While racing across Google Earth the other day, looking for something else, I accidentally hit upon an unlikely comment about a restaurant in Hickory. It said that this restaurant had gyro's just like the ones they had recently eaten in Athens. Wow! OK, that did it. I had to take them up on THAT.The next day I went down to the place. Its name is Frankie & Johnny's. They bill themselves as "Home of the Real Deal Reuben", and feature "Authentic Philly's and Gyro's, Nathan's Hot Dogs, N.Y. Cheesecakes and Hot and Cold Subs and Wraps." I got a gyro, had it wrapped up and took it home to work and eat.
So how was it? It was good. Very good. As good as the ones I had in Athens a couple of years ago? Well, yes. Of course you have to understand that the bread was not fresh out of an Athens' bakery, and that Europe does not care for standardization when it comes to preparing and eating FOOD. Every place has its own way, or at least its own twist to add. So when you go to Greece you will eat a lot of gyros, usually for lunch, and they will all be a little bit different from each other. Plus you can get lamb, pork, beef, and other meat in the sandwiches over there. Usually, our gyros in Greece also had three or four french-fried potatoes inside the sandwich. Frankie & Johnny's have only lamb gyros, and their french fries are in a separate container and are just so-so, but it's hard to get really good fries anywhere in the States.
Frankie and Johnny's passed its first test, so now - on to the second. Hmmmm. Let's see shall I make that one a Philly or a Nathan's - or a Real Deal Reuben? Hope to see you there! It's at 1509 29th Ave. Dr. NE, or in the Sandy Ridge Shopping Center.
AND . . . Since this initial experiment, I did return, this time having a Real Deal Reuben. Fabulous. Loved the swirled rye bread, slightly toasted sauerkraut, and the rest . . .? Ummmmmmmmm.
3 comments:
Pretty good stuff, wide selection of reubens (homemade corned beef, homemade sauces) and other good deli sandwiches. Pinocchio's of Claremont (part of Gepetto's) has gyros that are on par with this place. Greek Corner in the mall closed down, they were better than either and used real chunks of lamb instead of the thin sliced prepackaged frozen lamb.
The post that was deleted was deleted by the same person who wrote it, not the author of "Celebration". I have been back a couple of times and received good food and service. I look forward to all comments either agreeing or disagreeing with my opinion. After all, these food purchases can vary from day to day. I also post most of those I really, really like or those I really, really don't like to "Yelp!", "UrbanSpoon" and "TripAdvisor".
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