Review: Arby's - Traditional Greek Gyro

Arby's Traditional Greek Gyro features sliced gyro meat (a blend of ground beef, ground lamb, and Mediterranean spices) in a warm flatbread along with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, tzatziki sauce, and Greek seasoning.

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Kabob Plate

I keep calling Daphne's Greek Cafe "Daf-feens" instead of "Daf-knees" even though there's no "i" in there. It's a Southern California Greek fast casual chain. The Sister-in-Law likes it because they give free food for your birthday and it's near her workplace. She brought home a Mix & Match Two Kabob Plate one night, around the time of her birthday. It normally costs $8.79.

Review: Zankou Chicken - Chicken Tarna Plate

Zankou Chicken is a popular family-owned chain in southern California specializing in Middle Eastern / Meditterean-style food and is quite famous for their chicken and garlic sauce.  Zankou's Chicken Tarna Plate runs for $9.99 and features slices of marinated chicken served with hummus, sesame sauce (tahini), tomatoes, lettuce, pickled turnips, peppers, pita Bread and garlic sauce.

Local Review: Spitz - Little Tokyo - Classic Döner Sandwich

Very similar to the Greek gyro, the Döner or Döner Kebab is Turkish in origin (it means "rotating roast") but has spread across much of Europe as affordable street food.  Spitz is a restaurant specializing in European-style (specifically Spain) döners with two locations in Southern California. I went to the Little Tokyo Spitz to try their most basic sandwich: the Classic Döner Sandwich.

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Gyro and French Fries

A Greek gyro, similar to the Turkish doner kebab, the Middle Eastern shawarma, and Mexican al pastor, is characterized by ground meat shaped into a chub, cooked vertically on a spit, and sliced thin for serving. Daphne's Greek Cafe makes a pretty good gyro. The meat is carved fresh off the spit to order and is wrapped with lettuce, diced red onions, sliced tomatoes, and tzatziki sauce (a yogurt sauce usually blended with cucumber and other stuff) in a soft, pillowy, warmed pita. I really enjoyed the warm pita and the veggies are pretty fresh.

The fries were decent, not memorable but okay.

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Baklava

For those like myself who have wondered it's pronounced "bah-kluh-vah" and not "bak-la-va" and it's offered at Daphne's Greek Cafe. I didn't care for Daphne's version much. It was too sweet and soggy for my liking. I prefer it to be subtly sweet rather than dripping honey. That way, you can better taste the nuts and enjoy the crispness of the fillo dough.

Sadly, like most things, the longer it sits out, the soggier and less crisp it gets so it's hard to find baklava that I actually enjoy. But this version is no worse than most places.

Review: Daphne's Greek Cafe - Hummus Snack

At Daphne's Greek Cafe, two scoops of hummus and and a soft, warm pita cut into quarters will run you a buck. Not bad for a snack I suppose. It's nothing to write home about but the "Starter Dip" (also available with Red Pepper Hummus and Fire Feta) is a nice snack.

The pita was soft, warm, and pillowy with a slight oven-toasted crispness on the outside. The hummus, while an unappetitizing shade of yellow (a lot darker than most hummuses... Hummusi? ... Just plain "Hummus?" Haha... I could look it up but I won't!) was comparable to most hummus that I've tried. It's not memorable, but it's nice and worth a try should you stop by a Daphne's.