Friday, December 14, 2007

What's a "gyro" anyway?

I've been spending way too much time in the mall lately. I normally get most of my Christmas shopping done via the internet, but I've had to actually break down and physically go in search of a few items this year. I'm not really a mall shopper for the most part, so this experience doesn't thrill me in the least. Last night I had to take my youngest son to see Santa (the oldest bowed out) and we'd just missed the bearded gentleman as he had taken a break for dinner, therefore we had to come back an hour later. Oh joy! Another hour in the mall - just what I had been looking forward to all day!

I've had the opportunity, or misfortune, depending on how you look at it, to eat a meal or two in the mall during a couple of these excursions. I've walked past the same little food court area several times now and one place in particular makes and sells "gyros." Now, I've heard of these, and I believe they're a Greek sandwich of sorts if I'm not mistaken, but a country bumpkin like me could certainly be mistaken. I'm just curious to know what exactly are these "gyros" made of anyway?

I had also wondered for years (Yes, YEARS!) how to pronounce the word "gyros." I've heard people call them "jie-rose" or "hee-rose" or "gee-rose" (hard "g" like in "goat"). Well, let me tell you, I might not know what these sandwiches are made of, but I now know how to pronounce the word... sort of. This place in the mall had it posted in their window. I guess they got tired of answering the question, "How do y'all say that there word?" It's pronounced "yee-ros," but of course I don't know if that's supposed to be a short or long "o," which disturbs me greatly. Inquiring minds wanna know!

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