DaveG wrote:

Eric wrote:I'd be grateful if anyone has any recommendations for the near western suburbs.

I'd recommend Gemato's in Naperville. Moderately priced - maybe $8 for gyro, fries and soda but you get free refills

Whoa, anyplace with free gyros refills sounds great!

Wonder if they give you a whole new gyros, or you bring your empty pita to the counter, and they just fill it up again?

Eh...



Only free refills on the tzatziki.

How does one eat a gyro more than once a month? I love a gyro now and then, but probably no gyro-thon because you probably won't survive without seeing a cardiologist halfway through it. But all funniness aside, I enjoy the gyro at Anthony's on 63rd street by Midway airport:

Anthony's
4720 W 63rd St
Chicago, IL

They offer a gyro sandwich, gyro plate (great feta, LOTS of meat!) and a gyro salad. They also have chicken gyros, which I am not a big fan of. They usually have 2 spits of gyros and 1 spit of chicken gyros going. Also their italian beef is one of my favorites.

gp60004 wrote:

Da Beef wrote: Most places just use pre-formed coned meat from Kronos.

Actually, I believe there are 5 big gyro cone manufactures in Chicago: Kronos, Grecian Delight, Olympic, Devanco, 5th one can't think of the name.

Grecian Delihgt makes a good product.

Corfu foods makes the 5th. It's the only pre-made one I really like and they serve them at Downtown Gyros on Randolph and Halsted. Not as good as some of the "homemade" places, but greasy and tasty when I'm in the mood!!

The gyros at Charcoal Delights (3139 W. Foster) are definitely worth including. I'm not sure if they make their own or use one of the major cone manufacturers, but either way it's good, not dry like at so many other gyros places around the city.

Evan B. Druce wrote:The gyros at Charcoal Delights (3139 W. Foster) are definitely worth including. I'm not sure if they make their own or use one of the major cone manufacturers, but either way it's good, not dry like at so many other gyros places around the city.

They don't make their own gyros, but I agree that they're pretty good. I also like Charcoal D's "broasted" chicken (I swear it's fried) and their grilled pork sandwich w/ bbq sauce and sauteed onions. They also have a location on Oakton just west of Manheim in Des Plaines.

Did anyone ever set a date?

How about the best possible gyro location in the Arlington Heights / Mount Prospect area? Any opinions of Olympus Gyros on Northwest Highway?

- jr

jrapacz wrote:How about the best possible gyro location in the Arlington Heights / Mount Prospect area? Any opinions of Olympus Gyros on Northwest Highway?

Buffalo Grove close enough? I've never been but Dengeos gets some love here.
http://www.dengeos.com/

jrapacz wrote:How about the best possible gyro location in the Arlington Heights / Mount Prospect area? Any opinions of Olympus Gyros on Northwest Highway?

- jr

I'm pretty sure I had the Olympus product a few times. Nothing special. Anyway, I have a favorite in the area of Mt P. I worked near Wolf / Central for about 6 yrs, and my favorite Gyro was EASILY Frankies on Rand and Kensington. The caveat: They char grill their gyros meat. IF that doesn't interest you, just tell them not to (they are very friendly over there, and happy to accommodate. I might be in the minority in thinking that charred flavor on a gyros is extraordinary, but I absolutely love it. Their sauce is not very special, but the charred gyros meat MORE than makes up for it. Another joint that might float your boat is the Gyros factory on WOlf rd just south of Central on the West side of the street. Standard, decent. I'm sure you may be familiar with Photo's on Kensington and wolf. Stear clear. From what I recall, it's overpriced and VERY slim. Frankie's might have a special @ 2.99 on a certain day of the week. Think it might be Tuesdays. I developed the gyrrito over at Frankie's: gyros in a large burrito sized flour tortilla. All the fixin's. Chopped onion, not sliced. Call me nuts, but I'd order one every time especially if driving, or having to work at the desk through lunch. Oh yeah, hot giardiniera kicks a#% on a gyro too. One more joint - you are not THAT far from Prospect heights, where you can experience one of the bestest wrongest items I've had in recent history: The Gyroburger. The place is called The Dog Walk

One more joint - you are not THAT far from Prospect heights, where you can experience one of the bestest wrongest items I've had in recent history: The Gyroburger.

As far as whacky gyros combinations go, the Pakistanis are definitely in the running for a gold medal. Ghareeb Nawaz proudly displays a picture of gyros pratha and I believe Italian Express, a little east of Western on Devon does Gyros pizza. Haven't tried either. Anyone care to comment?

I order gyros pizza pretty regularly. Actually getting one today at work with some office mates. We do thin crust w/ reg pizza sauce, gyros meat, onions, mozz cheese, and tzatziki on the side. Stellar combo. Stellar. We normaly do an Italian beef / hot giard pizza, and also the gyros pizza on office pizza day.

I have seen gyros in paratha / gyros in naan rolls at several paki joints.

Yeah, my son ordered paratha gyros at Hyderabad House the first time we went. It was pretty good, if a bit unusual; I'm not used to seeing carrot chunks in a gyros sandwich but still, it was tasty.

JimTheBeerGuy wrote:Yeah, my son ordered paratha gyros at Hyderabad House the first time we went. It was pretty good, if a bit unusual; I'm not used to seeing carrot chunks in a gyros sandwich but still, it was tasty.

Maybe it's fusion gyros

Thanks to the Dawali thread, I'm currently on a mission to find an all-lamb shawerma in Chicago. On the tip from Habibi, we tried Cafe Orchid last night. Sadly, the "donor gyro" did not sate the lamb shawerma craving, but it did change my thinking on the gyro. Generally, I don't like them and I don't fully trust what's in them. But the gyro at Orchid was clearly not the Kronos meat cone. They grind and season the lamb in-house, and it's as fresh and tasty as any gyro I've ever had (which, admittedly, is not many).

I'll be posting on the restaurant at some point, but definitely add Cafe Orchid to your gyro go-to list.

Cafe Orchid
1746 W Addison St
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-3808

Based on one of the earlier recomendations I tried a gyro from Frankie's today. I have to say it was not my favorite. The char grilling dried out the gyros and gave it a really odd charcoal flavor.

My favorite gyros is from Michaels (locations in Buffalo Grove & Highland Park. They actually finish the gyros on their flat grill. It gives the corners of the meat a bit of cripyness without distracting from the taste of the meat. It at sound similar to frankie's, but it really is a world of difference better.

I would, as custom, type out the addresses, but I am posting from my iphone. Sorry!

seebee wrote:

jrapacz wrote:How about the best possible gyro location in the Arlington Heights / Mount Prospect area? Any opinions of Olympus Gyros on Northwest Highway?

- jr

I'm pretty sure I had the Olympus product a few times. Nothing special. Anyway, I have a favorite in the area of Mt P. I worked near Wolf / Central for about 6 yrs, and my favorite Gyro was EASILY Frankies on Rand and Kensington. The caveat: They char grill their gyros meat. IF that doesn't interest you, just tell them not to (they are very friendly over there, and happy to accommodate. I might be in the minority in thinking that charred flavor on a gyros is extraordinary, but I absolutely love it. Their sauce is not very special, but the charred gyros meat MORE than makes up for it. Another joint that might float your boat is the Gyros factory on WOlf rd just south of Central on the West side of the street. Standard, decent. I'm sure you may be familiar with Photo's on Kensington and wolf. Stear clear. From what I recall, it's overpriced and VERY slim. Frankie's might have a special @ 2.99 on a certain day of the week. Think it might be Tuesdays. I developed the gyrrito over at Frankie's: gyros in a large burrito sized flour tortilla. All the fixin's. Chopped onion, not sliced. Call me nuts, but I'd order one every time especially if driving, or having to work at the desk through lunch. Oh yeah, hot giardiniera kicks a#% on a gyro too. One more joint - you are not THAT far from Prospect heights, where you can experience one of the bestest wrongest items I've had in recent history: The Gyroburger. The place is called The Dog Walk

Thanks for The Dog Walk recommendation. About 5 minutes ago I rapidly consumed a gyro burger, a pizza puff, and a large cheese fry. Good balance of flavor on that gyro burger. I'll definitely go again.

jrapacz wrote:Thanks for The Dog Walk recommendation. About 5 minutes ago I rapidly consumed a gyro burger, a pizza puff, and a large cheese fry. Good balance of flavor on that gyro burger. I'll definitely go again.

Lol - the joke around the office with the gyroburger is: "If you're gonna go, go BIG!" Usually everyone who orders a gyroburger, gets a pizza puff on the side. I have yet to find anyone who has not gone BACK for a gyroburger after their first one. They also have a sammich they dubbed the beef-o. Cheeseburger topped w/ Italian beef topped with bq sauce, and hot giardiniera. Never had one, but three office mates have. It pales in comparison to the gyroburger from what they say.

seebee wrote:Usually everyone who orders a gyroburger, gets a pizza puff on the side. I have yet to find anyone who has not gone BACK for a gyroburger after their first one. They also have a sammich they dubbed the beef-o. Cheeseburger topped w/ Italian beef topped with bq sauce, and hot giardiniera. Never had one, but three office mates have.

I wanna work where you work!

=R=

I was extra hungry and lazy last night, so I headed over to one of our neighborhood go-to places, Big Bite Gyros.

I usually get the standard gyros sandwich, but like I said, I was extra hungry. So, I grabbed a gyros dinner for $7.
What a bargain. Wow, was it huge!

The dinner came with 2 pitas, lettuce, tomato and onion slices, feta in tiny cubes, a cup of tzatziki, a mountain of gyro meat,
and a bunch of fries. I'm not sure the pic does justice to the sheer volume of food:


Big Bite gets their gyros cones from Corfu (one of the "Big Five" manufacturers discussed above). The meat was well-cooked with a nice char,
and was sliced in somewhat thick pieces. Although some like their gyro meat thinly sliced, I prefer it this way, which allows for crunchy char
and soft, juicy meat within the same bite.

The veggies were fresh and the tzatziki thick and delicious. The fries were standard, food-service crinkle-cut, and nothing special. Again, what they
lack in uniqueness, Big Bite makes up for in volume.

Although this is surely standard gyros fare, Big Bite does it fairly well, and does it as a great value. Not a destination spot, but I recommend
if you are in the area and in the mood for this sort of thing.

Big Bite Gyros
2901 N. Kedzie Ave. (between George St & Wellington Ave)
Chicago, IL 60618
(773) 866-2483

RAB wrote:Although this is surely standard gyros fare, Big Bite does it fairly well, and does it as a great value. Not a destination spot, but I recommend
if you are in the area and in the mood for this sort of thing.

RAB,

Gyros looks tasty and Big Bite's pita appears nicely griddled, a big plus for me.

Enjoy,
Gary

Central Gyros makes a very good gyro... Great in-house gyros. Good service, throwback place.

ab wrote:Central Gyros makes a very good gyro... Great in-house gyros. Good service, throwback place.

AB,

Full agreement on Central Gyros, good gyros, throwback place.

Enjoy,
Gary

Central Gyros
3127 N. Central Ave
Chicago, IL
773-545-1276

For gyros in the Mt. Prospect area- we love the gyros at Artemis located on Golf and Busse roads. It is a twenty four greek diner which it is a cut well above the rest. There is take out. Two weeks ago I had a gyros at The Works (Niles-on Golf and Washington just east of Milwaukee in the Talisman strip mall. Still one of the finest the Chicago metropolitan area has to offer.

While in the middle east I came across a few places that made their own beef/lamb shawarma "spools" on a daily basis and served them fresh.

I was wondering if any Greek places attempted to do something similar and serve it on site. I realize that Gyros meat is processed and blended, so its unlikely but it can't hurt to ask.

I prefer The Parthenon overall in the west loop greektown, but I don't like their yogurt sauce, it's way too sour and I prefer the ones from Greek Islands down the street. Actually, Greek Islands Gyro plate is cut perfectly, thin, with a nice crust with imo, the best yogurt sauce amongst all the gyro's plates in greektown, not overly sour but with a nice tang. Only problem is that Greek Islands charges for an extra pita and extra yogurt sauce and always brings my total up to around 14, which is pricey even for downtown standards. If only I could combine the cut of Greek Islands, with their yogurt, and The Parthenon's homemade meat, I would be in Gyro Heaven!

Elfin wrote:For gyros in the Mt. Prospect area- we love the gyros at Artemis located on Golf and Busse roads. It is a twenty four greek diner which it is a cut well above the rest.

Artemis isn't 24 hours. Last I knew, they close at midnight, maybe a little later on weekends.

Artemis Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor
847/437-3020
912 S. Busse Road
Mount Prospect

FoodSnob77 wrote:Greek Islands Gyro plate is cut perfectly, thin, with a nice crust with imo, the best yogurt sauce amongst all the gyro's plates in greektown, not overly sour but with a nice tang. Only problem is that Greek Islands charges for an extra pita and extra yogurt sauce and always brings my total up to around 14, which is pricey even for downtown standards.

+1
I've always thought that GI serves an excellent gyros plate.

DaveG wrote:

Eric wrote:I'd be grateful if anyone has any recommendations for the near western suburbs.

I'd recommend Gemato's in Naperville. Moderately priced - maybe $8 for gyro, fries and soda but you get free refills

I recently found That Pita Place on North Aurora Road in Naperville. Inspite of their claims of full service dining, it's a unit in a small strip mall that has about 6 small tables and some counter space. The service was fast and friendly, the gyro meat was tender, fries crisp and there was plenty on the menu to make my vegetarian partner happy!

http://www.thatpitaplace.com/