Mid East Market

The beef gyro was quite tasty. Vegetarian spring rolls were crispy, but the two types of chile sauces I got as sides were soooo flavorful, I can’t speak to the actual flavor of the spring rolls. The texture of the roll combined with the spicyness and flavor of the sauces was really good. I put the sauces in my fridge. Gonna try them out with other dishes.
Everybody was friendly. I tipped the guy who assembled my food. He was grateful. So, yeah. Tip them if you like them!
I’ll definitely be back. Being new to the area, it’s good to find these gems considering the chain restaurants seem to be fleeing the Ballwin/​Ellisville area.

I think the Gorceries in the store are WAY over priced although I must admit one thing… They have the absolute best Gyro I have ever had!
Order it as follows:
Gyro with mix of chicken and beef, cilantro, a dash of tzasiki sauce and tamrind sauce.
Absolutely delicious!!!

I read Cherie O.‘s review, then Stewart P.‘s and needed to try the gyro. Cherie O. and Doug W. give good instructions on finding the place, because the store isn’t visible when driving from the east on Manchester Road, just a bit west of 141 on the north side of Manchester.
I took it from the west on Saturday afternoon. Yes, there was a major wait to make the turn. At least traffic was flowing around me, since there’s that crazy suicide lane for turns — in which I was sitting.
Parking was easy. Lots of shoppers in this rather small store. But, wowee, does this place put the space to good use.
I wandered around a little first, to get the lay of the land. Found the butcher corner, which was busy preparing meats; and opposite it was the carryout corner
I ordered a gyro ($ 5.99) and chicken tikka with rice ($ 3.99). The tikka takes 10 minutes, so I had more time to explore. And I didn’t get a chance to specify the toppings on the gyro. So, I either got none, or I got the «standard» stuff.
Lots of fabulous spices, huge bags of cardamom seeds, fennel seeds and other seeds. Juices, teas, rice, grains, flour, a major frozen section and produce. I’m sure I didn’t see everything there or even know all of what was there. But each aisle and each shelf was brimming.
Chicken tikka’s ready, and I snagged a couple vegetable spring rolls ($ 1 each) and a couple vegetable samosas ($ 1 each).
$ 15 for a whole lotta food. The gyro was good. I didn’t understand the tzatziki, which had parsley, onion, carrot and a little tomato. It was thin, and I didn’t taste any cucumber — but it was tasty on the gyro.
The chicken tikka was quite done and dried out, but had good flavor. The rice was rice. The spring rolls and vegetable samosas were OK, too. Samosas kinda spicy for my palette, but entirely workable.
I think I’ll stick with the gyro, but I could get more than one and have some lunches for the week.

Okay, I’m going to have to start seriously stalking Stewart P. Just kidding, Stewart. Kinda. But seriously, Stewart P. knows all these hole-​in-​the-​wall places that are simply excellent.
I found myself in West County this week to take care of some business. And because I didn’t want to resort to chain restaurants, I started to do some digging and came upon Stewart’s review. And since it was literally right around the corner from where I was at, it was a given no-​brainer.
Words do not describe this place. They say they are a Pakistani, Indian, and Bangladeshi grocery store, but I think they should throw in Middle East as well. They also carry Halal meat. As stated before, it’s in the same strip mall as Goodwill and USPS. The strip mall is a backwards L and Mid East Market faces west, so if you are westbound on Manchester, look for the Goodwill because you will otherwise miss it. It’s basically in the corner of the backwards L.
You go inside, and it’s basically the Indian subcontinent right before your eyes. I’m serious. The fruit and vegetable section isn’t too impressive, but they do have some of the basic vegetables used in Pakistani/​Indian cooking. They have drinks, teas, frozen stuffs, Indian snacks, spices, flours and other grains, and any kind and brand of mix your little heart desires to put together the perfect Indian subcontinent dish. They even have ice cream brands from India. Not kidding. In the back left, they have a butcher stand, and the prices for chicken, beef, goat, and lamb are very reasonable and comparable to other ethnic markets (and actually probably better than your chain grocery stores). I’m sure the butchers had a field day watching me wander up and down the mix aisle grabbing masalas and curries and then sniffing the spice bags. I’m glad they didn’t see me start almost tearing up grabbing the puri and the Bombay mix and the Gujarati mixes in the snack aisle, the very familiar bags courtesy of one of my best college friends whose mother would send extra just for me. (No, they don’t have them at Global Foods, I’ve looked.)
The real awesomeness though is in the back right, the food stand. I ended up overordering… hey, when am I ever in West County? Falafel, beef or chicken gyros for $ 5.99 with your choice of toppings. My beef gyro with the generous slices of meat came with a slightly muted tzatziki sauce. It might not have been as huge as a doner kebab, but it sure was delicious and nongreasy. They actually may be my favorite gyro place now in the St. Louis area. Chicken samosas are 79 cents and the veggie samosas are $ 1.00. The veggie samosas were amazing… probably could have had a bit more peas in there to go with the potatoes, but the incredible spicy kick gave off that homemade rush. And I got the chicken tikka with rice to go ($ 4.99), which smelled so good, I nearly had to inhale that too instead of saving it for dinner. The chicken was a little… crumbly, but the flavors were there. You can order chaats, goat biryani, beef nihari, goat haleem, and even jelebi. Best yet, they even do catering! It says dine-​in on the carry out menu, but I think it’s all carry-out…I don’t remember seeing any tables to sit and eat. And do ask for utensils, they didn’t give me any with my chicken tikka.
The uncle at the cash register totally smothered a smile when I tottered up there with all my food. They do take credit cards. Hours are Monday thru Saturday 10 AM-​8 PM, Sunday 10 AM-​7 PM. Their website has a menu:
, but it’s actually not a comprehensive menu for some reason. You can bet I’ll be back next time I’m in West County.

This is the best place in town for a gyro – and it’s less than $ 6 bucks.
I almost hate even writing this review because I want to keep the place to myself. I know most white people don’t have a need for Mid-​East/​Indian spices, so they would never go in there. (If my wife wasn’t Indian, I wouldn’t have know about it either.)
Here’s what you do… go west past 141 and Manchester (if you dare – and not during rush hou. r) Turn right into the Goodwill/​Post Office parking lot.
It’s in the corner of the strip mall.
Go in and walk directly to the back right hand side of the store.
Look for the 3 Mexican guys cooking in the back and place order with them. (They’ve all worked there for years, which I think is awesome.)
Then pay the Middle Eastern guy in the front.

Located in Boardwalk Plaza in Manchester (there is a Goodwill and a USPS branch there), you might assume it is just another small market — but unless you go inside and walk ALL around you would never know they serve great food for take out. The hot food (and there is a cold case) is in the back to the right and you won’t see it until you are actually where it is, nothing lets you know it is back there.
I go here for the gyros and I’ve eaten them at many places but I am pretty sure this place is my new favorite. I like a gyro that I can hold in my hands (my issue with another previously reviewed place is that I couldn’t do that, sometimes less is more …) your choice of toppings and great helpful service make getting food here a good experience. And if you like cheap sources for beans and other mid eastern food, get your shopping done while here. The gyro is only $ 4.99. Try one!