Midtown Lunch

I mentioned last week that we would be hearing from some new voices on ML Philly as we are going to be getting reports from a new correspondent each week. Today, we are getting a report from this week’s profiled luncher Morgan, who is checking out the street meat, not as common east of Broad, on 12th and Chestnut.

A few years ago I worked at 36th and Spruce streets. I could step outside and choose from a wide array of food trucks all offering delicious and cheap food. Trucks as far as the eye could see. Sweet potato burritos and chicken cheesesteaks called to me early every afternoon and I wandered the streets knowing that I could hardly make a poor decision.

Fast forward a couple of years. I work in center city in the Midtown Village/Washington West area. Over here I have the hardest time finding a decent lunch (until I started reading Midtown Lunch, that is). I’m surrounded by chain restaurants. I can only eat so much Qdoba or Subway in a lifetime. I tried the trucks nearby and found perfectly passable cheesesteaks. Then I found a dead leaf in one and lost all faith.

So you can imagine the sense of attachment I feel towards Gyro King, a Halal food cart stationed at 12th and Chestnut streets. And, judging by the line you face if you come out at peak lunch hours, I’m definitely not alone. It appeared to me as an oasis in a lunchtime desert and has held a special place in my heart ever since.

Despite the frigid weather, I walked over today and ordered the combo platter. It consists of a bed of rice covered with chicken and lamb gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, and your choice of sauces. I opted for the tzatziki alone. They also have a hot sauce and, what the man inside calls “hot hot” sauce.

The chicken comes in chunks and has a cuminy flavor that I don’t find off-putting, but I usually don’t associate with a gyro. The lamb is the sort of ground up and mashed back together typical gyro meat and is rather heavily seasoned. The tzatziki sauce is fine, but could use a little oomph. The fluffy yellow rice is tender and pulls everything together. And for $5 I got more food than I could finish so no complaints here.

My coworker came along and ordered the lamb gyro. He had it with tzatziki sauce and the “hot hot” sauce. The gyro is also $5 and comes with a good portion of lamb, lettuce, tomato, and onion. The “hot hot” sauce was not prohibitively spicy and paired with the mellow, yogurt-based tzatziki created a good counterbalance to the salty, savory lamb. Definitely a winning combination. The pita was soft, warm and seemed relatively fresh.

The menu is pretty limited. You can get a lamb or chicken gyro, lamb or chicken platter (over rice), the combo platter, or a lamb or chicken salad which is the platter without rice. The selections are few, but that is more or less to be expected when you’re dealing with a food cart.

All the platters and sandwiches come with a free can of soda. We both chose pineapple for obvious reasons (um, it’s delicious). All in all, if you’re like me and need to eat food prepared in a cart every once in a while, Gyro King makes a tasty, filling lunch at a great value.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Good sized portions of tasty inexpensive meat
• Free soda is icing on the cake
• Halal friendly

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• I am not a street meat person
• Cumin on the chicken gyro is an unpleasant surprise
• The line gets long around noon
• Limited menu choices

Gyro King, 12th and Walnut