Alexander's Grill

I've been going here for three years now. I've pretty much lived on Alexander's/Ari's Grill for a while now. They have GREAT gyros and fries. For the price, they definitely are a good bang for your buck.

I love how they are open late on Friday/Saturday and they've even started to deliver. They brought me food on campus and it was a lifesaver. The staff is nice and I love seeing Ari there. He actually drove the delivery van to drop my food off at ND: great proprietor!

If you want some solid Greek/Mediterranean food, you can do a lot worse than this!

Yes the owner is a native of Greece.   I wonder if the people who think this fare is not authentic are natives of Greece.  Seems unlikely.

Authenticity in a restaurant is always tempered by local tastes.  I understand that the typical "Greek food" standards of Chicagoland and its satellites (like here) are in many ways unlike those you might find in the middle of the Pelopennese or on Crete or a lesser island.  I am not from Greece, I am from here.  I don't mind if I can't have something painfully authentic.  Like, for example "horta" is popular in Greece. That means Greens.  Like dandelion or chard or things in Greece that they grow on the side of a hill like Mironia or Tzaroulia or Zegounas.  They clean, boil, and serve with olive oil and lemon.  So does any of that stuff here grow?  Not likely.  Excuse me but I do not want to eat turnip or dandelion or mustard greens when I go to a restaurant.  

Instead perhaps you will have Greek salad and it is what we all expect and here, the romaine is crisp, the dressing simple and correct, the olives firm and feta fresh.  

The gyro is what you expect as well.  I'm sorry but Gyro is pressed meat on a rotating (gyro-gyrating) rotisserie spit.  It is a fun and simple delight.  What meat?  Bits of beef and lamb mixed with bread crumbs.  If you want only whole rotisserie lamb then get ready for twenty dollar plus entree.  This is not cordero asado at Casa de Botin. For me plain old Chicago-manufactured gyro meat is just fantastic for more quotidien fare.

All that said, this place does offer a few items that are more diverse than the gyro-stand.  For example, as someone else noted, the spicy feta dip "tirokafteri" is fantastic.  American tastes accustomed to hot and spicy will love this smooth, creamy, peppery dip with pita wedges.  

Wine and beer available and yes I think he keeps a few bottles of retsina on hand if you like it.

Objectively viewed as Greek and Mediterranean cuisine, Alexander's is OK at best, aside from a pretty good gyro.  However, in its own right the food here tastes quite good.  Couple that with low prices, so low in fact that even a college student can afford to regularly eat here if they want, and great service with a personal touch, and it's a very good hangout and casual dining place.

It's almost never packed, as people trickle in all day, so the owner and staff pay attention to everyone who walks through the door like they're family.  As for the atmosphere, it's a fairly ordinary small restaurant; bench seating and relatively unadorned walls.  A good place for a casual, cheap lunch, just don't come looking for excellent, authentic Mediterranean cuisine.