After the gyro disillusionment at Kiflis Bakery
and Restaurant, visions of gyros past started flooding my sense
memory and peppery lamby loaf has been niggling in the back of my
mind for days now. My favorite options are farther away than I can
travel for the week, so a local joint I have enjoyed before leapt to
mind and wouldn’t dissipate until satiated. Hanini’s doesn’t have
the magic sauce of Steve’s in
Cleveland or the overall perfection of
Bill’s in Atlantic City but they are very good. And they do
stand out from both of those in one category. HEFT. |
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If I remember correctly the first time I went to Hanini’s it was located inside of a gas station and had a counter and a couple of tables, much smaller than Kiflis. Today the gas station is gone but the interior still feels very fill-‘er-up. If you have ever been in a station that has a Subway or Blimpie or whatever; you have the idea. The only difference is it is a takeout only option now as the tables have disappeared. Three folks behind the counter were in constant motion while we were there as folks filtered in and then grunted their way into the parking lot lumbering along with their sandwich “boulder in a bag”.
The gyro was a no-brainer with the three huge
cones of Kronos loaf twirling on the vertical spits. This page would
be a little sparse with a single sandwich so we added a hot steak
and Reuben to get a sense of what else they offered. We bypassed the
wall of reach ins filled with beverages and picked up some chips
from the racks which only added to the delusional amount of food
which traipsed out the door. You could eat from these bags for well
over a week. |
Go Garlic Unless You Eat Dill Out Of Spice Bottle |
Why Would They Need Three Cones Of Gyro Meat? |
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Cause This Is A Small |
Meat Runs All The Way To The Other Side |
Back in the office we laid out our goodies and got to work. The
chips were successful to varying degrees. Steph had a national
brand’s kettle cooked version. I saw a company I had not see
before…Uncle Ray’s…with some different flavors. I grabbed bags of
Kosher Dill pickle (hey, we’re in a deli) and roasted garlic. The
garlic chips were intensely and warmly garlic flavored where the
dill chips were coated with dill and missed out on the rest of the
brininess that makes a pickle. Wouldn’t do dill again, the garlic
certainly. The gyro is a small. I can’t imagine the medium, let
alone the large. If you’ve had the Kronos cone before you know it is
a well seasoned and satisfactory sandwich stuffing. At Hanini’s you
just get a pile of it. Add lettuce, tomato onion and a heaping
kitchen spoon scoop of Athenos sauce and you have a couple of
delicious meals in a pita. The pita struggles to contain the innards
and unless you like bobbing for lamb in a pool of tzatziki sauce a
knife and fork are mandatory. If you can finish a small you are more
accomplished than I, more in the Joey Chestnut/Takeru
Kobayashi/Sonya Thomas league. And it’s good and well balanced. |
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Loads Of Perfectly Acceptable Steak |
Plus Salty Provolone And More Fresh Veggies |
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Again This Is The Small |
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The steak sub came with thinly cut steak, provolone, peppers, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, tomato and little smear of mayo. The steak isn’t as tender as the original Philly options at Pat’s or Geno’s but it is real steak with a distinctively beefy flavor and a couple of stringier pieces are the price you pay unless they are ordering primo stuff. Again the sandwich was enormous and loaded with protein nicely offset with fresh veggies and cheese. You can order a Reuben regular or New York…I’m guessing the New York has more corned beef on it, just silly. The standard comes with all of the usual subjects. Corned beef in two layers, Swiss cheese, Thousand Island dressing and sharp sauerkraut. The corned beef is lean and tender. Everything else works with one exception, the rye either needs additional toast time or the kraut needs a good wringing. The bread was a shambles after the ten minute drive but like the gyro you probably won’t be getting the thing in your mouth sandwich style to begin with. You just lose out the flavor of the rye which I enjoy in the Rueben but I don’t enjoy soggy bread.
If you like a solid sandwich. If you are seriously hungry. If you
are in the falls. If you want a great deal for your money ($5
footlongs will pale rapidly in comparison). It these things are true
for you…Hanini’s will do more than satisfy all of your needs. |
Ratings | |||||||
Food |
Service |
Ambiance |
What's Best |
What's Worst |
Overall |
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B | B | C | B+ | C | B | ||
Consistent and Enormous | Bread Fixes Required |