Gyro worship: New casual Greek eateries are on the way

If three restaurant projects are any indication, you’ll soon be hearing much more about fast-casual Greek food in the region.

This week brought the opening of The Simple Greek, a syndicated spin-off of a Pittsburgh restaurant featured on the CNBC show The Profit. The region’s first location is tucked off Susquehanna Road in Dresher, behind a CVS and next to a Chipotle (1665 Limekiln Pike, 215-543-4976).

In sum, this is a Greek version of Chipotle – a build-your-own deal in a bright, blue-and-white dining room. Start with a pita or a bowl and add all manner of ingredients (gyro, chicken gyro, grilled chicken, grilled steak) plus toppings to complete a meal starting at $6.95. Sides include spanakopita, tiropita, Greek fries, and dolmades, and desserts include rice pudding and baklava.

I just learned of Yia It’s All Greek to Me (300 W. State St., Media), which offers yeeros, souvlaki, and other food. (“Yia” is hello.)

I see two other Hellenic haunts in the pipeline, both playing with phonetic spellings of the gyro, the celebrated Greek wrap:

At 6024 Ridge Ave. in Roxborough: Yiro-Yiro will focus on gyros and souvlaki. Owners are using the tag “a fresh spin on fast Greek.” The opening date has not been set.
At 1412 South St., near Govinda’s: Entrepreneur Yiannys Degermentzidis seems to be a month or so from opening Yeeroh, what he calls a modern Greek grill serving customizable gyros and souvlaki, with all meats prepared in-house.

Not that Philly is unfamiliar with this fare. The area has its share of food carts specializing in pita as well as casual Greek/Med eateries such as South Street Souvlaki, Kanella Grill, and the Greek Lady and chains such as Zoe’s.

Article sourced from http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/New-Greek-food-pita-gyros-Philadelphia.html