Substantive reports of a grubbing goldmine had me heading to Samad Grill.
http://samadgrill.com/ 8897 Roswell Rd, Sandy Springs, near the river.
All in all a success. Insofar as advanced scouting reports had me salivating at the possibility of Atlanta’s best gyro, it was a mild disappointment. The original Grecian Gyro by the airport remains the best I’ve had in nearly a quarter century in Atlanta and I’d say Athens Restaurant (not be confused with pizza places, etc of the same name) on Mansell (only location) edges it out as tops in the area.
But…first bite strongly suggests this is a better overall restaurant.
Pita was grilled, a bit fluffier and spongy than many others. Not bettor or worse, just a slightly different style. Tzatziki sauce, meat, and portion are all very good and get the two thumbs up, just not as blow-me-away as the bar I was led to believe was set.
Also, many rave reviews about garlic dipping sauce. Pretty much a +1, but the biggest (and really only) disappointment was the fries I’m pretty sure were out of a bag.
But wifey pooh got chicken kabob, which unlike the fries, would do the touted and oh-so-garlicy sauce justice.
Meat was super tender and the spices excellent. It would be kick ass with or without the dipping sauce.
My fave item so far (and certainly warrants further investigation) was the kibbeh ball soup, which they spell “kibbey.” Sure, grubber will confess I had to Google it myself.
But I’d say this describes my balls: “Kibbeh is probably best known as a 7-to-15-cm oblong bulghur shell shaped like an American football, stuffed with a filling of spiced, minced lamb and fried until brown.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kibbeh Broth and balls were sensational. Among the best soups I had in a long time. Run, don’t walk for that soup.
Only purpose fries serve is to dip in garlic sauce. Everything else though says the rest of the menu must be explored.
