Fast food locations typically have a general stereotype of pretty much only serving things like burgers, chicken, or, on occasion, tacos. They are overall very repetitive options, and it eventually gets annoying to just see the same three foods available at every establishment. Although the vast majority of fast food restaurants do have a very similar menu to each other, and the only real outliers that are well known are places that serve pizza, there are still dozens of options for quick and cheap pizza. If you want a taste of something different that you may not have tried before, you should try Halal Guys.
Halal Guys is a fast food chain, but don’t let that dissuade you. The food is of exceptional quality and they serve things that are unusual for a fast food joint. Halal Guys is mainly known for their gyro which, for those who are unfamiliar, is a Greek dish that has assorted roasted meats, like beef, pork, chicken, or most commonly lamb, that is wrapped up in a pita with a bunch of other stuff like onions, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, spices, and tzatziki sauce. They have assorted sides like your typical fries, but they also serve hummus, baba ganoush and falafel, which are typically fried balls of chickpeas. They also serve a sriracha option. If you don’t want your gyro as a sandwich you can get a platter instead. For the most part, their menu is relatively small, and most of the platters are the exact same things you’d get in the sandwich, minus the pita, but Halal Guys is more about quality of quantity, as the options that they do have on the menu are very good. The serving sizes that you get are also very generous. When you order fries they give you a pretty decently large container of them, and there are not any smaller options. For the falafel you have the choice between a three, four, and six piece, which is substantial for a couple of people. The gyro itself is also pretty large, and, depending on what you get on it and how much sauce you tell the employees to put on it, it can get a little bit messy to eat it like a wrap or sandwich.
Halal Guys is a little bit more expensive than your typical run-of-the-mill fast food joint, but they are by no means excessively pricey. A full meal consisting of a gyro, drink, and fries is about twenty dollars, which shouldn’t be outside of anyone’s budget, and for good quality food that you get fast, it isn’t a bad deal.
Halal Guys is also a pretty widespread fast food chain. You won’t be seeing them literally everywhere like Mcdonalds or Burger King, but you can find them pretty consistently. There is one on South La Grange Road right next to the Taco Bell in Countryside if you are looking locally, but you can find them pretty much anywhere.
Overall, Halal Guys is a fast food restaurant that stands out from the others that surround it due to their different menu. I would highly recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the Countryside area, because I consider it to be some of the best relatively cheap fast food in the area. It’s by no means beating out a super authentic Greek restaurant, but for the price you’re paying and the convenience of being able to find one just about anywhere, I’d say it’s a good spot to try out some Greek cuisine for the first time if you don’t want to be paying a ludicrous amount of money.
