Gyros, Gyros

I like gyros. 1994: me, Santorini, a moped, and $1 gyros for every meal. Good memories. (Bad memories: the ferry from Corfu to Santorini and the terrible chop and my terrible seasickness.) I like gyros so much, I can forgive a Chipotle knock-off. Because that’s what Covo, the new Greek fast food place in Wicker Park, is. A total and complete knock-off of a certain salty and popular Mexican assembly-line burrito chain. (Roti, the Mediterranean chain, also falls into this category, but their menu is a bit larger so it’s different. Sort of.) I mean honestly, it’s like Covo is NOT EVEN TRYING TO HIDE IT.

I can forgive Covo the Copycat because I’ve been jonesing for a gyro these last few months. Covo is cheap, it’s fast, it’s pretty good, and they use an iPad for their cash register. Oh, and they use Square Up for transactions, so you don’t need to be carrying around a wallet full of those pesky “Buy 10 get one free” cards. And, well, I kinda want to steal their lighting. (Are you sensing a theme here?)

Oh–and the sparkling white wine they have on offer! Now that’s new and different!

The Verdict: Good. Get the wine! Covet the lighting.

Posted in Chicago, Greek, United States, Wicker Park | 1 Comment

Taxim, Wicker Park

We organised a rather informal Tweet-up in Wicker Park tonight. At Taxim. I had stopped by Taxim a few weekends ago, just for a look at their wine list. It was interesting. And different. And all Greek. Never seen an all-Greek wine list before.

Tonight’s meal was as intriguing as the wine list. The okra…unbelievably hearty for a vegetable dish. The pork loin…so light for something which could be so porky.

What hurt me though is that I am convinced that people in Wicker Park only drink coffee. And eat tacos. (Or pizza.) Because Taxim is such an amazingly lovely neighbourhood restaurant. And where’s the neighbourhood? Not here.

Taxim makes me want to update my blog more…to convince Chicago there’s more to life than (American) football and your 52 inch TV and getting pizza delivered on a cold and rainy night.

Really…what happened to going out to dinner? What happened to talking to people? (Talking, not shouting. I’m looking at you, Paris Club.)

Maybe we all should get out more. Maybe we should all go to Taxim.

Posted in Chicago, Greek, United States, Wicker Park | 1 Comment