Gyros in Northern NJ

[nutleygirl]

My daughter has just discovered gyros and loves them! We had them for the first time at the Nevada diner in Bloomfield. We are now ready to move and try a different place. Any suggestions for gyros in the Essex, Passaic, Bergen or Hudson areas?

[Jason Perlow]

Its Greek To Me in Cliffside Park and Englewood makes a solid gyro. Also the Gyros at Greek Village in Northvale are exceptional and the portions are HUGE.

for a more upscale experience Sapphire in Tenafly and Samdan in Cresskill make excellent Doner Kebab, which is the Turkish equivalent to Gyro, although it is typically served on a plate with rice and salad -- you make your own little sandwiches with the accompanying bread.

While not specifically Gyro, I also reccommend Bennies' in Englewood (recently got nice ratings in the NYT), which is a Lebanese restaurant and has many of the Mezze/salad accompaniments to Gyro and Doner Kebab -- plus lots of stuff you don't see in Greek cuisine. They do phenomenal Kofta Kebab (lamb) and Chicken Shwarma sandwiches. If she likes Gyros she definitely will like these as well.

[richl2214]

I think the Red Chimeny right on Route 3 west in Clifton makes awesome gyros. Way better than Nevada! Give it a shot and let me know how she liked it. It's 5 minutes from Nutley.

[emilymarie]

Greek Delights on Park Street in Montclair is my good old standby (and personal favorite in the area). I've discussed why I like this place so much on other threads, so in short their gyros are of very high quality--garlicky, tender meet on fluffy pita with large tomato wedges, slivered onions and a cool yogurt sauce. Their portion size is inconsistent at times, so I hope you go on a night when they're feeling generous.

[John]

I just had a gyro for the first time this past Saturday night at the Italian Festival in Union. I don't know how it compares to any others, but I loved it. My wife had one with chicken, mine was with lamb. I asked about the white sauce before I ate mine. I don't like anything reeking of onions or garlic. It looked like a ranch dressing, but I was told it is a sort of cucmber dressing called Tzatziki. Very good with a flavor of dill also. I asked about where I can get it. It's available at any Greek specialty store. There's one in Kenilworth called the Greek Store. I'll be getting some soon to make my own gyros. According to some info on the web, it does have yogurt as a base.

[all-u-care-2]

I'd LOVE to know where you can find gyros in Hudson county specifically (I believe they closed the place in the Newport Mall food court that did 'em, it's a Taco Bell now); I've only ever seen them at festivals. The Turkish stuff is great too, but I'm too used to getting that in the Village.

Edited September 21, 2004 by all-u-care-2 (log)

[NJ2FLA]

I guess the Halal cart in Manhattan wouldn't quite fit the NJ board. There is also a Greek place in the West Belt mall by Willowbrook and he always made a good Gyro.

[chefdavidrusso]

I just had a gyro for the first time this past Saturday night at the Italian Festival in Union.

I'm just curious why they had gyros at the Italian festival (the organizers, that is. Not John and his wife)

[emilymarie]

I can add to that--why do they also sell arepas and margaritas? Off-topic, I know.

[John]

The guys selling the gyros were Italian. Maybe that had something to do with it. But they were all the way down the end of the street; off the beaten path. It could be that they wanted to offer something different. Most everyone was offering the same sausage and pepper sandwiches, pizza, pasta, etc. There are some restaurants that aren't Italian that just happen to be located in Union Center where the festival is held. One year I remember Lutz's Pork store set up a grill outside their store. They grilled up some franks, bratwurst, and other fine German sausages. Sold a lot of stuff too.

[glenn]

This isn't northern NJ, but I passed by Mr. Greek in Princeton yesterday. There was a sign that said "home of the gyros." It looked pretty good, the picture that is.

[tommy]

glenn you're hijacking the thread.

[nutleygirl]

thanks for the suggestions everyone. Took the girls to It's greek to me in Englewood, they loved it. Will try Red Chimney or Greek Delights in Montclair in a few days.

Patty

[TongoRad]

for a more upscale experience Sapphire in Tenafly and Samdan in Cresskill make excellent Doner Kebab, which is the Turkish equivalent to Gyro, although it is typically served on a plate with rice and salad -- you make your own little sandwiches with the accompanying bread.

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We had a pretty favorable experience at Sapphire this past weekend, and they do feature Doner sandwiches. I'm pretty sure that Samdan only does the platter. They used one of their flat breads, about 6" or 7" dia. and an inch or so high, split like you would a bagel and filled with the meat, onions, etc. No sauce, however, so you might want to get some yogurt on the side. My wife got it and found it to be quite good and filling.

We normally go to Samdan, mostly because it's closer to our house, but I find the two places to be comparable. I'd give the edge to Samdan, myself, but that could really depend on what you order (their babagannus, ezmi, pilaki and lentil soup all totally kick ass). Sapphire's babagannus really could have been smokier for my tastes, but it was good. The pilaki also needed a bit of a flavor kick. The grape leaves, on the other hand, were awesome. We got a combination mezze plate but I think I'll get a full order next time. For my main I got the Sis (lamb) Yogurtlu (OK- it was called something else on the menu, but I can't recall it at this time, but it is under the yogurtlu header). I really liked the layer of tomato sauce on top of the yogurt, and the meat was flavorful and tender. It could have had a bit more of the bread squares, but I was pleased with it. We finished up with some really good kadayif.

[richl2214]

Forget my suggestion about Red Chimeny!!!!!

They now use pre-made gyro strips. Stay away!!!

Greek Delgihts in Montclair has the best around. Go there if anywhere!

[Jason Perlow]

See my photos of A Taste of Greece (click) in River Edge.

Also, Menton1's suggestion of Greek Village in Northvale is a excellent one.

[waves2ya]

The Red Chimney, on Rt. 3, is no more.

I've passed several times and it seems to have become a chicken/burger joint, something like "Falls View". Anyhow - there are more cars in the lot now than before...

Btw (the edit), you have got to see Jason's photos in a nested thread below on "A Taste of Greece" (started by finker). I go to those shots just to drool!

Edited April 14, 2005 by waves2ya (log)

[jhlurie]

Hee. Jason said "meat-sicle" in that Quick Bite of his for "A Taste of Greece". As in "they don't do that", but it was still funny.

[John]

Red Chimney is now a Falls View. There are about 8 Falls View restaurants in North Jersey. They specialize in Texas Weiners. I went last week for the first time. Pretty good. They use a Thumann's dog, but not the special one made for deep frying used by Rutts, Libby's, and numerous other places. You can have your dog grilled or deep fried. Typical thin North Jersey style Texas Weiner or "all the way" sauce. Ok, but I prefer the Hot Grill for this type of hot dog.

[Jason Perlow]

Hee.  Jason said "meat-sicle" in that Quick Bite of his for "A Taste of Greece".  As in "they don't do that", but it was still funny.

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Actually, A Taste of Greece has the standard Krinos Foods meatsicle cones that they cook as well (they started cooking them a few weeks after they opened due to people asking for them) but I didn't choose to highlight them.

[Curlz]

Red Chimney is now a Falls View. There are about 8 Falls View restaurants in North Jersey. They specialize in Texas Weiners. I went last week for the first time. Pretty good. They use a Thumann's dog, but not the special one made for deep frying used by Rutts, Libby's, and numerous other places. You can have your dog grilled or deep fried. Typical thin North Jersey style Texas Weiner or "all the way" sauce. Ok, but I prefer the Hot Grill for this type of hot dog.

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They also have a Chicken Holiday sign alongside the FV one...is that the usual pairing? Never tried either of them.

[jhlurie]

Hee.  Jason said "meat-sicle" in that Quick Bite of his for "A Taste of Greece".  As in "they don't do that", but it was still funny.

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Actually, A Taste of Greece has the standard Krinos Foods meatsicle cones that they cook as well (they started cooking them a few weeks after they opened due to people asking for them) but I didn't choose to highlight them.

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Well, people are stupid!