Linda Falkenstein
Chicken gyros from Dimitri's
I've been driving past Dimitri's Gyros on East Wash for a long time and even spent a year during which I had coupons for it from the Bucky Book in hand and yet never became sufficiently motivated to go there. This is partly because, and I should admit this up front, gyros are not my favorite food.
I used to like them during my years as an undergraduate when we would go to The Parthenon on State Street for the gyros basket with fries, but since that time I no longer eat much in the way of raw onions -- which does leave a big empty spot in the heart of the gyros experience.
However, lunchtime and my proximity to Dimitri's finally coincided a couple of weeks ago and I ended up giving it a try.
Dimitri's interior looks like somebody's bad '70s remodel, with dark paneling and a lot of mismatched tables and chairs. I was getting takeout anyway so it didn't really matter.
I ordered the Greek salad ($5.65) and the chicken gyros ($4.98) although I almost opted for the lunch special, a gyros, drink and fries for something like $7 -- I don't remember the exact amount and I might mention right here that every single item on Dimitri's menu has a weird price -- like the side of good crispy/greasy French fries ($2.04), or the baklava (also $2.04), the chicken dinner ($6.17), the mega-burger ($3.35), and the onion rings ($2.37). You get the idea. Dimitri's also offers a spinach-cheese pie ($5.65), a three-taco plate ($5.95), and a cod dinner ($5.98).
Once home, I de-onioned my chicken gyros and the Greek salad. The chicken was a bit overcooked and bland, but not gristly. The pita was a tad rubbery but the sauce and the tomatoes were fine. I augmented the gyros interior with lettuce and cucumber from the salad, but even so, it seemed a little small for five dollars.
The salad came with lots of feta, big slices of cucumber, good kalamata olives, spicy pepperoncini, tomatoes, and a sharp vinaigrette -- a good, but pretty standard Greek salad experience, and maybe a little overpriced.
I was going to go back and try the mega-burger and fries, but that was before the free Dimitri's Gyros ball-point pen I picked up at the counter ("Take One!") leaked in my pocket yesterday, getting jet black ink all over my leg, hand, and jeans.
In a nutshell: Order whatever you want, but leave the pens at the counter.
