Oh My Gyro in Longwood, FL

I tried a new restaurant in Longwood called Oh My Gyro. They are in a location that has had an endless cycle of restaurants opening, lasting a few months, and closing again. Because of this, I wish them the best of luck, especially since it seems like they did major renovations on the space since the last time I was in the building. Oh My Gyro touts themselves as having authentic New York Halal cart food. Having frequented halal carts in New York on my visits and comparing the menu here, this seemed to be about right. The menu was simple where you had your choice of platters with gyro, chicken, or falafel or sandwiches with the same fillings.

I tried the combo platter. This came with gyro (lamb and beef), shredded chicken, salad, lots of yellow rice, and pita. Most everything was topped with the famous halal cart white sauce and hot sauce was served on the side. The portion of food was very generous and tasted comparable to actual New York halal cart food.

I enjoyed my food here. As noted with the history of past restaurants not surviving very long in this location, I hope they do well (but try them while you can).

Orlando's Cheesesteak & Gyro in Lake Buena Vista, FL

I had lunch at a restaurant called Orlando's Cheesesteak & Gyro in a strip mall on Apopka-Vineland Road, not far from Disney property. There is apparently a large Islamic community in the area because the majority of the restaurants in this shopping center advertized halal food. There was a halal Chinese restaurant. There were hookah bars, and then there was this restaurant, which also was halal.

I ordered their Gyro and Greek Salad combo. The gyro consisted of a pita filled with thinly sliced gyro meat (I'm assuming lamb?), lettuce, tomato, onions, and tzatziki.  The meat was very flavorful and seemed slightly spicier than gyro meat that I've had elsewhere. They were a bit skimpy on the vegetables in the pita, but I did have a big plate of salad to go with the sandwich.

The Greek salad was nothing to write home about. It consisted of iceburg lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and feta cheese. It was topped with what tasted like store bought Italian dressing, which I didn't like very much.

My gyro here was pretty good. I didn't like the salad dressing, but otherwise it was a good lunch. Definitely much better than the Papa John's next door (I don't think pepperoni pizza is halal).

Coney Island Halal Truck in Brooklyn, NY

I was in Coney Island and passed by a Halal Truck parked along Stillwell Avenue under the subway station. We were looking for some food and the scents emanating from the truck smelled so good that this truck was the chosen food source for the night.

I choose the lamb with rice. This consisted of a mound of yellow rice topped with lots and lots of gyro meat. A salad was served on the side. Everything was then topped with white sauce and a little of their hot sauce. I did enjoy this meal (way better than Nathan's less than a block away in my opinion). The meat was flavored very nicely. The rice was cooked well, and the sauces were tasty. It also ended up being a huge portion of food for a very affordable price.

Halal Carts of Bellerose, NY

New York is a wonderful city when it comes to food. So many people from all over the world, in such a tight concentration, all bringing their foods along with them. I mentioned in a previous post that I came across an Indian/Middle Eastern neighborhood in Queens that I never knew existed. I had some vegetarian Indian food on that initial visit, but I also noticed some Halal carts parked on street corners. I had heard of New York's Halal carts, but I had never eaten at one up until now...

The first time I wanted some late night food that wasn't a diner or fast food, I tried Sahara Halal Foods. This cart was apparently connected to the Middle Eastern supermarket behind where they were located.

 

I tried their combo plate, which came with thinly sliced gyro meat, chicken skewers, and chicken kofta. The three meats were served over a huge mound of yellow rice and a salad consisting of exclusively iceberg lettuce. I had everything topped with their white sauce and hot sauce. 

 

One of my co-eaters for the night ordered the falafel platter. I traded some of my meat for some of her falafel, which was also very tasty. I liked how mine came with a nice variety of meats. A huge pile of only falafel might have gotten boring after a while.

On another late night a few days later, I returned to this neighborhood and tried Muhsin's Halal Cart. This cart was located diagonally across the street from the Sahara cart and had a very similar menu. The major difference that I noticed was that Muhsin's used white rice as opposed to Sahara's yellow rice. Both had decent lines when I ate at each.

 

I tried a falafel sandwich from this cart. A big puffy pita was filled with several falafel balls, lettuce, tomato, along with white and hot sauce. It was good, but I think I should have gone with another one of those rice platter things.

I enjoyed my late night New York street food experiences during this trip. I can now say that I've tried the famed NYC Halal carts that I've heard so much about! These are another type of street food that is missing from Orlando as far as I know. We have a falafel truck, but I don't know of anyone selling late night, Middle Eastern meat over rice. I predict one would do very well parked outside some of the clubs in downtown Orlando. I couldn't care less about the religious affiliation, but just make a similar style of food. I'm waiting...