A1 Gyro and Philly, a food truck that serves lamb gyro, Philly cheesesteaks, burgers, and grilled…read morechicken sandwiches, came to a neighborhood in Carrboro, NC today, and as a lamb gyro enthusiast, I decided to buy a couple (1 for my girl). I was the only customer, and the friendly Middle Eastern guy in the food truck asked what I wanted: 2 gyro wraps. He asked if I wanted to add hot sauce to my gyros with tzatziki sauce, and I said, "Yes".
I asked him where the food truck is based, he said that he goes to different locations, and didn't mention a permanent location. I checked the address here on Yelp and it says it's based in Durham, NC, which is not too far from here.
Each gyro wrap cost $12, and my total came up $26+ (I assume with tax included). I was about to pull out $25 cash but after he said total, I pulled $30, and he said not to worry about it. I insisted to give the $30 and he gave a $5 change. I guess I got a $1 discount. He finished cooking both gyros in about 12 min., a bit longer than I expected, considering I was the only customer he was serving at that time.
The gyro wraps were served inside a small paper bag, and wrapped in aluminum foil. I was quite surprised at the size of the order for 2 gyros. When I opened my gyro wrap, the size looked regular yet a bit smaller that what I had in last October's State Fair, which was fine, considering the State Fair gyro (which came with side of Greek fries) cost me $18+. However, unlike that State Fair gyro, I did not enjoy A1's main specialty.
I would have to agree with what the previous reviewer Renee said, "Onions does not make a Gyro make". I love onions but not too much on my Gyro; this one is loaded with so much onions, lettuce, and tomato to the point that it's drowning the flavors of tzatziki sauce and hot sauce (Did he forget to put it?).
The amount of lamb gyro meat didn't seem to justify its $12 price; it's not even spiced well, and the mush of ingredients to hide the fact that it's lacking meat just looked as bad as it tasted. That's not even the worst part. When I ate the gyro wrap, the pita bread tasted soggy, and that unpleasant texture and taste were more emphasized on every bite than the lamb gyro. I was not able to finish it; and just threw my leftover away.
As I'm writing this review, my girl hasn't eaten her gyro wrap yet, and I haven't told her what I thought so she could judge by herself. We recently enjoyed an $11+ gyro in Kebab Skewer in Cary, and a $12+ chicken + lamb over rice at Tasty Halal Eats food truck in Morrisville, NC (both I reviewed here on Yelp), and I'm sad to say that A1's gyro wraps were nowhere close to the food quality of those foods and the State Fair gyro I mentioned earlier.
The food truck's friendly customer service and 99% Sanitation Score are the only positive things I could say about this food truck. A1's gyro is clearly the opposite of what "A1" means.
Overall Score: 1.1/5
