Whether you call it a Yeer-o or a Gy-ro, let’s just agree that the sandwich tastes amazing. But where did it come from?
The last time you were in a Mediterranean restaurant, you may have caught a glimpse of spinning meat being cooked on all sides. The process of combining beef and lamb, and cooking it like this goes back to 19th century in the Ottoman Empire. But after World War II the dish had made its way to Athens where it became a hit. The Greek people really took ownership of this little sandwich and began exporting it to the rest of the world.
However, a woman by the name of Margaret Garlic, claims to be the reason why everyone’s crazy about Gyro sandwiches today.
The story goes that back in the 1970s Mrs. Garlic was watching a Greek chef cut up a Gyro cone while watching her favorite tv show, she thought she should open her own Gyro restaurant. She convinced her husband, a former Marine, and then Cadillac salesman, that this was it for them. They managed to obtain a special recipe from a Greek restaurant in Chicago, and then rented space in a sausage factory in Milwaukee, where they began making their own gyro meat from beef and lamb trimmings. They would eventually sell to Kronos Foods, who was a major player in Greek food distribution.
The name Gyro itself comes from a Greek word for “circle” or “turn,” to reference the meat cooking on the rotisserie. However you want to say it. However you want to dress it up, as long as you love it. It’s fine with us!
At Prince we make our Gyro sandwich with fresh cut veggies, our signature tzatziki sauce, and wrap it up in a blanket of fresh pita. It's a sandwich that easily finds itself at the top of the list of customer favorites.
We became restless with the sandwich, and knew there was more to it. Prince believes in giving the people what they want, and after so many of our customers telling us how good the Gyro meat was, it was a real light bulb moment to just increase the amount of meat we put in the sandwich!
How much more?
To get a little technical 50% more, and trust us you can tell the difference. But we have now created a new sandwich, and simply calling it the Gyro wasn't going to cut it anymore.
We introduce to you, the Hero sandwich!
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