#100 – PORK SOUVLAKI at SOUVLAKI GR

For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…

Maybe it’s because I went to theater school and learned the art of storytelling, but I always like to come full circle. Almost exactly a year ago, Time Out New York invited us to join them in an interview and dinner featuring an item from their new 100 Best list. They brought us and two others who had journeyed through the culinary landscape of their 2010 list to Souvlaki GR. Their pork souvlaki was featured on the “new” 2011 list (the one I’ve now completed). The night at their brick-and-mortar location in the Lower East Side was full of photos, conversations, and anecdotes. So I didn’t really get a chance to be critical.

I’ve had many chances over the last year to examine this souvlaki, but I thought it would be a fitting end to the gluttonous adventure to re-visit it now.

Full disclosure is that I work very closely with Kostas Plagos and his team at Souvlaki GR. They’re one of the main trucks featured on our downtown food cart tours I manage for Turnstile Tours. But I can tell you the reason they’re featured on the tour is because their food is damn good.

I usually choose their chicken souvlaki for my pre-tour lunch because it’s a little leaner and full of unexpected flavors (chicken is usually dry and bland), but the pork is just as tasty and slightly more traditional.

The chargrilled meat comes wrapped in the fluffiest pita bread I’ve ever tasted. It’s complemented with fresh tomatoes, red onions, two hand-cut french fries, and a homemade tzatziki sauce that brings it all together.

Tangy, meaty, salty, herby. These are the flavors that come to mind when thinking about this modest sample. It’s light and simple, but bold and delicious.

And it’s a perfect way to end this year’s journey – the same place we began it.

Would Souvlaki GR’s Pork Souvalki make my Top 100 of the year? They’re chicken souvlaki did last year and continues to satiate me. The pork is just as flavorful, earning it a 9 out of 10.