Greek Grill & Fry Co. – Eden Prairie, MN

I had never heard of this place before this afternoon. In fact, I was driving to a different restaurant when I saw the name on the awning across the parking lot – hidden behind the building I intended to eat at. Gyros sounded way better than Chinese food, so I thought I’d drop in. When I pulled up, I realized there were gas pumps outside and it’s a gas station and mini-mart as well. I’m coming to the realization that this is not EVER a bad sign.

Once inside, it was pretty obvious where to go for the food. There’s a small seating area (like 6 or 7 tables) and a counter with a large menu board above it. I scanned the menu for a brief minute or two and placed my order with the guy that does all the cooking too – he’s a little difficult to understand as he’s actually Greek, but we got our various messages communicated eventually. I went with a Spicy Gyro, without onions. A bunch of gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, and spicy tzaziki sauce. I also got some fries for some reason – it just felt right. I got a little mixed up on where you pay, but you actually go get your drink and then pay at the gas station counter. Figured I’d better tell you so you didn’t get lost and confused like I did.

The cool thing about the place being in a mini-mart is you have your choice of whatever beverage you could imagine. So I scored a Cherry Crush and say down to read some articles for school. Three minutes later, the guy called me up to get my food.

It looked pretty good, actually. The fries were covered in some sort of cayenne or magic spicy dust and the gyro was slathered in spicy tzaziki sauce. It looked like there was plenty of meat as well, so I was all set. I started with the fries – they were about half crispy and half floppy, but the spicy dust on them made them so much better. With some consistency, they would have been great. The gyro itself was great as well. I had to eat some of the toppings off with a fork before I could pick the thing up and eat the pita like a sandwich, which is never a problem for me. The meat was done, and even though I usually like my edges a little crispy and burnt, it was still great. No complaints at all. The spicy sauce was really good, even though I suspect it is regular tzaziki sauce with that magic dust from the fries sprinkled in.

The gas station concept was novel, except for the fact that whenever a customer opened the door (which is all the time, because it’s a gas station), a buzzer would go off to let the counter people know someone was coming in. So the whole time you’re eating, you’ve got a loud buzz in your head – though you can tune it out after a little bit, I guess.

I sat next to this table of 30-something d-bag salesmen. And they were typical slimy salesmen, too. It was ALMOST endearing the way they were having a heart-to-heart with each other about their girlfriends, but only in the way that only d-bags can do. They simply complained about their women and whether they should LET their women move in with them and mess up their ideal situation. “It’s not like banging a bunch of chicks like we used to do – that’s work, but that’s fun, right Braah?” “Well marriage is work – well actually, just the kids and the in-laws and the house part – the other part is easy. High Five.” The best part about it is they brought up Tiger woods and then all three adamantly did NOT condone what he did – that was wrong. His wife should leave him and get half since he messed up so bad. Really? Who are you people? Once a d-bag, always a d-bag, I guess.

Anyway, the restaurant part seemed to do a pretty good business during lunch. I was happy to see that. I’ll be back to this place. It’s super close to my work and the food was excellent and filling. Thanks, Greek Grill.

Top 5 things about the Greek Grill & Fry Co.
1. Spicy Gyro
2. Any drink you could ever want
3. Menu is expansive and well explained
4. Magic spicy dust on the fries
5. You can have skittles with your meal if you want (mini-marts rule)

Bottom 5 things
1. Buzzer thing in your ear when people come in
2. You might have to sit next to d-bags
3. A little confusing on how to pay, unless you’ve been there before
4. I now reek of gyro meat – I’m guessing wolves will be tracking me out to my car
5. Now that I know this place is here, I’ll be putting on my 2010 Sumer weight. hahahaha

www.greekgrillandfry.com