Gyro, pronounced “yeero” in Greek, comes from the Greek word “yirizo,” which means to turn. Classic gyros are hand stacked thin slices of pork bellies and loin with herbs & spices, layered on a spit and cooked on an upright rotisserie.
Thelo's *Best Damn Gyro* is served in a handmade grilled pita with onions, tomatoes & our dressing, the same as it was served in Athens starting around 1922 when the dish was introduced by the influx of over 1.5 million refuges, most of them from Smyrna/Izmir & Konstantinoupoli/Istanbul. They were made with no tzatziki, no lettuce, no french fries, and no feta, ingredients which were marketing add-ons starting in the late 1970s.
In March 2021, we made news by making & serving a real halal lamb *Best Damn Gyro* in order to serve, due to religious restrictions, our Indian, Pakistani, Arab & Jewish customers, made with boneless leg of lamb & our spice-herb mix, making Thelo the second Greek known eatery in the US where real lamb gyros are made and served (as opposed to the norm which is beef with lamb fat for flavor).