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8140 SE Cora St., 206-8000, thegyrohouse.com. Lunch and dinner daily.
In Rust Belt cities with large Greek and Arab populations, there's a spot like the Gyro House on every major thoroughfare. Sometimes run by Greeks, other times by Arabs, these counter-service Mediterranean spots serve lamb shaved off a spinning spit in soft, sauce-soaked pita that can barely contain it—with a little hummus and baba ghanouj on the side. The Southeast location of the Gyro House is the closest thing we've found here. Maybe it's telling that the staff speaks to each other in Spanish? The super-creamy hummus is very mild, and the lamb can be a little dry, but the long-grain saffron rice that comes on plates is wonderful, as are the honey-soft desserts, like moshabak—deep-fried dough strings soaked in what must surely seem an obscenely sweet sauce to anyone more accustomed to panaderia pastries.
Check out Willamette Week's 2016 Cheap Eats guide here.
Willamette Week