Spiro's Gyros- Coronado

Hi.  You're back reading mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food.  Today, Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are not posting. Cathy is sharing another of her 'vacationing around town' adventures.

 

The Mister and I decided to take our 'daily walk'  on the Island City of Coronado the other day.  We drove over the Bridge and took a right, then another right.  There's a park, with a large parking lot and a view.

Again, we pretended we were tourists and walked West along the Bay. 

 
 

Soon, we were at the Ferry Landing. People can board the San Diego-Coronado Ferry  around Broadway downtown and cross the Bay to get to Coronado Island.  There are several restaurants and bicycle rentals at the Coronado Ferry Landing site.

Of course we were hungry, and looked at a kiosk listing the various shops and I was, once again, craving gyros, despite my belief that no place in San Diego makes their own gyros and instead gets it all from one supplier:
(I saw this truck when we were in Pacific Beach, on another walk.)

So, when we saw this place:
"Spiro's Gyros",  cute name, descriptive of the menu...we thought it might be OK and not be at the price point we saw on the menus of the two restaurants we had just passed. 

 
The menu, just behind the cash register, looked better than average in selection and price. Horiatiki salad, as well as appetizers of  Feta, hummus, giant beans, olives and pita, Pastitsio as well as chicken, lamb and fish dishes. Then again, the fish taco, quesedilla and pulled pork offerings were a bit out of line with the running theme...

Then we noticed Moussaka.
The Mister and I have not had Moussaka for at least ten years.  We've considered making it at home, but after the pages of recipe instructions, we have ended up  merely roasted eggplant and eating it at room temperature with Ajvar, a red pepper based relish. Basically, Moussaka is an eggplant casserole using the eggplant between layers of seasoned meat and  covering it all with  a white/custard-y/Bechemel sauce. We have not seen moussaka on a menu anywhere...we had to. 
 
This version had a layer of potato on the bottom, a layer of seasoned  (we could taste cinnamon and cardamom and pepper) ground lamb, a thin eggplant layer, another layer of seasoned meat mixed with tomato and chopped eggplant and topped with another layer of sliced eggplant and topped with the white sauce, baked. This was served with a very flavorful well made rice pilaf, Greek salad and fresh pita. ($8.75).  The meat had tomato, green pepper and complimentary spices. This was a *wonderful* version of Moussaka.
 
I ordered the Gyros salad ($8.20) and was not expecting much.  I was pleasantly surprised.  This was not the 'standard' gyros.  See the spices? There was definitely cumin, allspice, nutmeg, coriander and fennel. SO  flavorful and the pieces thick cut and a bit crispy from the spit.  A very good portion size on top of the lightly dressed lettuces  topped with Feta, onions and Greek olives. This was served with tzatziki and more fresh pita.

Spiro's was a very good find for us and great midpoint of our walk and another 'touristy' adventure, right here in our own County.

Spiro's Gyros Coronado Ferry Landing (1201 First Street), Coronado 92118 (619)435-1225

 

Comments

[Carol]

What a beautiful day! I love hanging out in Coronado.

[Erin]

Aw, yay! I love that place.. I was reading this post without looking at the name of the restaurant first and was thinking, "Spiro's has moussaka!" I was happy to see you were there... I love their food.

Also thought of your blog the other day when I found that Stretch's in Coronado is closing in a couple of weeks, and after a remodel a gourmet hot dog joint (with at least one owner from Chicago) is opening up there. Hopefully it'll be tasty!

[Cathy]

Hi Carol. We looked at it through the eyes of a tourist and really liked the informations, art and views on the walk. Spiros was a great find.
Hello Erin! Welcome to the comment side of out Blog. Very few places offer moussaka nowadays. That was a wonderful find for us. We plan on visiting other Parks on Coronado, so will also check out the hot dog joint-at some point.

[ed (from Yuma)]

Again thanks for reminding me about parts of SD that I rarely (if ever) visit.

[Janfrederick]

Oh wow, when I worked for Sony in northern California, I used to get Moussaka at least once a week from a place on First street.

Man, we need to take that Coronado walk again. We haven't done that in about a year.

[Cathy]

You're welcome, ed. It's a nice place, with good food.

Hi JF. Coronado is a good place to stop and walk. Then there is great food!

[m]

Delicious food and beautiful scenery... nothing better than that! If you're ever in the North County area, I've seen moussaka on the menu at Athens Market Cafe in Carmel Mountain. I've never tried it, but I find their food to be yummy, and the pita is so soft!

[Cathy]

Hi, m. Thanks for the tip! Carmel Mountain is close and not too far North for me.