133 South Rd, Braybrook. Phone: 9311 9383
Exchanging dough for baked dough at Gerry’s Pittes – “First & best in Australia since 1969″ – is an odd experience even by the sometimes quirky standards of the western suburbs.
I’ve been alerted to Gerry’s and the wisdom of investing in some of his bread, by Consider The Sauce friend Rich, who wrote:
Ever done fresh Gerry’s Pittas from the factory/shop front in South Road, Braybrook? Just down from that Viet place (Quan Viet) you covered a little while back. $7ish for a fresh bag of 20! Awesome for pizzas and brilliant with a lil’ butter and pan fried for a minute, a tiny squeeze of lemon goes well too. They’re open early till about 3 or so during the week … I know its a lot but thing is you can freeze ‘em and they still come up well after 20 secs in the micro. They freeze well for me … but @ $7 for a bag of 20 … and the fact they have made me salivate in a ridiculous manner for many years – it’s worth the gamble.
Suzy, another Consider The Sauce buddy, chimed in, too:
You should check out Gerry’s Pitas in the same strip. Ring the bell to buy direct best Greek pitas going.
So here I am, standing in front of a plain, unwindowed shopfront in Braybrook.
I do as the signage instructs me and depress the busted-up bell.
A minute or so later the door is opened by a flour-dusted bloke who utters a few words in Greek to me then inquires in English what it is I want.
“I want some pita bread.”
“How many?”
“How do you do them?”
“Bag of 20 for $7.”
“OK.”
The doors closes, preventing me from inhaling any more the of delicious baking aroma coming from inside or trying to get peek of the operation, leaving me somewhat bemused.
Have I ever gazed upon a flour-stained footpath before?
I don’t think so.
Gerry's Pittes has a unique approach to its retail endeavours.
A few minutes later, the bloke is back.
He takes my money, gives me my bread and makes change.
Surely, since this operation has been in operation since 1969, this guy is too young to be Gerry?
I ask him.
“No – I’m the supervisor,” he says before briskly consenting to having his photo taken and closing the door once more.
This transaction has been singularly lacking the sort of warmth I value so much, but that’s kind of neat in its own way.
If or when you ever have a late-night kebab from one of the kebab shacks/caravans, I reckon there’s a pretty good chance this is where its wrapping will have come from.
But saying that seems like doing these breads something of a disservice.
The freshness is the thing.
My breads are still warm when I get them home a few hours later, and when opened the bag emits a tantalising reminder of the previously enjoyed bakery aroma.
It’s a lot heavier than Lebanese-style pita. Eating one straight out of the bag is quite a lot like eating ordinary bread.
This is certainly value for money, with half of them going straight into the freezer.
I like Rich’s idea of giving them the frypan treatment. That’ll go sensationally well with the Greek salads that are among our favourite meals.
And with quite a hefty density, I can see them standing in for the supermarket rotis, parathas and naans we’ve been seriously unimpressed by whenever we’ve tried them.
One’ll get a test run with tonight’s dal.
And I know Bennie will love them a whole lot more for school lunches than the breads and rolls that have been our routine to this point in time.
YUM! I lived just a few streets away until recently and had no idea that shop was there!
Mmmm, fresh pita bread is fabulous. Good find
BTW the greengrocer at Footscray market closest to Footscray station on the Irving St side (think they’re called Bella Fruit & Veg) also sells wonderfully fresh Lebanese-style pita bread for $1 a pack! Similar to the pita you can buy at supermarkets, made in Coburg or Preston from memory. But I guess they probably get it delivered daily and the difference in taste when it’s fresh is amazing. Plus you can’t beat the price.
Cool–those are my favorite pitas and I did not know you could buy them direct! Will have to check it out! Thanks!
Brilliant post Kenny. I’m a bit scared to go though after the unfriendly welcome!
For roti and parathas, have you tried local Indian grocers? The one in Irving Street near Sam’s Pizza has roti with fenugreek leaves – very different from Coles!
Not unfriendly, James. Just businesslike, like he had plenty of other things to attend to. And he did let me take his pic. Thanks for roti tip!
I agree that the whole transaction/experience when visiting gerry’s can be somewhat “ghetto” or like walking down a dark alley, however the pitas are fantastic and I love the “no frills” service. They are best panfried with butter/olive oil served with indian/Thai curry or under the grill with melted cheese/ham.
Oh heck yes, there’s a lot to be said for no-frills service. Hope to get back there this week.
I’ve been eating these since I can remember and they’re always really scarse at the supermarkets and to know you can get them fresh is brilliant!! I must go down!
I live in Sydney and wondering if you could send me Gerry Pittes souvlaki bread as it is the best souvlaki bread I have ever tasted. Please let me know if this can be arranged. Thanks
I used to get these babies from fancy fruit in westfield carindale shops, Brisbane, but they just closed down. Devastated. Who else stocks them in Brizzy?
Found them in Brisbane, Hellene food brokers at Duncan st west end. Yea haaa
Cool for you!
Got these at my local Coles which stocks Gerry’s. They’re refrigerated so not fresh from the bakery, but they taste amazing still.
Try them with Haloumi cheese from Cyprus (woollies) in a sandwich press, amazing!
I believe it’s 6 in a pack for $3 at Coles.
I live in Singapore and we need Gerry’s here, is there anyway someone can organise to get it into the supermarkets here? Nothing comes close – all the american pitas are full of crap and taste disgusting – I need to have Gerry’s in Singapore – it’s urgent!!!