell you about sex. ;)

It feels like... a bag of sand... :rockon:

[StainMeNow]

So wait...how did this thread veer so far off-topic to include mantouching and then find it's way BACK to the gyros?

*longs for posts with more mantouching and more bowling team member photos*

[Nomad]

We won't have it! :rant:


I will.

[profdlp]

I will.
The White Album - 1968

(You made me re-read this whole daggone thread just to find the quote you referenced... :-/ )

[Nomad]

1968 - Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol

[profdlp]

1968 - Valerie Solanas shoots Andy Warhol
Fool me once... ;)

[Jengo]

Dude, ive never even had a real gyro, cause... i dunno.. i just havent.. maybe i should try one, i just dont like the fact that they look like tacos, i eat tacos all the time.. its like a natural thing for me... so i guess gyros just dont look that great... lol...

i should try one anyway though.. just to see what the fuss is about, lol.

[Enverex]

Am I the only one that keeps thinking of some sort of sparce wireframe sphere with something suspended upright in the center?

[profdlp]

Am I the only one that keeps thinking of some sort of sparce wireframe sphere with something suspended upright in the center?
You're close, at least as far as suspending the thing upright. The meat is cooked in an upright rotisserie type of oven. :)


Gyros (Yee-Ros) is a traditional Greek sandwich that is made with selected beef or beef and lamb meats seasoned with zesty spices, thinly sliced and piled high onto a fluffy handmade pita bread. A traditional gyros sandwich is topped with a flavorful sour cream and cucumber sauce called Tzatziki (Zaa-Zee-Kee).

Man, I wish I could eat one right now. :(

[Buddy J]

I like gyros but the tzatziki sauce makes me poop something fierce. Have pity on me and my intollerance of lactose.

[Enverex]

AAaaah, most take-a-ways over here have those and sell things that look just like that second picture with meat from the thing in the first picture. It's a Kebab!

[GHoosdum]

poop something fierce

Something fierce... like a tiger?

[Enverex]

That'd be a stretch, even for ******!

Edit: Erm? Ok, let me reword: That'd be a stretch even for 'that guy that made the website that ended in .cx'

[Buddy J]

No way! Fierce like Tyra Banks!

[profdlp]

What to make of this latest turn of events... :range:

[Black Hawk]

Dude, ive never even had a real gyro, cause... i dunno.. i just havent.. maybe i should try one, i just dont like the fact that they look like tacos, i eat tacos all the time.. its like a natural thing for me... so i guess gyros just dont look that great... lol...

i should try one anyway though.. just to see what the fuss is about, lol.
You're not missing out on much. It's just like carne al pastor.

[profdlp]

...It's just like carne al pastor.
Meat of the preacher? :wtf:

[primesuspect]

omg ;D

[Buddy J]

From mantouch to man meat...

[Black Hawk]

:shakehead

[Enverex]

I assume that one is from the kiddy menu right?
:rolleyes2

[Jengo]

Meat of the preacher? :wtf:

LOLOLOLOL, i read that and lauged so hard!! LOL

no, its what they call a certain type of cooked meat, lol thats hilarious! ive never heard someone call it "meat of the preacher" before! LOL

[profdlp]

Obviously, I need to brush up on my Russian. :mullet:

[Jengo]

you mean spanish?

:honoes:

[profdlp]

you mean spanish?
Astronomy was never my strong point. :buck:

[Jengo]

Astronomy was never my strong point. :buck:

and he keeps going and going and going and going!

:nudge:

[CB]

So, I went to Arby's a couple of days ago, and they had a poster in the window that looked like the Gyro was back, and I got all excited because I'd been really hoping to see those things available again.

However, when I got closer, I saw that it was not, in fact, a Gyro on the poster. It was a 'Pita sandwhich', which is aparently exactly like a Gyro, but with cheese and veggies instead of Gyro ingredients.

I tried it anyway. I got the 'Fajita', which was Roastbeef (duh) on a pita with Onions, Green Peppers, and Monterey Jack. It wasen't as good as the gyro, but it was pretty good, and it wes plenty of food for a meal.

[Sledgehammer70]

^Shill^ <--- didn't we catch you last year? Kwitco where you at?

[GHoosdum]

I'm tempted to ban him just because I don't like Arby's.

[profdlp]

I'm tempted to ban him just because I don't like Arby's.
I'm tempted to ban you just because you don't like Arby's. :ninja:

[GHoosdum]

Well there aren't too many vegetarian selections at a roast beef fast food joint! :p

[Gargoyle]

But is it really meat?

If it's not vegetable or animal, I suppose it's mineral.

[Sledgehammer70]

You know tis real beef when they advertise it :) liek Carl's Jr. "The Real Angus Beef" etc... I think arby's is a mixup of a few kinds of items... comes in a long tube and than they slice it up :)

[CB]

Oh Arby's!! Why do you spurn me so?!

I went back today to get a pita sandwich, and Alas! there were none to be had.

How do they expect any new products to be succesfull, when they keep them around for so short a time?

[Sledgehammer70]

Well maybe if you ate their daily they would keep those odd items no one else buys :)