Bottoms Up Beer and D' Road Cafe

Unlike some Gumpers, I did not give up adult beverages for Lent. As a pooch with opposable dew claws, if I were so inclined I would have to give up something more canine appropriate such as sniffing butts or eating yummy pressed chicken jerky. So in the unexplained absence of Allpots I am filling in with a couple of reviews that may be of interest to those of you who occasionally venture outside of the Gump.

Fresh Venezuelan/Italian Fare

First, I want to give a shout out to D' Road Cafe which is located in the same strip center as Mr. G's Italian and Greek Restaurant (see our prior review here). It's run by a nice Venezuelan couple who emigrated to the U.S. to live the American Dream of owning their own business. Janet, I believe her name is, runs the kitchen and sets the menu. They provide a traditional meat and three steam table for lunch that always has something special influenced by their home country which, I have learned, is highly influenced by Italian cuisine. Why that is I do not know, but Janet told me it was true so I believe it.

The "Pepito": It's a Dandy.

Our friends on Facebook mentioned the place some time ago and the descriptions of the Pepito Sandwich drew me like a puppy to a chew toy. This steak sandwich is served on homemade bread and served with fresh spices, onions and green stuff. Its a real treat that travels well on the to-go. You might want to call ahead to make sure they have not exhausted their fresh buns before you get there. When you pick up your Pepito, ask Janet why they named the place D'Road Cafe.

Notice the petite fan in the plaid kilts.

My other contribution involves an invention I was told was dreamed up by two Colgate or Cornell college students and, as you would suspect, involves the efficient delivery of beer. While visiting my cousins Beau and Maui--two Westies who rule Cen-Flo--I happened to find myself at a Phillies Spring Training Game in Clearwater, FL being played on St. Patty's day. I learned two things: (1) Phillies fans take St. Patty's day very seriously and (2) they serve beer there in cups that fill from the bottom and do not leak (except when a drunken fan sticks his finger in the bottom to see how it seals). Hard to describe how it works but I did take a video that is posted up on YouTube with some of my favorite videos of me playing and doing my tricks. The link to the video is here. We've got to get one of these in the Gump soon, I say. It would be very cool if they could get them at Riverwalk before the Biscuits opener April 15. No spills no foam.

The best thing since adding wheels to luggage....

And, if anyone sees Allpots hiding from the crowds but eying their adult beverages, give him a message from me: Come April 9th we will welcome you back with open forepaws.

"Gee-ro" "Eu-ro" or "Jai-ro": Regardless of the Pronunciation, Gyro From Mr. G's a Welcome Break from B-B-Q

A typical "Yee-ro" waits to be bit.

I know most of you females out there are still pissed about the Casey Anthony verdict but I for one am glad it is over. After gorging the 4th and watching the cable coverage of the verdict on the 5th, today I was about as sick of watching that "reality show" trial as I was of B-B-Q pork, ribs, and chicken. So today I left the Gump in search of something that would not taste or remind me of "que" nor be too filling. The only other requirement was that it have no televisions replaying the same old tired gasps and gaffes and rehashed pundit soundbites relating to this year's "trial of the century."

Since I lunched at Green Papaya last week, the Lunch in the Gump contenders for today were: (1) a Sushi Cafe bento box, (2) some fainting goat from India Palace or (3) a gyro from Mr. G's. All are solid lunch spots previously reviewed by LITG. All serve un-American food which is not meant to sound unpatriotic. Finally, none to my knowledge have visible TV screens or at least the ones they have are tuned to some channel where they do not speak English. The winner was Mr. G's due to the need to do some business near AUM. I chose wisely. Perhaps better than the jury in Orlando. My Greek salad and Gyro at Mr. G's was just what the doctor ordered if not a little pricey at $11.57 with water. Our prior review of Mr. G's can be seen here.

But, I ask, how do you order it? I mean, how do you really pronounce the "G" in Gyro as it has been Americanized or Montgumphrized? Apparently, failing to pronounce Gyro properly in some cities is a mark of shame or cause for disdain.

To find the answer I went to where most Americans go today for misinformation: The Internet via Google (Follow the links to see the source).

I found there is a Facebook group named: "F*ck People Who Cannot Pronounce Gyro Properly." It is a group dedicated to the revolution against people who say jee-ro, G-roe and, especially, against french people who decide to pluralize and say jeeros. They conclude: "There are a million Greek restaurants, be a man!"

There are also those who get a kick out of trying to pronounce the word Gyro while showing pictures of weird looking birds. They provide all the possible mis-pronunciations and some pretty funny bird pictures.

Three girls from California, out one drunken night, decided to do an interview of a Greek Gyro vendor in Portland, Oregon as to the proper way to pronounce "Gyro." The very authentic result was "Heros."

Posters on Chowhound seek the answer because they: "Almost hate to order one since everyone in the gyro line is pronouncing it differently. Yarg." One "rockandroller" offered this reply: "Nobody pronounces it right and the people in the restaurants are used to it. The most egregious pronunciation sounds like "jai-roe" with the "jai" sounding like "pie." You're better off just trying "hee-roh" like "hero" but with a little longer "e". The correct pronunciation is actually a soft "g" which is very hard for most Americans to get right." However, I also learned that "heeroh" cannot be right because the letter "h" disappeared from the Greek alphabet 1500 years ago. They say "Yee-roh" is the correct standard Greek.

Believe it or not, the pronunciation of Gyro is the subject of a chapter in a literary journal named Linguist. You will be enlightened to know that some guy from the Department on Linguistics at the University of Illinois has gotten his masters in the study of how Gyro is pronounced differently in the South and East Coast from the North and West Coast. The explanation of the Greek pronunciation is as typically clear as most scholarly writing:

"In Greek, the word is spelled with an initial gamma, which is generally pronounced as a palatal glide before front vowels, so the posters in some gyros restaurants instructing customers to "Say yee-ros" are not bad guides to "authentic" pronunciation. Apparently there is some dialectal variation even among native Greek speakers, however, and some pronounce the gamma as a voiced or voiceless velar fricative, or even as a voiced alveo-palatal fricative."

Say it in "frickin" English next time why don't you? Can you imagine getting paid to travel to Boise, Idaho, to eat a Gyro and listen to how it is pronounced? Illinois tax dollars at work. I am sure they are proud.

I, for one, am more interested in how to properly eat a Gyro. One guy tried to show me on you tube, but how can you trust a guy who pronounces it like the people on the Facebook group hate? He was a sloppy eater too.

The ingredients of a Gyro include "Gyro Meat" from the elusive "Spirogyra" goat.

In any event, regardless of how it is pronounced, the Gyro at Mr. G's was very good. Served with an interesting variation of a Greek salad by a waitress from Millbrook who couldn't care less how I pronounced Gyro, it was the perfect lunch for me at this point in time. I also appreciated Gus P. stopping by to make sure I was satisfied.

Now, if we could only get over this Casey Anthony circus of the dis-functional family...

Αντίο!

Scouting: Mr. G's Ristorante

Since it is not open on Monday's and is dangerously near Bell Road it is doubtful that "Mr. G's Ristorante" would ever temp the secret LITG gang to violate parole and visit what may be the only Greek/Italian Restaurant in Alabama. Question: Are these really cuisines that go together? Is it like-maybe-Thai/Chinese or Indian/Moroccan or some other example of our mixed-up crazy world? Even the two national flags (used on the menu to help you know the difference between the Greek and the Italian dishes--as if you would have a hard time telling your "Greek" salad from your "Ceasar" salad) have none of the same colors--except white (which is actually the absence of color).



Actually, there are a lot of Greek/Italian restaurants all over the country. The countries themselves are sort of in the same area and both lie in the Mediterranean. They are both fairly old cultures and have something to do with Western Civilization. At least that is what one of my teachers was babbling on about when I wasn't paying close attention.

Looks like from this map Italy is stomping Greece with its heel. However, since we all know about the fighting prowess of the Italian army, most would view the map as Italy trying to kick Sicily out of the way while running away from Greece nipping at its heel, naturally, from behind.

You know the old story about the Greek and Italian who were arguing over who had the superior culture.

The Greek says, "We have the Parthenon."

Arching his eyebrows, the Italian replies, "We have the Coliseum."

The Greek retorts, "We Greeks gave birth to advanced mathematics"
The Italian, nodding agreement, says, "But we built the Roman Empire."
And so on and so on until the Greek comes up with what he thinks will end the discussion. With a flourish of finality he says, "We invented sex!"
The Italian replies, "That is true, but it was the Italians who introduced it to women."

One point for the Romans.

Well, all I can say for sure is that Mr. G's introduced the combination of Greek/Italian cuisine to the Gump and it looks like the Greeks won.

One point for the Spartans.

Located in the old CiCi's Pizza on the Atlanta Highway, the place is attracting hungry crowds because the food is good and reasonably priced. See http://www.mrgsmontgomery.com/text.htm for the prices. The Greek Spanikopita made a tasty appetizer and the Greek salads are really authentic. The Gyro sandwich, (Pronounced YEE-roo or YEE-HAW!) $5.75 (23 Shares of CNB stock) was supposed to be wrapped in grilled pita bread
freshly sliced gyro meat (what is gyro meat in an Italian/Greek restaurant anyway? Goat + Donkey?), seasoned and topped with Tzatziki sauce, tomatoes and onions. Unfortunately, the real thing was was bland and suffering from meat deficiency. To top it off it was very messy. Whatever you do do NOT take it out of the aluminum foil wrapping or wear a tie! The bottle of Chianti on the table was a tempting source of solace for the ruined neckware but I digress.

One thing you can say for this place is that the owner was present and attentive to every table and the service was fine. I would bet that most of the Greek dishes are what attracts the crowds.

Bottom line, Mr. G's is a decent place for lunch and probably a better place for dinner. As a lover of Greek food it is empowering to have an openly Greek restaurant come out of the closet here in the Gump. I give it 3.5 glasses of Ouzo! Opa!