Monday, August 15, 2005
Salem Gyro & Submarine
1906 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606
(813) 254-7752
Sa-ri-one
3940 W Cypress St Ste 41A
Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 874-2911
With hopes to use up a number of coupons from an expensive entertainment coupon book, my sister and I were on the lookout for a Checkers so we could put a notch in that page of the book. "Spend more to save" or so the paradox goes.
We never found a Checkers on Kennedy; I could have sworn there was one in the madness of fast food joints peppering it.
Instead we got takeout from two different places. The first is a Tampa establishment though I've never set foot in it. For a long time, I wasn't sure if Salem's was a harkening to a New England locale or a reference to something more Semitic, less pasty-white. Judging from the Arabic calligraphy hanging from the walls, I assumed the latter.
It was very much a traditional small business. Several customers who came in knew the people working there well. It felt very much like a Döner Kebap shop (which it essentially is, sans turc) with grease hanging in the air and the kebap meat spinning near the heating elements except with a faux drive-thru. These are few and far between in Florida though döner kebap shops could probably be much more easily found in larger cities in the Northeast.
I was curious as to how they dealt with anti-Islam sentiments especially as their clientele didn't seem to be the enlightened masses. However, they seemed to be black Muslims so the image (which is often the only thing that matters in the US) may be more black than Muslim.
Oh yeah, the gyros were OK. Nothing astoundingly good, but not bad. I'm glad to have introduced this concept of food to several family members. The pita was a little thick and the slices of gyro meat were too big and came out in big chunks. But it's good to know that it's all halal. One interesting gyro was the one with walnuts and raisins. Never had it in a gyro before but I've always been a fan of the nuts and raisins with meat idea. Very mediterranean.
We then made a trip to our beloved Sa-ri-one to pick up some chop-chae and galbi we ordered earlier. I can never get enough of that stuff. I could have chop-chae all day. As long as I had several gallons of water sitting next to me.
1906 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606
(813) 254-7752
Sa-ri-one
3940 W Cypress St Ste 41A
Tampa, FL 33607
(813) 874-2911
With hopes to use up a number of coupons from an expensive entertainment coupon book, my sister and I were on the lookout for a Checkers so we could put a notch in that page of the book. "Spend more to save" or so the paradox goes.
We never found a Checkers on Kennedy; I could have sworn there was one in the madness of fast food joints peppering it.
Instead we got takeout from two different places. The first is a Tampa establishment though I've never set foot in it. For a long time, I wasn't sure if Salem's was a harkening to a New England locale or a reference to something more Semitic, less pasty-white. Judging from the Arabic calligraphy hanging from the walls, I assumed the latter.
It was very much a traditional small business. Several customers who came in knew the people working there well. It felt very much like a Döner Kebap shop (which it essentially is, sans turc) with grease hanging in the air and the kebap meat spinning near the heating elements except with a faux drive-thru. These are few and far between in Florida though döner kebap shops could probably be much more easily found in larger cities in the Northeast.
I was curious as to how they dealt with anti-Islam sentiments especially as their clientele didn't seem to be the enlightened masses. However, they seemed to be black Muslims so the image (which is often the only thing that matters in the US) may be more black than Muslim.
Oh yeah, the gyros were OK. Nothing astoundingly good, but not bad. I'm glad to have introduced this concept of food to several family members. The pita was a little thick and the slices of gyro meat were too big and came out in big chunks. But it's good to know that it's all halal. One interesting gyro was the one with walnuts and raisins. Never had it in a gyro before but I've always been a fan of the nuts and raisins with meat idea. Very mediterranean.
We then made a trip to our beloved Sa-ri-one to pick up some chop-chae and galbi we ordered earlier. I can never get enough of that stuff. I could have chop-chae all day. As long as I had several gallons of water sitting next to me.
