When I lived in the states, I used to work in downtown Miami. There was a Greek restaurant near my then job that sold delicious gyros. I would go whenever I could and order one for lunch. It was always a joy to have one of those gyros after a long morning of work. Then I moved to Japan and for 12 years, there was no gyro in sight. Until now!
Village Market Tsukuba
I know I have talked about the village market before and how great it is, and I will keep repeating that. You have to visit this fun and awesome village market. I finally got to try out the kenkyugakuen location of the village market and it was huge! I got a Hi-5 burger, bought some coffee and tea, got some local vegetables, and tried some other free samples. I was having a blast!
After I was full and low on funds, I decided to head home. On my way out, a colorful food car caught my eye. This is how I found ¡Vamos! and my long awaited gyro.
¡Vamos!
¡Vamos! is a food truck that mainly opperates in the village market but it gets around Ibaraki and does cater for other events. I am not sure if there are more staff members for ¡Vamos! but when I checked it out, there was only the owner working the food car. This food car intrigued me, because it was so different from the rest of the food cars in the market.
I checked out the menu and almost dropped everything I had from the shock of seeing the very first food item on the menu.
The Menu
Gyros! It is written in katakana but that says gyros! Am I dreaming? Are my eyes deciving me? I couldn't believe that I had finally found that delicious Greek pita sandwich I have been looking for for years. It was a dream come true and something I was definitely ordering.
The rest of the menu looked interesting as well. Under the gyros were falafels, and under that was quesadillas.
Gyros!
I waited a little while and got my gyro. I admired how glorious it looked and almost cried. For those of you who don't know what a gyro is, I should explain.
A gyro is a Greek sandwich. It usually has tomatoes, onions, lamb meat, and tzatziki which is a yogurt cream that I am sure is a gift from Zeus himself. If you have never tried this yogurt cream, you need to. The pita is also quite different. It is a lot flufflier and bigger than usual pita bread, but it is delicious.
So how was the ¡Vamos! gyro? A lot smaller than usual gyros, but otherwise fantastic! This world traveling cook knows what she is doing. The lamb meat was perfect, the yogurt sauce magnificent, and the pita held everything together and tasted like it was made from the godly kitchen of Mt. Olympus itself. I was so happy to finally get a gyro. The only thing that was wrong was that I was so full I couldn't order another.
¡Vamos! made me a very happy man that day and I do plan on trying their other menu items and getting more gyros.
Falafel Sando
The first time I tried ¡Vamos! was in October. The second time, was a few weeks ago, and this time my wife was able to join. Of course, I ordered a gyro. My wife got to try it for the first time ever and she was impressed. Since we were sharing our food, I had enough space in my stomach to try the falafel sandwich.
I don't have a lot of experience with falafel. I know it is from the Middle East and it is a deep fried ball with chick peas and beans inside. This sando brought three falafels, eggplant, and what I believe is a light hummus sauce. The pita is the same as the gyro. I bit into the falafel sandwich and it was magical. The falafel was perfectly fried and that sauce was splendid with the pita and falafel. My wife actually liked the falafel sandwich more than the gyro. I can't agree with that, but it is extremely delicious.
¡Vamos! you have captured my heart. I will keep going to the village market and buying gyros from you. I also really want to try your quesadillas, so get that ready for me! This amazing food car also has drinks from around the world, with or without alcohol. Be sure to check that out when you visit.
So if you are shopping around village market in Tsukuba and are interested in different cuisine's from around the world, you have to try ¡Vamos! It is a one in a million food car in Ibaraki and something that should be tried by everyone. Who knows, you might see me there, ordering the quesadilla while eating a gyro.
Enjoy!
For more information on ¡Vamos!, check out their very well done website:
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