Meraki Greek Street Food (soft opening)

As usual, I'm several months behind in my reviews.  I've been easily distracted by family, friends, road trips, movies, books, TV, video games, shiny objects, you name it.  I've actually had to junk reviews because I just don't remember enough about a particular visit to a place to turn it into a cohesive write-up.  But forget about all of that for the moment, because I'm not dipping into my queue right now.  You may be wondering what got my brain out of storage and my fingers back on the keyboard (FYI, there's a big hint in the title)...

Bandido's Mexican Grill & The Gyros Factory...and maybe even Burrito Banditos?

5/4/14 UPDATE - Apparently they do have fries if you order a gyro combo meal.  Don't know if they were out the first time I went or if there was just some confusion.  They also have a new website now at http://www.bandidosmexicangrillidaho.com/.  And FYI, the Smoky Gyro is pretty freaking good.

I often bring lunch to work with me, but I don't always eat it.  Occasionally when the time comes, I open my lunchbox and have no desire for what it contains.  Usually at these times I'm craving something specific and end up going to get that instead, but every rare once in a while I have no idea what I want.  At times like this I'll get in my car, pick a direction at random, and take off driving.  It doesn't always work, sometimes I end up back at the office eating one of the protein bars I keep in my desk, but every once in a while I stumble across something amusing.  A combination Mexican and Greek eatery, for example.

Cazba (CLOSED)

Gyros are not exactly a difficult food to find in Boise.  There are of course Mediterranean restaurants, but there are also drive-through shacks, sports bars and at least one burger joint that have them on the menu.  A while back I went on a bit of a gyro kick, writing up several of the available options, but due to how infrequent my trips downtown are I didn't get around to trying one of the most obvious and enduring places.  A few days ago, my roommate's mother showed up unexpectedly and took the kids swimming, leaving us a free evening to grab a meal without worrying about money or children's palates.  The roommate had been craving Mazzah, and though I love them dearly I was hoping for a place I could review since I've been slacking off a bit on that lately.  A really good coupon helped me push a compromise, and off to Cazba we went.

Mazzah Mediterranean Grill (State Street)

It's official.  My addiction to gyros is spreading, and has begun to infect my loved ones.  A while back, Mazzah Mediterranean Grill was the daily deal on LivingSocial.com, and I was able to snag a $40 certificate for $18.  It took several weeks of badgering on my part, but eventually I was able to persuade my housemate to pack up the kids and accompany me to their strip mall location on State Street between 17th and 18th Streets.  This was necessary because the only thing I can eat $40 worth of in a sitting is sushi, and unfortunately the certificate had to be used all at once.





Romio's Pizza & Pasta / Zorba's Gyros

When I found out that the Boise Romio's was moving from their more plush digs to a smaller spot in a strip of businesses located in the Shopko plaza on Fairview and Milwaukee, I was honestly a little surprised.  I had only eaten there once, and it had been so long ago that I couldn't even remember the experience.  I was curious to see how they would fare, but not so much that I rushed to the new location to try them again.  Over the first couple of months at their new spot, I watched as they advertised fresh soups and lunch specials, but what finally grabbed me was when they started advertising Zorba's Gyros.  I knew that they had been running the Zorba's truck at the Western Idaho Fair and I was pretty impressed with the food there, and my curiosity to see how that would translate to a restaurant setting finally provided the motivation I needed.

The Gyro Shack (Overland)

As I mentioned in my review of their sister location, the Overland location of The Gyro Shack is not exactly more of the same.  Yes, the menus are very similar, right down to the prices.  And while I love both locations, for me the Ustick branch has a slight edge.  I'm going to lay out the reasons why, but please keep in mind that this is not a negative review, just a slightly less favorable comparison.  Moving on...

The Gyro House (formerly The Gyro Shack 2)

There are a lot of recurring themes in my entries, one of the most prevalent of which is my fondness for sandwich-type foodstuffs.  Anything on a bun, in a tortilla, between two pieces of bread, in a pita, wrapped in flatbread...maybe it's the fact that everything is wrapped in starchy goodness and, if done correctly, you get a little bit of everything in every bite.  Whatever the answer, the gyro is definitely one of my favorites.