Mystery Diner in Crest Hill: Mickey’s Gyros serves up more than gyros

When a group of friends decides to order from a gyros restaurant, you’d think at least one would order the gyros, right?

Well, not in our case.

We decided to order from Mickey’s Gyros in Crest Hill for a recent hangout around the house night. And not one of us ordered gyros.

But it’s not our fault. Mickey’s Gyros had so many yummy options: sandwiches, soups, salads, barbecue and other dinners, specials, and milk shakes in five flavors – vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, pineapple and butterscotch.

Seriously, you can order anything ranging from a Chicago-style hot dog with fries for $5.79 to five full slabs of barbecue ribs (choice of bread, coleslaw or salad) for $125.

Love gyros, but want a change? Try a chicken gyro with lettuce, tomato, onion and honey mustard for $8.99.

If it’s burgers you want, Mickey’s Gyros offers a simple hamburger for $2.99, a double hamburger for $3.75, a cheeseburger for $3.49, a Big Mickey (double cheeseburger) for $4.39 and – for the hearty appetite – a Triple Big Mickey for $5.99.

You can get a third-pound patty melt for $5.99, a beef and sausage combo sandwich for $8.99, and barbecue beef on French bread for $7.99.

Mickey’s Gyros also has a two-piece perch or catfish dinner for $13.99, and eight pieces of spicy chicken wings or a three-chop pork chop dinner, also for $13.99.

We haven’t even made it to the salads, soups and soup of the day. So what did we order?

We chose two super tacos on pita for $13.98, a poor boy for $7.25, a steak sandwich and fries for $14.99, a Big Mickey, an order of cheese sticks and an order of jalapeño poppers for $6.49 each, and small fries for $2.99.

For starters, the mozzarella sticks were hot and gooey, with a nice crunch and good seasonings.

The jalapeño poppers, filled with cream cheese and cheddar cheese, pleased even the non-fans of jalapeño poppers in our group – even with its nice kick of heat.

People may think burgers are a safe option when ordering carryout, but not always. The meat might be dry. The bun could be soggy.

But the Big Mickey had plenty of cheese and good flavor. And it arrived with “just ketchup” as we ordered it for the picky eater in our midst.

Our “good burger criteria” is that it must reheat well – and this one passed the test.

The fries were well-seasoned with good flavor.

This was our first time trying pita tacos, and we liked them. They had plenty of seasoned ground beef and lots of fresh vegetables.

The poor boy had loads of grilled onions, and the bun was toasted perfectly.

The steak sandwich was, honestly, the best I’ve ever eaten. The meat was tender (and without gristle, which can happen with steak sandwiches), and the vegetables complemented, but didn’t overwhelm, its good flavor.

We will order from Mickey’s Gyros again.

• The Mystery Diner is an employee at Shaw Media. The diner’s identity is not revealed to restaurant staff when ordering or picking up the food. If the Mystery Diner cannot recommend the establishment, we will not publish a story.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Mickey’s Gyros

WHERE: 1701 N. Larkin Ave., Crest Hill

PHONE: 815-730-4800

INFORMATION: mickeyscresthill.com/home