Gyro Night

Some people order their days by meetings and appointments—status reports on Tuesdays, therapy on Thursdays. Our week is marked by Gyro Night.

Last winter Adeet declared that every Wednesday should be Gyro Night. This doesn’t mean making gyros ourselves or picking them up from any random vendor. It requires getting lamb sandwiches from Sammy’s Halal cart on 73rd Street in Jackson Heights.

Sammy’s is well-known in the street-food scene, having won the 2006 “Vendy Award.” According to a plaque on Sammy’s cart, his victory appeared not only in the New York papers but on CNN, the BBC, and Japan TV. The fame is justified. He serves chicken and lamb over rice, but it is the $3 lamb sandwich that gives purpose to our workweek. The meat is well-seasoned and tender and is topped with grilled onions, and gloriously, with cilantro (upon request). You can have your sandwich streaked with a tricolor of sauces: red, green, and white. The red, of course, is spicy and the white is mild, but it’s the mysterious green (cilantro?) that is the most flavorful.

We’ve become friendly with Zaman, the Bangladeshi gyrowallah who works every Wednesday. While cooking he looks intently serious, but when he sees us, a smile engulfs his face. It may be time to reconsider our calendar: why limit ourselves to Wednesdays?

Sammy's Halal Cart

73rd St. at Broadway • Jackson Heights, NY

photos by Adeet Deshmukh