MOUNT PLEASANT — Music plays over a speaker outside a blue and white food truck parked between GDC Home and a baseball field just off Coleman Boulevard.
Patrons can order food to go or snag a seat at a shaded picnic table on a square of turf, catering to those who want to eat within minutes. And the truck’s signature gyro, made with pork like it is in Greece, is best when enjoyed in the moments after it’s carved from the vertical spit.
Chunks of pork are stuffed inside a fluffy wrap, cozying up next to slivered red onions, sliced tomatoes, thick-cut French fries and tzatziki. The meat is crispy and juicy in all the right places, its robust flavor developed when 100 layers of pork belly are stacked and cooked on the spinning rotisserie.
The food truck has been open in Charleston for more than six years, but the family behind it, who hail from Greece, has been in the food business for much longer.
Their restaurant experience shows, for the food at My Big Fat Greek Trailer is a genuine homage to the Mediterranean country of about 10 million.
From Philly to Charleston
Chicken souvlaki marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper and oregano.
Provided
My Big Fat Greek Trailer owner Panagiotis Kakaziotis, who goes by Pete, grew up in the restaurant business.
Before moving to Charleston, his family owned a diner in Pennsylvania for 17 years. Kakaziotis said the restaurant served everything from traditional Greek favorites to scrambled eggs and fried chicken.
His parents poured everything they had into the business, drawing on their Greek heritage to introduce Pennsylvania diners to items like souvlaki and dolmades. But Kakaziotis witnessed the stress that came with operating such a high-volume venue.
So when the family relocated to Charleston, he and his brother-in-law, David Leon, decided a food truck would offer a better work-life balance.
Kakaziotis and Leon scouted the competition before opening. They found many local Greek restaurants that had adopted Mediterranean-inspired menus, but few offered the kind of traditional food that’s served in cities like Athens and Thessaloniki.
That’s what you’ll find at My Big Fat Greek Trailer.
‘Hot dog of Greece’
Greece’s food scene is deliciously diverse. High-end eateries and pristine bars collide with a street food culture that’s grown in the last decade, as difficult economic times coincided with an influx of Middle Eastern immigrants.
There are entire festivals dedicated to roving vendors, with the more casual cuisine options now stretching beyond just gyros, the Greek word for “spin.”
But the stuffed wraps are an item Kakaziotis seeks out every time he goes back to Greece, where he’ll get married later this year. The country, a destination for American honeymooners and families alike, is where gyros are believed to have originated, though they share similarities with Turkey’s döner kebabs, Lebanon’s shawarma and Mexico’s al pastor.
Gyros are cooked on the rotisserie until the outer layer gets crispy.
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About 100 years after gyros as we know them today were birthed, they’re still as ubiquitous in Greece as those other handhelds are in their home countries.
Greek gyros (pronounced YEE-ros) are traditionally made with pork, not lamb or beef. That method is being replicated at My Big Fat Greek Trailer, where pork belly is stacked into oblong rounds and shaved from the spit to order. Patrons also can order their gyro with chicken.
“A gyro is like the hot dog of Greece,” Kakaziotis said. “(Our customers) love that we actually provide authentic Greek food here.”
My Big Fat Trailer’s catering menu features a diverse array of Greek cuisine, from spanakopita to pastitsio, moussaka and lemon chicken. But the food truck’s menu is focused on just a few items: gyros, grape leaves, salads, baklava and souvlaki.
Various desserts are available at My Big Fat Greek Trailer.
Provided
So far, the condensed composition of classic Greek items has been a recipe for success, Kakaziotis said.
“We’ve got a great customer following that comes to us every week,” he said.
My Big Fat Greek Trailer serves Tuesday lunch at the Medical University of South Carolina greenway. Other than that, the truck typically stays parked at 695 Coleman Blvd., where lunch and dinner is available Wednesday through Friday. For more information, visit mybigfatgreektrailer.com.