I settled. Went back to the good place, there were like 15 ppl waiting for their orders. I turned around and settled on the bad place. Walked right in, and right out with free gyros in hand. The fries sure are good.

Novi's Beef
6746 Ogden Avenue
Berwyn, Illinois

jimswside wrote:those lines are crazy, I like gyros and all but you wouldn't catch me in a line like that.

Especially when, on just about any other day, you could have one -- without the line -- for anywhere between $4 and $7. Time is money, people!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Especially when, on just about any other day, you could have one -- without the line -- for anywhere between $4 and $7. Time is money, people!
=R=

You beat me to it, Ronnie! I was just about to post the same thought. Plus then you can pick your own "good place," and not have to "settle" for a "bad place," ala seebee. Life is too short to eat bad gyros!!!

I went to Papa Chris' and waited about 20 minutes, asked how much longer it would be, and after showing me a long line of tickets, she told me about another 20. I had to order a dog instead because I was already late getting back from lunch break. I was really hankering for a gyros too! But the dog was pretty tasty, despite having too few ketchup packets. I mean, Christ, I only had enough for the fries!

actually, I only had enough for 3/4 of the fries!

Went to Mangis on Lincoln and Grace street here in Chicago...about a 25 minute wait. Let me just say, free food doesn't mean good food. WORST GYRO EVER. Having to fill orders quickly results in mushy, non charred gyro meat. It also didn't help that I got the first gyro off the newly replaced gyro cone. Also, mine was drenched in grease. I ended up going home and putting mine under the broiler to crisp up, which salvaged it.

Mushy gyro meat about to go under the broiler


Only a portion of the pool of grease

Took my teenaged son with me to Dengeo's in Skokie, and we arrived about 1:45. The parking lot was pretty full. The line was to the door, but the time from arrival until receipt of our gyros sandwiches was less than 20 minutes. Most but not all people there were getting the free gyros, and the staff even had special t-shirts on--"Kronos Free Gyros Day, September 1, 2009" was emblazoned on the back. Gyros was fine except for mushy tomatoes. Not the best I have had but far from the worst. Dengeo's runs a very efficient operation.

By contrast, Cabbagehead tried to redeem his coupon at 12:20 at the Works at Clark and Lake and was told they were no longer serving the freebies.

went to Photos Mt Prospect..no line until I got in then a line started to form behind me out the door
Otherwise i would have left and continued on south and just bought one at the Works
I ordered some fries and a drink as well but I couldnt believe some of the cheap asses that came for free food and then ordered a cup of water with it..the word free just brings out the dregs sometimes
the only reason I even went was to check out the gyros here as Ive passed it on occasion but did not know they even served gyros
Ill stick with The Works though as the one today was not even close to good.

I went to Gyros Express in Villa Park at 4:00 p.m. (Couldn't get there for lunch.) They had a sign on the door: Out of Stock.

Oh well, better luck next time.

I went to Papagus Gyros in Lake Zurich. Everyone in line had coupons. The wait at 5:00 was about 20 min. Now I can see why so many people were asking for the sauce to be on the side.

We tried taking Sparky and a group of his buds to Dengeos shortly before 5pm - it looked like Hot Doug's, line out the door and around the corner to the drive-through window, and the parking lot was stacked out down Main.

We turned tail and headed right for Wiener and Still Champion.

I would have ended up going to one of the loop Works, so I'm really glad I decided to skip this one. Thanks for taking one for the team guys!

Central Gyros
3127 N Central Ave, Chicago
(773) 545-1276


Arrived at 5:00 pm


45 minutes later placed my order


Had 6 coupons and all were fulfilled. Sat down with My Bride and we each ate one and soon we were out the door.

The owner mentioned they were running out of Gyros and I mentioned he should put a closer at the end of the line. People waiting and hour might get mad if they ran out.

Line was twice as long when we left.


I had visited here before and they are very good! It seemed that most of the wait was due to cooking the pita as there was plenty of meat cooking on the four spits. The juice was flying as the meat was being electrically cut.

I chose Photo's in Mt Prospect. Not my favorite place (high prices, foodservice fries), but it's practically around the corner from me, and hey, free.

Well, I pulled into the lot at 6PM, and there not only weren't any open spaces, but there were a dozen cars cruising for spaces. So I ran a couple errands and came back about 40 minutes later. They had a sign that they were out of gyros, and a crowd I haven't seen since Grant Park on election day around the "Pick Up Food Here" window. There were two skinny spits being trimmed off as fast as they could, with a whole bunch o' meat being browned on the flattop.

So I got up to the counter and asked if I could get a rain check -- the manager signed the coupon, perhaps I'll come back another day.

I got a taco dinner at "Breezes" in the same strip. Certainly not GNR-level (perhaps I'll nom Monica's next year), but pretty darn good barbacoa de chivo. The weakness is their salsas, I think -- the table salsa for chips is about Pace-level, the red is thin and week, the green is good but not great.

I have a feeling this was a brilliant idea to get people to try gyros who haven't eaten one since they graduated from DePaul in 1997.

Panther in the Den wrote:
Had 6 coupons and all were fulfilled. Sat down with My Bride and we each ate one and soon we were out the door.

Did you wait in the "eat here" line, or the "carryout only" line, or had they merged by 5 PM? I ask only because at 3 PM, many students who had walked in with their printouts and ordered nothing but the free sandwich had decided to sit in the restaurant area to eat their sandwiches, and the owner (who was, by the way, wearing a "Free Gyros Day" t-shirt) came out from behind the counter and bellowed:

"This is not a freaking [might have been 'frigging' with a Greek accent] hot dog shop! You get free gyros, you eat outside, unless you sit here and order something else from my waitresses! What is it with people!"

He was then admonished loudly by the woman at the cash register and told to get back on the assembly line, where he went, mumbling. Must have been a stressful lunch.

I only had to wait about 5 minutes after this (and maybe 8 minutes in total, timed it pretty well), but when I got to the register, you better believe I ordered some additional baklava out of pure Catholic guilt. It was $3.83 for a tiny piece (see earlier post in Central Gyros thread about the prices here), and was some of the worst baklava I've ever had, soggy and tasting of counter spray.

The gyros, on the other hand, was made to order and every bit as crisp, abundant, and tasty as usual, which I loved, expecting (as others experienced) that places would be skimping or using pre-made sandwiches for freebies.

I have to assume Kronos is directly reimbursing the restaurants for the trouble (Gyros Stimulus Package, TARP-ita, please keep working on these, I'm tired) and that most places would be thankful at all of the side business from those who weren't 14 and asking for side cups of water, and since everyone had warning, I'm particularly amused by those places that actually ran out of gyros, and especially those establishments specifically dedicated to gyros. This is a cheese shop, isn't it? And, you do have cheese, don't you?

I went to Dengeos after a very long day only to have a guy at the door tell me" no more gyros, we're sold out".

I'm not too mad about them running out, I mean it's just a sammich. The thing that irks me about this is that you had to specify a location so the people running the website had an exact number of coupons printed for each location and planning should have been a breeze. Since these are gyros places and presumably sell a fair number daily, plan for the maximum number of coupons, you'll sell the excess! Either they knew how much to order and decided to skimp figuring on no shows (ha!) or the folks running the website didn't give correct attendance estimates to the shop owners. I can totally imagine some people at Kronos seeing massive numbers and deciding to let the shop owners out to dry rather then give them the news.

I had a consolation gyros at Hubs. dependable and good sauce. They looked busier than usual, overflow from the Dengeos mess I presume.

One last thing, man do people get upset when you cheat them out of free food! There were some seriously irate folks in the parking lot.

Santander wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:
Had 6 coupons and all were fulfilled. Sat down with My Bride and we each ate one and soon we were out the door.

Did you wait in the "eat here" line, or the "carryout only" line, or had they merged by 5 PM?

There was only one line. We sat in a corner and quietly ate our food. We did order an additional fries and drink.

No problems at all.

Went to Papa Chris on Touhy on way home from work at 6:30 or so; line was in the back door, winding around restaurant, out front door and back in, more winding, and then to front. Wait estimated hour and a half. Gave it up and drove to Dengeos, where as Octarine sez they were out. Headed to Cross Rhodes for a perfect gyros dinner, and to heck with the $5 free sammie; my time isn't worth that kind of wait in line.
>>Brent

SB and I headed to Felony Frank's when I got home from work. They were out of stock as well. Had a nice chat with the owner, who was mad because he said Kronos did not provide them with enough supply to meet demand. He asked us to call Kronos tomorrow to complain. We got Burgler Beef and Misdemeanor Wiener specials. The beef was okay. Not fabulous, but not bad. If the fries would have been a bit crunchier, they would have been perfect. It's close to home and I like that they provide second chances to those who don't always get those, so we'll probably go back sometime.

JoelF wrote:
I got a taco dinner at "Breezes" in the same strip. Certainly not GNR-level (perhaps I'll nom Monica's next year), but pretty darn good barbacoa de chivo. The weakness is their salsas, I think -- the table salsa for chips is about Pace-level, the red is thin and week, the green is good but not great.

Joel - Ill second Monica's any day of the week for a nomination

2146 north wrote:12:15 the line was out the door at Denegeos. It looked like a lot of people had the coupons. Went and had chicken at Browns ehhh.

You should have gone to Patty's, which is less than a block away. I'm not a big fan of that particular Brown's.

I happened to be in the neighborhood around the same time. Didn't notice the line, but the parking lot was packed. Called a friend and decided to meet at Wally's in Park Ridge around 5:30. Again, a jammed parking lot and a huge line out the door. For those who didn't want to wait, they marked the coupon and said you could use them on Wednesday. After seeing the madhouse inside, I left with my marked coupon.

My friend and I decided to meet up again tomorrow, so I made my way back home. Went back to Dengeos (a little out of my way) and got there around 6:30. Tons of people waiting outside, the parking lot was jammed to the gills, so I went home. By now I had a taste for gyros, so I decided to go back a little after 8. I was worried they'd be sold out, but there was still Wally's tomorrow if they were.

Parking lot had several spaces available and there was no line out the door, so I went for it. Almost full inside, with quite a few people waiting for carryout, but the line moved fairly quickly. Finally got my sandwich (with fries) and brought it home. Wound up costing me under two bucks. Not the greatest sandwich (a little bland, and I like my meat more well done), but it was larger than I anticiipated, and almost worth all the hassle.

BTW, even though I specified Dengeos when I got the coupon, I simply cut it out along the dotted line, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Since I got my sandwich, I'm debating whether to meet my buddy at Wally's tomorrow.

Wow the things people will do just to save 5 bucks.

A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have even bothered. When you're broke, you take advantage of every opportunity. Haven't had gyros in over a year, and won't again for the foreseeable future. Being poor sucks.

I went to Dengeos in Buffalo Grove for mine. It was a 40 minute wait, but I had a book.

Gyros – Good
French Fries – Bad
Onion Rings – Bad

Because of the last 2, I can't see me going back.

Dengeos
195 W. Dundee

D.

jaybo wrote:...Went back to Dengeos (a little out of my way)...
BTW, even though I specified Dengeos when I got the coupon, I simply cut it out along the dotted line, and it didn't seem to make a difference. Since I got my sandwich, I'm debating whether to meet my buddy at Wally's tomorrow.

Photo's, on the other hand, insisted on having the entire page (according to a sign), and for the woman ahead of me who insisted on having a gyros even tho they said they were sold out, they only let her use a single coupon, although the coupon says otherwise.

EvanstonFoodGuy wrote:Wow the things people will do just to save 5 bucks.

I saved 5 bucks a bunch of times and just gutted and redesigned my kitchen this year. 5 bucks is a lot of money to me. I work for it. It adds up VERY quickly.

I'm currently saving 5 bucks a bunch of times to buy a lake house in a liitle town somewhere north of Green Bay.
I've already saved 5 bucks enough times to gut and redesign my master bathroom, and also to re-stucco the house this year. Those stucco companies sure do charge 5 bucks a bunch of times for their services.

Photo's, on the other hand, insisted on having the entire page (according to a sign), and for the woman ahead of me who insisted on having a gyros even tho they said they were sold out, they only let her use a single coupon, although the coupon says otherwise.

I wrote to kronosproducts.com about this problem Photo's problem with trying to trick customers to buy gyros from them, if you are a couple having two coupons, they said you can not use two coupons, since both are same name, the coupon says you can use 6.

Never to return again to Photo's.

ycl1688 wrote:Photo's, on the other hand, insisted on having the entire page (according to a sign), and for the woman ahead of me who insisted on having a gyros even tho they said they were sold out, they only let her use a single coupon, although the coupon says otherwise.

I wrote to kronosproducts.com about this problem Photo's problem with trying to trick customers to buy gyros from them, if you are a couple having two coupons, they said you can not use two coupons, since both are same name, the coupon says you can use 6.

Never to return again to Photo's.

The coupon did clearly state...

"Only one coupon per person and up to 6 people per household."
and...
"... while supplies last."

No reason for anyone to be mad.

Panther in the Den wrote:

ycl1688 wrote:Photo's, on the other hand, insisted on having the entire page (according to a sign), and for the woman ahead of me who insisted on having a gyros even tho they said they were sold out, they only let her use a single coupon, although the coupon says otherwise.

I wrote to kronosproducts.com about this problem Photo's problem with trying to trick customers to buy gyros from them, if you are a couple having two coupons, they said you can not use two coupons, since both are same name, the coupon says you can use 6.

Never to return again to Photo's.

The coupon did clearly state...

"Only one coupon per person and up to 6 people per household."
and...
"... while supplies last."

No reason for anyone to be mad.

the frustration part is two persons physically present in the store, each holding a coupon, why would they bother to check the names, at the time of purchase they did not run out of supplies.

seebee wrote:

EvanstonFoodGuy wrote:Wow the things people will do just to save 5 bucks.

I saved 5 bucks a bunch of times and just gutted and redesigned my kitchen this year. 5 bucks is a lot of money to me. I work for it. It adds up VERY quickly.

I'm currently saving 5 bucks a bunch of times to buy a lake house in a liitle town somewhere north of Green Bay.
I've already saved 5 bucks enough times to gut and redesign my master bathroom, and also to re-stucco the house this year. Those stucco companies sure do charge 5 bucks a bunch of times for their services.

Okay if it makes you happy.

Sure saving money is awsome but waiting around 40 minutes to save 5 bucks... not for me.