gyros, anyone?

any distinctions... any favorites?

When I'm working in Evanston, I like:

Cross Rhodes
913 Chicago Ave
Evanston, IL 60202
(847) 475-4475

When I'm at home, I like:

Bub's Gyros's
5800 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60634
(773) 282-2277

king's no. 2...

at milwuakee and foster, not only for the 'pile high' sandwich and the fresh cut fries, but the unique, sweet basil tatziki sauce, served on the side


johnnies at touhy and greenwood serves up a great plate, as does papa chris's, by the leaning tower ymca.


'cross rhodes' is great by all food accounts... including the greeting you get when the owner is holding court at the first table near entry.

Here's a good thread about gyros.

Best,
Michael

I'm a fan of Lincoln Town Gyros (on Halsted) and Five Faces (State/Dvision), Chuck Wagon (in the burbs - Wilmette) and have heard that Central Gyros (3127 N. Central) is good as well.

My go to gyro's spot is Athenian Room in Lincoln Park. The gyros dinner comes loaded with thinly shaved, well crisped strips along with their "Athenian" fries, which are steak fries drenched in a special sauce with white wine and lots of seasonings. The total on that for take-out is around $8 and is a ton of food, its one of the best dinners under $10 in town.

Athenian Room
807 W Webster Ave
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 348-5155

okay...

we got our 'encased' meats, our beefs, our tomato and cheese pies...

we also have, what should be another chicago classic - the 'gyros'

any restauranters out there, that grind their own mix?.

jellobee wrote:any distinctions... any favorites?

Nicky's formerly Kings and Queens, 7025 Roosevelt Road in Berwyn. More here.

As mentioned in the "Good gyros fast" post, and as well by 2Utah2, I too am a big fan of:

Five Faces
10 W Division St
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 642-7837

I know in some Gyro joints grilling the sliced Gyro is taboo. I've had it both ways at Five Faces and I actually prefer them grilled. Their tacos aren't horrible either.

~GS

jellobee wrote:any restauranters out there, that grind their own mix?.

I had a taste of the gyros at Greek Islands last week and they seem to be homemade, pretty good tasting and not all that greasy.

two for you in the the north/northwest burbs:
To grill, or not to grill..
Started working in Mt Prospect a few years ago where I learned something about Gyros.
1. Some places are starting to use a sour cream based "tzatziki" sauce with no cucmber at all, and
2. When they throw in on a char-grill, IMO, it's something very special.

This may go against the gyro purists out there, but I know of two places that slice the meat off of the cone, and toss it on the Char grill (not the griddle)

Frankies in Mt prospect on Rand about three blocks N of Central on East side of road,
and
Bobo's Gyros on Milwaukee about five blocks north of Lake Cook on West side of road.
One place I hear people screaming about gyros is called "The Works."
Either on Golf rd or Dempster -think it's Golf Rd though. West of the city - might be in Niles.

Hub's on Lincoln is mentioned in the thread Michael noted.

In addition to serving gigantic plates of truly delicious and well seasoned gyro meat (I suggest an extra order of bread), this is also the restaurant immortalized in that crappy Rob Schneider SNL skit "You lika da juice?" They've got several large painted murals of the various incarnations around the restaurant, which has always led me to consider the following:

1. Do most people order their gyros with "juice" at Hub's? What exactly is this "juice"? (I always forget until I'm sitting down and my mouth is full, though I've never seen anyone else ask)

2. What did the commissioned artist say when the Hub's folks explained, " There's this skit from Saturday Night Live . . ."?

Hub's
5540 N. Lincoln
(also in Skokie)

I live very near Lincoln Town, and agree it's pretty good. For a different take on this ubiquitous Chicago favorite consider the "spicy Gyros"from the somewhat bizarre Italian Express Halal take out next to Khan BBQ on Western. I like this stuff.

What did the commissioned artist say when the Hub's folks explained, " There's this skit from Saturday Night Live . . ."?

Judging by the artwork, I've always suspected that he was excited to be working in a different medium than the sides of Chevy vans.

seebee wrote:One place I hear people screaming about gyros is called "The Works."
Either on Golf rd or Dempster -think it's Golf Rd though. West of the city - might be in Niles.

I've been there after hearing people rave about the gyros. I'd rate it 'good not great'. It's on the north side of Golf. Metromix puts it in Glenview.

The Works
2676 Golf Rd.
Glenview 60025-4744
847-724-0616

jellobee wrote:okay...

we got our 'encased' meats, our beefs, our tomato and cheese pies...

we also have, what should be another chicago classic - the 'gyros'

any restauranters out there, that grind their own mix?.

I live in Naperville and I travel all the way to Palatine to get my Gyros fix. I grew up on Central Gyros which is I still think is awesome(best souvlaki and great gyros)... BUT Kosta's in Palatine makes what IMO are the best gyros in the chicagoland area.

Kosta's has their own recipe for the meat and quality shines through in that there is not a lot of filler (the flour and corn meal that often makes gyro meat mealy)... very lean and Tons of flavor. They have three spits spinning at the same time... the Gyros plate is a great value in that you get a clear dome aluminum pan with a pita at the bottom that is topped or overfilled with meat, order an extra pita and you have more than enough for two people... $6. I've never eaten anything else there, but I can vouch for the gyros.


Kosta's
401 E. Dundee Rd.
Palatine, IL

http://www.ylunch.com/palatine/kostas/kostas.html

i don't think anyone grinds their own anymore. btw, da beef is correct on Athenian Room, 807 W Webster Ave. the best there is their greek chicken tho. a radio talk show, i think it was milt rosenberg's, once had a group of famous chefs on, and he asked where they went for a simple lunch and several said athenian.

I finally made it to Hellas on Bryn Mawr (at Broadway) a couple of months ago after years of saying I need to try it out. It's a total dive in a great way & the gyros was top-notch. I loved the addition of sport peppers. Now I ask for them everywhere I get a gyros.

Can I put in a vote for T&G Gyros in Blue Island. Far south side. It's approximately at 131st and Western Ave.

They do a good business, mostly because of St. Francis Hospital, but the food is fairly good.

The gyro's are awesome though. Very big with large slices of onions, not bits, and fresh tomatoes.

Also, they have some of the best (although pre-frozen) fries you will ever eat. When I was a kid, we would go here after school and just get fries to eat. The small is gigantic, and the large is humongous.

El Panzone wrote:i don't think anyone grinds their own anymore. btw, da beef is correct on Athenian Room, 807 W Webster Ave. the best there is their greek chicken tho. a radio talk show, i think it was milt rosenberg's, once had a group of famous chefs on, and he asked where they went for a simple lunch and several said athenian.

Parthenon still makes their gyros from scratch, mix of lamb and beef

well, i asked.... and received, some very enticing recs.

after, just recently, giving up my four decade long bi-weekly fix of (factory pressed) greek meatloaf, usually served up lukewarm or hot griddled into a state of quease inducing greasiness.. i'm ready to renew my addiction.

thanks all.


(whaaa... no mention of hot dougs 'gyros sausage'? throw it on a challah type roll with some onion/cuke relish, a squirt of tatziki and some tomato wedges, dashed with a green herb and i'll be good for another thirty five years.)

I don't know about the gyros sausage at Hot Doug's but I highly recommend that you try a gyros/cheesburger (called the Nikki Special at Chuck Wagon). Just a regualr cheeseburger with the fixing with slices of gyros meat added as the kicker. Not that healthy but great.

...I highly recommend that you try a gyros/cheesburger (called the Nikki Special at Chuck Wagon).

Is that the little place downtown in Wilmette that's next door to the retro movie theatre? Sounds intriguing. Sounds like a good post-TI run lunch!

jellobee wrote: (whaaa... no mention of hot dougs 'gyros sausage'? ...)

Oh, you mean the "Gary Wiviott"?

The burger with gyros meat gets a decent amount of discussion in the Big Baby thread.

I've been meaning to see if I can get them to try making one at Cross Rhodes, because they make a mean burger.

we need to give proper homage to gary...

seriously... not only does food inspire him, but he inspires others who would enjoy food, here in chicagoland,.

can we get a 'gary day, 2007'.... going this year?


(three knotches, left on my belt - good till summer)

Yeah the Chuck Wagon has been next to the Wilmette for as long as I can remember. However, any place that serves burgers and gyros, I am sure will make the combo happen.

jellobee wrote:king's no. 2...
at milwuakee and foster, not only for the 'pile high' sandwich and the fresh cut fries, but the unique, sweet basil tatziki sauce, served on the side

I stopped by King's No. 2 on Sunday with gyro on the mind. It's a few blocks from me so getting there was no problem. I'd visited the King on one prior occasion when I got a dog (grade of C-) and fries (B+).

The dining room had about 8 parties eating or waiting to carry out. I placed my order with the helpful guy at the counter. He suggested the sweet basil sauce which, thanks to this thread, I'd already decided on. While waiting for my order, I noticed about 1/3 of those carrying food out had selected pizza. I'm thinking of trying that next time I go there.

The meat is good but too lean for my taste. It was sort of dry and cold by the time I got it home. There were lots of great crispy outer portions but they were colder still. The pita was nicely oiled and, in a way, saved the sandwich. Onions and tomatos were also served.

The sweet basil sauce is really, really good. It's good on the gyros and it's good with fries. Try it!

Speaking of the fries, they are fresh cut, skin-on and they know what they're here to do. Good salt hit, crispy outer and warm, potatoey inner.

Next time, I think I'm getting a slice, a fries and a side of sweet basil sauce.

King's Gyros #2
5233 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago
773-736-5406
www.kingsgyros.com/ [website plays music]

2Utah2 wrote:I highly recommend that you try a gyros/cheesburger (called the Nikki Special at Chuck Wagon).

germuska wrote:The burger with gyros meat gets a decent amount of discussion in the Big Baby thread.

There’s also a separate thread on the Gyros Big Baby with mention of Chuck Wagon and their Niki Special. Reportedly it’s named after the mother of the owners and not in honor of Nicky, father of the Southwest side’s Big Baby.

I haven’t been to Chuck Wagon and am unlikely to be there soon. Can anyone report if the cheeseburger is constructed like a Big Baby (i.e., two thin griddled patties with cheese in between, fried onions on top, with mustard, ketchup and pickle slices underneath, all on a toasted sesame seed bun)?

I live within a couple blocks of Hub's on Lincoln--I quickly learned that the gyros there weren't that great though. Maybe they sell too many of them and the meat doesn't have enough of a chance to get nice crispy edges between gyros. They sure give you a whole lot of meat when you get the plate though.

I had a really good gyros at Charcoal Delight at Foster and Kedzie one day, though the rest of our experience there wasn't that great. (Indifferent service, incorrect orders) GreaseFreak.com liked the gyros too

Hub's
5540 N Lincoln
Chicago
(773) 784-4240
http://www.hubsrestaurant.com/

Charcoal Delight
3149 W Foster
Chicago

I grew up on the gyros from Central Gyros (you know, around the corner from the Will Rogers) just south of Belmont on Central. Twenty years later, I went back to sample again. The food was still pretty good, but the place had not changed an inkling. Same plastic flowers, same paper menus with the map of Greece. It seemed that even the waitresses were the same. Like time had stood still. Good gyros, good fries. Opa!