Johnny's Beef and Gyros - Joliet, IL

Always on the lookout for a good Italian beef sandwich, I've been trying to find places in and around Chicago that serve up one of the iconic sandwiches.  I read about a place that started out in Joliet, but now has a second location in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood - Johnny's Beef and Gyro's.  (This is not to be confused with Johnnie's Beef in Elmwood Park, IL.)  On a trip toward Indiana down Interstate 80, I stopped off at Johnny's to try one of their Italian beef sandwiches.  

Johnny's is co-owned by brothers Johnny and Nick Anastopoulos - Johnny is actually six years younger than big brother Nick.  The Joliet location has been open for a number of years and the brothers opened their second location on N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago in 2013.  Both locations continue to do stellar business with sandwiches, gyros and hot dogs.  But they're getting well known for their burgers, including the Big Daddy burger that features a double burger topped with cheese, gyro meat and a cucumber sauce.  They have a Big Daddy challenge where a customer must eat what amounts to two Big Daddy's (four burger patties, double the gyro meat), plus an order of chili cheese fries and a large glass of Italian ice in under 30 minutes.  Only a handful of people have been able to complete the challenge.  

I got off I-80 at the Houbelt Road exit and went north about a mile.  In a strip mall caddy-cornered kitty-cornered from the Joliet Regional Airport is a strip mall.  In the corner of the strip mall, there was Johnny's Beef and Gyros.  (see map).  

It's not a large place, it seats probably around 50 people.  In warmer months, they have an outdoor patio to the side that would nearly double the seating capacity.  The menu is above the counter and that's where you place your order.  I ordered up an Italian beef sandwich with mozzarella, giardiniera and sweet peppers.  I almost got a hot dog to go along with it - I love Chicago-style hot dogs - but I ended up just getting the sandwich on its own.

And that was a probably a good thing.  It was a big sandwich.  The Italian bread was probably 8 inches in length and it was cut deep and piled high with sliced Italian beef that was covered in shredded mozzarella cheese and pickled sweet pepper slices.  Liberal amounts of spicy giardiniera topped off the sandwich.  The bread was fluffy and chewy and held together very well with all that was on the sandwich.  The beef was moist and tender, and seasoned very well.  With all the different taste sensations going on with each bite, I couldn't help but go, "Mmmmm..." a couple of times.  This was a very good Italian beef sandwich.  

Sometimes I get a hankering for a good Italian beef sandwich when I'm traveling on the south side of Chicago to or from Indiana on Interstate 80.  Portillo's is usually my go-to, but there aren't really any locations that are close to the interstate. With Johnny's only about a mile north of Interstate 80 (and less than a mile east of Interstate 55), it's the perfect stop to grab a very good and tasty if you're driving by.  I enjoyed the Italian beef sandwich immensely and I would say that Johnny's Beef can certainly hold their own against many of the more established and famous Italian beef places in the Chicago area.     

Comments

[Carl G]

Sorry to be picky! I really enjoy your blog and make it a point to share with any salespeople who visit STL.
http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/caddy.html
CATTY-CORNER, CATER-CORNER, KITTY-CORNER
This expression, meaning “diagonally opposite,” was formed from a misspelling in English of the French word quatre (“four”) prefixed to “corner.” Although the word has nothing to do with cats or kittens, in various dialects all three spellings are acceptable: “catty,” “cater” or “kitty.”
But unless you have somebody holding your golf clubs permanently stationed in the corner of your room, you shouldn’t use the spelling “caddy corner.”

[Road Tips]

Thanks for looking in Carl! Was just in St. Louis all weekend taking in some baseball! I was probably sick the day we had advanced English colloquialisms in school, so I never knew the difference or the etymology of the phrase.

[Brian White]

I've always said caddy-cornered, too. Must be an Iowa thing!