Michael Donahue
The Triple H gyro and the I’m From Memphis sandwich at Lucchesi’s Beer Garfden
I love sweet-and-savory food. So when I want a sandwich that fits in that category, I visit Lucchesi’s Beer Garden for a Triple H gyro.
When I stopped by the other day, I was delighted to discover Tony Lucchesi recently created a new sweet-and-savory sandwich — the “I’m From Memphis.”
But let’s start with the Triple H. I asked Lucchesi, who owns the restaurant/bar with his wife Basma, to give me the history of the gyro.
Tony says he came up with it “by pure accident.” He simply knocked over a bottle of honey. “I spilled honey on gyro meat,” he says. “I couldn’t send it out. I tried it.”
And he liked it. Tony then began adding ingredients from his kitchen to the gyro meat, which is beef and lamb.
He added hummus, which is “delightful with gyro meat.”
Onions and jalapenos were next.
Then hot sauce. “Who doesn’t like hot sauce in the South?”
Finally, pita bread. And a new sandwich was born.
Tony realized three of the ingredients began with an “H,” so, for him, the name for his sandwich was a no-brainer. “My favorite wrestler is Triple H.”
I tried my first Triple H gyro about five years ago. That was about the time Tony came up with it.
It’s one of their “most popular gyros,” he says. People like “the hot and sweet combination.”
I knew I was going to order two sandwiches after Tony told me about his “I’m From Memphis” sandwich. It’s made of peanut butter, pulled pork, a hot dog, and banana puree (honey and banana).
It’s fabulous. It makes my mouth water just to write about it. Something about all those ingredients, including the hot dog and that banana puree, make it over-the-top-good for sweet-and-savory people like myself. The bread — from Turano Baking Co. in Chicago — is the same bread Tony uses for his steamed subs.
The inspiration for “I’m From Memphis” came from a sandwich at Masterpiece Delicatessen in Denver, Colorado, Tony says.
Anup Patel, who was sitting next to me at the bar, says he was a taste-tester for the “I’m From Memphis,” which was created about a week before I visited Lucchesi’s Beer Garden. “I just happened to be here,” Patel says.
I asked him what he thought about it. “I just never had anything like it before,” Patel says.
Ditto. It doesn’t taste like Elvis’s fried peanut butter and banana sandwich.
Why did Tony choose “I”m From Memphis” as the name? “‘Elvis’ was too easy of a name to pick,” he says.
While creating sandwiches, Tony also came up with “The Pit Bull.” It’s a Cuban sandwich made of pulled pork, ham, spicy mustard, Swiss cheese, and house-made pickles.
Note: Tony says he’s going to start a food truck. They’re going to have gyros, falafel, and hot dogs.
I’ll keep you posted.
Lucchesi’s Beer Garden is at 84 South Reese Street; (901)-452-3002
