So, as I was brainstorming things to write about on this blog, I began to stumble along in repetitive descriptions of my house, weather, or complete randomness and thus decided I needed something new.

“What,” I asked myself out loud in the middle of the library, “would help people understand what it is like to be an Ohio State Student without being boring?”

After leaving the library due to students’ belligerent whispered explanations that the library, evidently, is not a place for external monologues, I wandered out onto the oval and was struck by inspiration.

Lunch!

That’s it, of course! I needed to eat first in order to think clearly. So I wandered to High Street and was bedazzled by the copious amounts of cuisine available to me. Walking up and down the store-fronts, I couldn’t decide which would be the best place to eat. I also noticed that there are a TON of Gyro/Falafel places.

And so, I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to systematically sample each and every gyro option on High Street and in the end decide where my loyalties lay.

Simultaneously, I realized that this would probably make a delicious blog series.

So, without further ado, I present to you the beginnings of a series on campus gyro spots that I call:

“THE GYRO GAUNTLET!!!!”

With this new decision to blog about gyros, I immediately poured some money into my Buck-ID in order to purchase the food items. Next, I made a brief list.

And the first food place which my palate was to appraise?

Ali Baba’s: The Real Mediterranean

This was a new restaurant that had just opened this quarter on High, and so I wandered in with intention to discover the truth about its claim on “Real” food.

Though my plan was to sample the various gyro options near campus, Ali Baba’s does not sell gyros And so when I confidently strolled to the counter to order one, I was denied and instead told that I would need to eat a “Classic Shwarma”. Evidently the difference is important (something to do with the meat used), but I feigned complete knowledge as the man behind the counter explained what the deal was so as to make up for my n00b behavior in ordering such a trite dish as a gyro.

(In fact, my friend Amanda told me that Ali Baba's is a middle eastern restraunt, and the shwarma is the middle eastern version of the gyro)

To make things even, I planned on ordering each “gyro” as a combo meal (fries+drink). Thus I would compare the meal as a composite. And so, at Ali Baba’s, I did this.

After eying the festive decorations of the establishment and noting the vast array of what was clearly authentic food, I was handed a satchel with my meal inside.

It being a beautiful autumn day, I crossed High Street and sat in front of Ramseyer Hall on a bench, while leaves fell about me, to consume the first in what is sure to be a delicious line of gyros. I had about an hour between my econ class and an English class, and so read a little Nicholas Nickleby (for that English class) while munching on the meal.

On first unwrapping, I knew that this particular item was extremely fresh. I had watched the servers cut the meat, and could immediately appraise the vegetables as being on a level above that which I consumed at my own campus house. The pita itself was a one of those fancy pocket things, and it seemed fluffy and soft. The fries were medium sized, and I was lucky enough to get them out of a fresh batch recently pulled from the fryer.

In general: this “gyro” (as I will call it, though it was a “Classic Shwarma”) was exceptionally good. The sauce was above expectations and the fresh vegetables were extremely flavorful and generally awesome. The fact that it was in a pocket-pita added points, though this did cause a soupy bottom where the sauce pooled. The fries were the perfect fried-ness and size, but they were otherwise nothing very special.

The meal cost $6.50, which is a bit on the pricy side

In general, though I went into the restaurant with low expectations (the place is new) I found myself happily surprised by the level of excellence achieved by Ali Baba’s.

And now, the fun begins, as I look to sample at least 4 other campus spots in order to bring them up to challenge Ali Baba’s: The Real Mediterranean.

 -Andrew