Sorry Johnny's but after several bad experiences and trying a little more of your menu I'm forced to reevaluate my original review. Â I've never personally tried one of their beefs but I did witness one of the owners making a beef and I saw something very disturbing...he scooped the beef out of a Papa Charlie's container and warmed it up. Â It's one thing to use pre-made beef but to sell Papa Charlie's (the same awful stuff that's sold in the freezer section at Jewel) out of a Chicago style fast food place? Â That's just sad. Â
My next issue has the do with the hotdogs. Â I used to like the dogs but they switched from poppyseed buns to plain buns...a Chicago style dog deserves a poppyseed bun. Â It's just not the same with a plain bun.
My last issue has to do with consistency. Â The gyros, hamburgers and fries are great when fresh but the quality is really hit or miss. Â Half the time the fries are cold, I've been served gyros on stale pitas that weren't warmed up on the grill, and I've been served desiccated sausages...I have ordered an italian and polish from Johnny's and both were super dried out and not fresh tasting. Â Not surprisingly I felt sick and both meals.
Meh.
I am a dedicated slave to keeping my cholesterol level as high as my SAT score. I have been to Johnny's 15+ times in 10 years, and as Clint Eastwood once said, "It just aint makin' it".
Very spotty quality, sometimes good+, other times very marginal. Sometimes hot fries (which are great), but more often than not, a serving scooped from a bin that has way too many fries made-up... that have been sitting and cooling off after being heavily salted.
Lacking in consistency, but it's better than Portillos.
this is really "as good as it gets"!  the best gyros, hot dogs are killer. the burgers will give your doctor a heart attack, they are that good.  i was going there when they first opened, way way back. in the late 90's. the  guy that owned it, one of the guys, was johnny. had a terrible accident. really was messed up from it, but he came back to run the place. havent been there in a while. now i need to go back just to stuff my face with the gyros.  and to DAN B. its not a hole in the wall. its in a pretty new strip mall next to the hardware store on main street in lisle. its a nice place with limited seating, but take it to go, the park is right across main street on garfield.
Review Source:Johnny's Red Hots is a hole in the wall located off of Ogden Avenue and Main Street in Lisle. Inside are a few tables, some stools and a couple of outside tables with umbrellas.
In visiting Johnny's Red Hots I decided to try the hot dog with fries. The hot dog I received came on a plain non-poppy seed buns. This seems to be more of a minimalist style dog as it did not include tomato, hot peppers or celery salt that I could detect. It did however feature a thinly cut pickle, however the pickle was not as long as the hot dog so you didn't get pickle in every bite. The bun was soft but didn't appear to be steamed very long, the hot dog itself was fine and had a nice juicy flavor to it. The application of mustard, onions and relish were fine, but the brand of relish used was not the neon-green type found at most hot dog joints and gave off more of a sour flavor.
On the plus side the fries I received complimented the hot dog well and had a nice crisp outside and a nice potato flavor inside. They weren't too salty or too plain, these were excellent tasting fries.
Overall Johnny's is a decent place to get a hot dog. Â While it's not exactly a 100% authentic Chicago Style hot dog as it's missing generally regular components found at most other places it's about middle of the road. The better than standard fries are another draw. I give three stars for Johnny's.
Highly recommend this place! I ordered something that was not on the menu and the owner made it perfectly for me...the best gyro burger ever (cheeseburger with gyro meat and homemade sauce topped with grilled onions.
Definitely will go there again!
This review was brought to you by my brother! ;-)
I hate to give one stars... I very rarely do but I have to for Johnny's Red Hots.
I ordered an Italian sausage to-go for lunch. Â Service was quick, no wait. Â Through the hot peppers, the sausage looked old and wrinkly. Â But whatever, I can get through appearances, its not like it's a gourmet restaurant. Â I just really hoped it tasted good.
uuuuuuugh. Â First thought, Â is this meat? After my first bite, which I contemplated spitting out, I examined the sausage. Â Inside of the chewing casing was a mushy and soft crumblings of a supposed meat and some spices... Â W.T.H.
Lost my appetite and my openness to go back. Â Sorry Johnny.
Dis is my first Dear Johnny letter. Â So I don't know how to put it, so I put it.
Dear Johnny,
I don't know who you are until the Yelps. Â The Yelps say you got some good stuff goin, so I went to see you. Â Johnny... WTF, you got no AC?? Â 95 f'in degrees and no AC? Â Johnny feels bad... he's in the parking lot, greats us and TELLS us he aint got no AC. Â Gotta respect that. Â No BS with Johnny. Â He's got a good rep, this Johnny, so I follow him in.*
So's I go in and we order a bunch of dogs and gyros and fries and all that good stuff. Â Poor guys sweatin it up, but bein all nice and stuff. Â Food's ready, we got our greasy bags and out we go.
Now we're rippin up the bags, anticipatin and Johnny's as good as gold. Â Man-O-Manischewitz his food is taste-E! Â The gyro plate has got a big ol boatload of meat... more than enough for me to chow down on and offer my fam. Â Fries galore too. Â Yeah, they are greasy lil suckers and divine.... divine. Â The dogs are what I wanted, and they were juicy and succulent.
Thank you, Johnny. Â I will be back... I hope. Â They don't have joint like this in NY... I wish they did.
*Johnny's was experiencing a temporary issue with their air conditioning. Â This does not detract from their delicious food.
One of my favorite restaurants in town. Doesn't look like much when you first pull up and walk in-- the place is a tiny hole-in-the-wall joint. But they are friendly, fast, and very generous with the portions (especially with fries, or if you get the gyro plate) at a great value. Everything that I've tried on the menu is yummy, but I usually end up resorting to the gyros, because they are the best around!
My only wish is that they were open on Sundays.
as you all may have seen, i hit this place A LOT!.. It's a great little hot dog stand with a menu filled with variety.. I've tried the gyros, burgers and the hot dogs and all are very good! However i most often order up the 2 hot dog special, chicago style( mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle and peppers)! Â Their hot dogs run neck in neck with the big boys of Portillo's and Gene and Judes and being right around the corner from my office is the icing on the cake, or mustard on the hot dog, lol!
Review Source:I've been going to Johnny's for years. Long before I developed a taste for their delicious gyros! Overall their food is great. The hot dogs, gyros and even their burgers. My personal favorite is the grilled cheese on a pita though... I don't know why this simple little creation is so darn delicious! Raise one up for the last 10 years and here's to hoping the next 10 are just as good!
Review Source:Really?! I'm the first? Ok well this better be good.
The food here is everything you'd expect from a red hot joint but better. They have great deals and daily specials. Their gyro is gamazing, it's served with a delicious cucumber sauce. My "go to" is the hot dog special. You get 2 dogs and fries with a small drink for about $4. Their fries are the darker ones that have parts of the skin still on them. Makes you feel like you're actually eating a potato rather than the severely proceed ones. They sell Green River - worth 5 stars just for that. I love their fried mushrooms. Their fried anything is awesome. The other day I tried a patty melt for the first time and fell in love. The onions were cooked perfectly and the patty was the perfect size and the rye was toasted to perfection. The best part about this place is the guys who run it. Love you!
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