GRK is an unapologetically meaty restaurant offering three different meats on spits for your lunch, but so far I’ve only sampled one of them (not counting the turkey special they did a couple of years ago). The pork is a winner, but there’s also chicken and a beef/lamb combo to choose from. The good news is that I’ve now confirmed that another one of their meats is many notches above what you’ll get for a couple of dollars less at a street meat cart. 

I ordered the beef and lamb combination in a pita ($7.16) that comes standard with raw red onion, slices of tomato and your choice of three flavors of tzatziki. I opted for the kaftero that has a kick from the roasted habanero peppers in it.

The cone construction of the sandwich means that your first few bites will be all meat and bread. That’s not a bad thing because the bits of meat are greasy in a good way and taste more of a lamb than beef. Then you get to the tzatziki and vegetables and it all comes together in a meat party in your mouth. I haven’t yet tried the chicken yeero at GRK, but based on the three other meats cooked on spits that they’re turning out it’s probably pretty good.

GRK, 111 Fulton St. (btw Nassau & William), (212) 385-2010

With warmer weather on the way, it’s time to look past hefty plates of rice and meat to lunches that won’t instantly put you in a food coma and aren’t a salad.

I’ve been meaning to check out the yogurt bar at GRK after loving the meats I’ve tried there. You can get not only frozen Greek yogurt, but fresh flown in from the mother country, with a host of sweet and savory toppings at your disposal.

For the same price as a plate of street meat you can get fancy yogurt for lunch, but should you?

You have a few choices to make when getting yogurt at GRK (while trying to ignore the spinning cones of meat before your eyes). First, there’s 2% frozen yogurt which comes in two sizes or you can get 2% or nonfat fresh Greek yogurt. You get to choose two toppings for either with the choice to add more for 75 cents each.

There’s only one size of fresh yogurt available and it comes to $5 with tax. It’s scooped into a small container and then you choose your two toppings. Although the savory selections of olive oil, basil and olives sounded intriguing, I went the sweet route with black cherry preserves and chopped almonds as my two toppings. There are many fresh and dried fruits, preserves and sauces available including the standby of honey and the unusual rose petal syrup.

The woman who put together my bowl did not skimp on the toppings. While I was eating it I wished I would have asked for less of the cherry preserves as the taste (although delicious with whole dark cherries galore) overwhelmed the actual yogurt. If you’re not necessarily a fan of the super tart Greek yogurt, this was fine and did not appear to be sweetened or flavored at all.

Anyway, I would definitely get this again as it was a somewhat filling light lunch when paired with something else. I could also see this being a great snack on a summer afternoon when fro-yo’s not cutting it.

GRK, 111 Fulton St. (btw. Nassau & William), (212) 385-2010

Is it just me or did Thanksgiving sneak up on anyone else? I saw on Twitter that GRK on Fulton St. (btw. Nassau & William) was serving turkey gyro with cranberry tzatziki as a pre-Thanksgiving special and then I realized the holiday is next week. On my first day back to work in the Financial District since hurricane Sandy mucked things up, I headed over to see what happens when you put turkey on a rotating spit and pair it with cranberry-spiked Greek yogurt. (It turns out that magical, crispy things happen).

If you are not a fan of the Thanksgiving poultry because it’s dry and requires a lot of gravy, GRK’s version may turn you team turkey. Because the bird has been layered on a spit and then carved off, 90% of the meat I was given was all golden brown and crispy and even the few pieces that weren’t were excellent, especially once dipped in the tart tzatziki which contained pieces of cranberry and some green that may have been parsley. If you don’t like cranberry you can get one of the other tzatzikis which now include a habanero version.

The turkey yeero plate ($9.97; a sandwich is $7.90) comes with sweet potato fries although you can sub in one of the other sides if you’d like. The fries were actually cut thin enough to be really crispy with a nice sprinkle of salt. I would also like to note that the flatbread that came with seemed to be fresher and more browned than the stale one I got on opening day.

It seems the white meats at GRK may be better than the lamb/beef combo, based on comments on the opening day post. If you at all like turkey, you may want to check out the yeeros version at GRK before it disappears on November 23.

GRK, 111 Fulton St. (btw. Nassau & William), (212) 385-2010

My normal way of approaching opening day at any fast food-type lunch spot is to make sure I have my phone with me for entertainment while standing in a long line, and to decide ahead of time what I’ll be ordering. I had both of these strategies in play on Wednesday when I headed over to GRK on Fulton St. (btw. William & Nassau), the latest spot for Greek fast food in the Financial District. We already have Pita Press and the Souvlaki GR Truck at our disposal, so what could GRK add to the mix? Delicious pork cooked on a spit, that’s what.

This is a large space with plenty of seating and no feeling of claustrophobia you often feel while getting lunch in the FiDi. The yogurt bar is front and center with logs of meat twirling and workers assembling lunches above and behind them.

Apologies in advance for making this a one-item review (there will be more to come!) but I wasn’t sure I could handle eating Greek yogurt and a plate of yeeros and all the fixings and still be able to function at work. I will say that I had a sample of the frozen Greek yogurt while waiting in line and it was nicely tart and step up from the fro-yo sold next door at Red Mango.

I already knew I was going to get the pork plate ($9.66) with “GRK fries” as my side and the Florina roasted red pepper tzatziki before stepping up to the counter to place my order. My plan was solidified by the giant, spinning meats you could sporadically see behind the workers putting orders together, and two men were continuously carving from them. My meat was still hot and glistening with fat when I got it so I appreciate it was carved to order.

The presentation of the food reminded me a lot of Pita Press, whether intentional or not. There was a flatbread cut into four pieces, some chopped salad, a large dollop of tzatziki, a pile of meat and a large handful of the “fries” which as you can see turned out to be seasoned potato chips. I wish they would have called the chips, well, chips on the menu so I could have ordered one of the other sides. Between those and the pork it was a little bit of grease overload.

On first glance it doesn’t look like there’s a lot of pork here, but it’s thinly-sliced and fairly fatty so I don’t think I would have wanted much more than the serving I got. It was nicely seasoned but I found myself dabbing on some of the tzatziki (which was creamy and tangy from the imported fresh yogurt it’s made with) and the hot sauce I asked for to cut the richness. Not that it was any greasier than most street meat plates, but there wasn’t any rice to soak up the oil. The meat was great and I look forward to trying the chicken and lamb/beef yeeros.

I wouldn’t say there was any overt fail on my plate, but can I just say the flatbread I got tasted kind of stale? This surprised me since they’re baked in the restaurant (and it was opening day!), but I’m hoping it was a fluke.

GRK has a more limited menu than Pita Press (which has vegetarian and vegan items), but has the fresh/frozen Greek yogurt bar and more plentiful seating going for it. Hopefully there’s room for both of them in the FiDi.

GRK, 111 Fulton St. (btw. Nassau & William) (212) 385-2010

After a couple of delays the Greek restaurant GRK is opening today at 11 a.m. on Fulton St. (btw. William & Nassau). We’ve already walked you through the menu, but you can expect yeeros (aka various meats cooked on spits) and fresh and frozen Greek yogurt with sweet and savory topping options. Some of the prices top the $10 mark, but we’ll be on hand to try the food and give you a rundown tomorrow. Early adopters, leave us your thoughts in the comments.

Do you like meats roasted on a spit? If so, you’re in luck because they’ll have a lamb/beef combo, chicken and pork cooked this way and served either in a pita (all less than $10) or as a platter ($10 or more) with a side like fries, a cabbage slaw or brown rice. In addition to baking their own pita, the meats are coming from local farms, they’ll have three flavors of tzatziki, and you’ll be able to get both frozen and fresh Greek yogurt that’s being imported.

Apparently that new Chobani store in Soho isn’t the only place you’ll be able to get yogurt with sweet and savory toppings if you don’t want a cup of the stuff from the supermarket. Among the more interesting toppings on the list are rose petal preserves, fresh figs, olives, basil and cucumber. A cup will set you back around $5.

So, will you all be checking this place out, or sticking with the other Greek food options in the Financial District?

GRK, 111 Fulton St. (btw. William & Dutch), (212) 238-2010

There’s no actual menu up for the chain-y looking grk coming to Fulton St. (btw. Dutch & William), but the items mentioned at the bottom of the window make it seem like it will be  similar to Pita Press on Cedar St. Among the dishes on tap will be gyros (which they spell yeeros), Greek yogurt, tzatziki, Greek salad and “freshly baked pita bread.” So nothing totally outside the box, but a decent option if you’re not in the mood for Crisp, Hale & Hearty or Chipotle that are all located on the same block.

The lineup of quick service restaurants is about to grown on Fulton St. with something called GRK Fresh Greek opening between William and Nassau streets. This joins Crisp, Chipotle Five Guys, Financier and Hale & Hearty and is across the street from Texas Rotisserie & Grill. They have a Web site that simply says “coming soon,” a Facebook page and freshly-minted Twitter account, which says they’re bringing us “a new take on classic Greek food” in “fresh flavors like you’ve never tasted.” Guess  we’ll just have to wait and see when the paper comes down and a menu materializes. Let’s all hope it’s something equal to or better than the generally awesome Pita Press over on Cedar St.

GRK Fresh Greek, Fulton St. btw. William & Nassau