The Jumbo Gyro at Gyro House

Since realizing that the gyro at South Grand Gyro Express isn't as good as I remembered, I've been searching for a new go-to gyro joint. Gyro House (6152 Delmar Boulevard; 314-721-5638) would seem an ideal candidate: Not only is it located a short walk from Gut Check International Headquarters, but it is also one of the two successors to the original Delmar Loop Gyro House, which closed not long after the murder of its owner, Ahmed Eltawmi.

(The other offshoot, Gyros in the Loop, occupies the original Gyro House spot at 571 Melville Avenue.)

I first visited the new Gyro House a couple of months after it opened in October of last year. At the time, I wasn't much impressed by its basic gyro: The meat was sliced too thinly, its texture weighed too heavily to the crisp exterior rather than the meaty interior.

On a return visit last week, I ordered the "jumbo" gyro, which to the the original gyro ingredients (meat, lettuce, tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce) adds extra meat and feta cheese. (The cost is $7.50 for the jumbo version, $5.95 for the regular.)

This time, the meat struck a good balance between thinly and thickly sliced. The thicker slices convey the unique flavor of seasoned beef and lamb for which I fell in love gyros in the first place, while the thinner slices offer textural contrast and the more conventional (but no less appealing) flavor of browned meat.

There is feta on this jumbo gyro, but not much of it. Its presence is largely irrelevant: A generous slathering of cucumber-yogurt sauce is a tart, cooling complement to the meat. Overall, the jumbo appellation is deserved: Though served atop a piece of toasted pita bread, this is a fork-and-knife gyro.

Will the new Gyro House become my new go-to gyro joint? Maybe. Of course, the other original Gyro House successor is an even shorter walk from Gut Check International Headquarters. I'll have to head down there soon....