Midtown Lunch

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