Looking for good Greek food in Tulsa? Try this place out.

Before a recent journey to the Greenwood District to catch a Drillers game — on Thirsty Thursday, no less — Liz and I decided we were going to venture out from our normal fare and try a restaurant we hadn’t been to yet. It didn’t have to be some bizarre new Tex Mex-Thai fusion restaurant (that does sound like an interesting concept, though), but we wanted to eat somewhere we hadn’t been yet. That’s good to do, occasionally.

I’d recently been snooping around some areas that I knew had some diverse dining styles and suggested we take a look around 31st and Sheridan. Sound like an unusual choice? It’s not really. Within a quarter mile of this intersection, you’ve got Binh-Li (Vietnamese), Doro Pizza (nothing to write home about, but not bad), Thai-Siam (yummy), Gogi Gui (Korean grill), and Gyros Palace… mmmmm, gyros.

“Better go with gyros.”

We pull up and walk into a very unassuming dining area. Perfecto.

The first thing I notice is an older gentleman — the operator of this establishment — hard at work at the grill. This guy was cooking several orders and taking them at the same time… and he was doing it without messing up the food.

Ich bin impressed…

The menu situation was a little confusing (sadly), because there’s a visual menu at the top, a regular marquee-style menu below it, and then one way off to the left (you can’t even see it in the above image) that has all the fun side items and stuff on it. I wish I would’ve seen that particular menu when I was ordering, but whatever — I completely enjoyed this dining experience aside from that.

I ordered a gyro dinner (with a side of Greek fries) and some grape leaves (for both of us) and Liz ordered a chicken gyro. With a 3/4 full dining room, our food came out in a reasonable amount of time and it was hot.

The food arrives…

I love stuffed grape leaves, so I had to try them first. I almost always buy them at Jim’s Coney Island (Never On Sunday), but I had recently enjoyed a delightful specimen of this Old World dish at an Afghani restaurant in Sioux Falls, SD. They were fresh on my mind.

This is a pretty low-key dish in the visual department, but the flavor in these little guys is big. Rice is the main ingredient in these stuffed grape leaves, but dill, mint, and lemon pack the punch that comes with classic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare. At $2.50, you almost have to get these (especially if a member of your party has never experienced the sheer ecstasy of eating stuffed grape leaves.)

I also loved how they gave us tzatziki sauce (“Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and sometimes dill” … Thanks, Google!) with this little side order. That’s a first for me, but it seems like a natural pairing. Gyros Palace’s tzatziki is darn good, after all.

A Hero of Gyros

After I had one (okay, two) stuffed grape leaves, I took the first bite of my gyro. I could tell when I picked it up that there was some heft to it. Upon taking that first bite, I realized that the heft came from a generous portion of meat. My heart skipped a beat (or more likely something medically-related to unhealthy eating or blood pressure.)

One thing I particularly liked about this gyro is that the pita that it was served in was warm, if not a little cooked. I’m not used to that, but I’m afraid that I will now compare other pitas to this one. Very nice, indeed.

Apparently, I’m a freak because I eat my meals one item at a time (just something weird carried over from childhood, perhaps), so I finished my gyro and started getting in to the Greek fries I ordered. These are actually $1.99 extra as opposed to the regular fries, but once again: I’m impressed.

I’ve had Greek fries somewhere before, but it’s been so long that I can’t remember where I had them or if I even liked them. At Gyros Palace this means feta cheese and (what I would call) a savory Greek seasoning sprinkled onto the fries. These were rather enjoyable, but I don’t know if I would pony up $2 for a side item upgrade again. Better yet, I’d probably advise a party of two to order Greek fries with their gyro and have the other member of their party order a gyro a la carte. Portions are big here, too.

Uh, Oh: Spaghettios

Liz wasn’t as impressed with her chicken gyro. I’m not going to lie — I tried a bite and I wasn’t impressed, either. The chicken just wasn’t… goood. I mean, it tasted fresh, but it tasted watery (is that a thing?)

The moral to this story: if you’re going to order a gyro, order a gyro. Don’t order a “chicken” gyro. No bueno.

The Aftermath

As I mentioned earlier, we wrapped up our big meal (we always over-do these things) and headed off to OneOK Field to watch the Drillers put up a heck of a fight against the Arkansas Travellers (this was seriously the most exciting game I’ve seen at the new field, yet.)

How gorgeous was the sky following the evening’s storms?

The Key Take-Aways

This place is a great place to catch a quick Greek meal.
There are actually a handful of interesting restaurants within 1/4 mile of this restaurant.
When you find the menu on the wall, scan a good 1m radius around it, because there’s probably more menu.
Don’t get the chicken gyro. If you “don’t do gyro,” skip this place. I mean, it is called “Gyros Palace”.
Try something new: order the grape leaves.
Treat the owner good. It looks like this guy mostly runs the place by himself, so a kind or thankful word is probably appreciated.

We’re out of here!

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