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    Poor Boy

    4.0 (67 reviews)
    InexpensiveGreek, American, Fast Food
    Open 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Order Poor Boy Takeout or Delivery

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    POOR BOY ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Poor Boy

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    This thing was big and hefty and maybe only needed sweet peppers on top, but better with giardiniera on the side IMO. It's too hot spicy.
    carlo l.

    If I could apply fractions or decimals to a Star review I'd make this a 3.54 Star rating. I can only review the limited selection I had there at Poor Boy and that was the Italian Beef. So it's rated a bit better than okay leaning to good. The good: This was not a skimpy portion, it was pretty loaded with beef, that sandwich had some girth and weight, that's nice. To be fair, my favorite Italian Beef in the Greater Chicagoland area is made for me personally (usually) by Mr. Beef himself, Carl Bonovolanto, hands down the best and a high bar to match. The So-so: I wasn't asked if I wanted my Italian Beef dry, wet, dipped or dunked. To be fair not all places ask that. Even Portillio's did not the last time I went there (it was a test visit). I knew that's because the quite young employee there wouldn't know the first thing about how real Chicagoan's are particular about their Italian Beef and likely wasn't trained to say the words. She was just going through the motions. Same thing here at Poor Boy, I think that's just not the the way to present an authentic Chicago Italian beef. There's a serious tradition to this iconic beef sandwich which for a long time you couldn't find most anywhere but in the Greater Chicagoland (until The Bear TV series became popular). I was asked about peppers, I said sweet peppers. I then said do you have giardiniera and he said yes and I said I also wanted them. But he misunderstood my Chicago accented english, so just put on the hot giardiniera, no sweet peppers. I declined the cheese too, totally not used on the real deal, that's for tourists from Philly. I didn't find out until I seated and opened the sandwich. More So-so: The sandwich was piping hot and filled with beef and topped with copious amounts of very hot giardiniera. BUT.. the Italian flavoring was pretty hard to detect. It was beef alright, but where's the herbs and spices? The beef on the sandwich was way too dry and the little amount of very thin au jus that was there had all fallen to the bottom of the sandwich and totally melted the bun out in places. It was falling apart spilling beef as I began to eat it (inhale it?). So another no-no is you have to use a bun that won't disintegrate with juice. This bun failed that test pretty badly. I'd tell you the bun brand to use that's the absolute best, but then I'd have to flash you with that Men In Black device so you'd never be able to tell anyone. So even if I'd have been offered a dunked or wet Italian beef which I always like, this bun wouldn't have been able to take it anyway. The servers/cooks there looked like they knew their way around a fast food kitchen but they also seemed not to be part of knowing just how important the Italian BEEF tradition is to a natural born and raised Chicagolandian. Since there are places around that do it so well and so authentically, you have to put a strong effort in, IMO. Their menu on the wall behind the counter looked very deep and I bet they have items there that they just knock out of the park. I think the prices are fairly reasonable and you may get a good value for your dollar here. The tables were not a wreck but if it were my place I'd wipe down those tables often so there's absolutely no crumbs, greasy smudges or bits laying on top of them. If I end up in that town again for any reason I may stop in here again to try something else they are supposed to be known for, and maybe will have a better review to add. Okay, that's a lot of words for just one sandwich... 3.54 Stars, Fair/Good tasting and nice pretty hefty Italian Beef Sandwich. I think I could like this joint just fine if going there more often.

    4 half pita breads. How am I supposed to make sandwiches.
    Larry B.

    First I went there at 6:20pm. They are supposed to be open til 10. Doors locked, only drive through open. I hate drive throughs. The speakers suck, you can never understand what they are saying. Poor Boys speaker sucked. Ordered Gyro plate. Supposed to get 2 pita breads. Nope. I got 4 halfs. How am I supposed to make sandwiches. Don't think I'll be going back. The Gyro meat was good.

    Hot corned beef sandwich

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    9 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Side road through Kankakee from St. Louis to Grand Rapids, best place to get an outstanding Gyro!!!! Very good at a great price!

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    13 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    15 years ago

    My previous review is for Poor Boy Too, located at 1515 W. Court Street, Kankakee, Illinois, 60901.

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Gyros are the best in town and the bbq fries are great! They have updated the restaurant and it's clean.

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    13 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Huge menu! Wow, anything and everything a person could want. Busy behind -the -counter staff. Clean, price conscious, good food!

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    15 years ago

    This is fast food not fine dining!! Great gyros! Great beef sandwiches, great fries!!

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    8 years ago

    One of my favorite places in town! Huge menu to choose from and great service! Super fast!

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    11 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    15 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Good fresh cheeseburgers and fries. Everything we order was delicious. Quick, friendly service. Nice clean place.

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    14 years ago

    This place is nothing short of awesome. They have the best gyro in town hands down. Huge menu of good field food. Never had a bad meal here.

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    10 years ago

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    15 years ago

    Best Italian beef in the area hands down. You don't go here for healthy food you come here for comfort food

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    15 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Poor Boy

    Review Highlights - Poor Boy

    Only gripe I have is that now they shave the gyro meat with that electric thing and not use a knife like before.

    $10.99 Gyros

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    Hoppy Pig

    Hoppy Pig

    3.8
    (223 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$

    The beer and cocktail mine is huge! It's got an open seating area and a pretty large bar. The…read morebathrooms are at the back and off to the side, there is a very large room looking like it's for catered parties or large parties connected is the barrel room which serves breakfast. We sat at the bar and the bartender is super attentive 1 o'clock in the afternoon on a Thursday and it's not very busy The music is decent not too loud. There are a lot of TVs. We ordered Reuben combo with pastrami and corned beef with a side of macaroni and cheese and we also ordered a side of the cornbread casserole just because it's something unique and different to try. As for the sandwich we both enjoyed it although it's a little smoky Mac & cheese is okay. It definitely could use green onions on top to dress it And the cornbread casserole is a homemade cornbread that's soft with like a kind of cream filling and loaded with corn it was my least favorite We also ordered a couple old-fashioned. I don't like that they have the little ice cubes, butdrinks are tasty.

    Tonight was my first visit as I recently moved and have heard several times how I just HAVE to…read morecheck out the Hoppy Pig. Now I know it is worth all the hype. Ambiance, food, drinks and service were all top notch! We sat under the massive old timey stained glass chandelier at the big community table. What a neat idea. I had the bison burger. Perfectly seasoned and cooked to a beautiful medium just as I requested. The coleslaw had a bit too much onion, but it was still good. My Mom had tots with the trio wrap. It was so deliciously smokey. And a "fall off the porch" drink that was just peachy and not too strong for her. But Beau was the shining star of our visit. He took time to go over the menu and make suggestions. And was very attentive to refill our waters and check in after we had our first few bites without hovering. I will definitely be back soon to try the wings!

    Photos
    Bar selection is amazing
    Bar selection is amazing
    Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese
    Pulled Pork Grilled Cheese
    Bar area

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    Bar area
    BrickStone Brewery

    BrickStone Brewery

    3.8
    (352 reviews)
    3.7 mi
    $$

    Ate at BrickStone a couple times last week. Was in town for work and had a couple of large groups…read more(6-10) to take out for dinner. Took the larger group out on St Patty's Day. No trouble getting a table but the bar area was pretty full. Our server was fast and professional. She nailed everyone's drink and food orders with no issues. Food came out fast and hot as well. Tough to do with 10 people at a table. I ordered the Honey Glazed chicken. It was pretty good but the chicken had a few chewy spots. Flavor was great though. The glaze was sweet but not overpowering. 2nd night I ordered the Parmesan chicken. That chicken was great but o didn't care for the pasta it was served on. Flavor was good but just not my thing. Service was great both nights. Pricing is fair as well. Recommend if you're in the area and looking for something different than your typical nationwide chain.

    Very disappointing experience at this establishment. It's been a few years since we've visited…read moreBrickstone and this time, we were not impressed. Service was slow -- to non existent -- at best. We ordered two saganashkees that were bland, with little to no crust. The server said he has never served two at once before, so I guess we loose. I ordered the Poke. It too was bland and some of the tuna was hard!! Yes, hard!! The serving included a dollop of guacamole that had no business on the plate, in my opinion. Chunks of avocado, that I thought I was getting, fine, but not a traditional guacamole. Not good. Three of the four persons at our table ordered burgers and were all equally disappointing. It seemed like the burgers were diced up like it we to get used like in chili. But then, there tried to make a hamburger out of it!! Really weird. The taste was good, but unmanageable as a hamburger. One of the persons at our table ordered a shrimp appetizer. He said it was "ok". This restaurant has a nice atmosphere and is quite comfortable and the beer is okay. But, that's all it has going for it. Our previous visit a few years ago was much more enjoyable. We see no reason to return.

    Photos
    What a great brewery to visit. Great food also! Friendly service.
    What a great brewery to visit. Great food also! Friendly service.
    Stuffed mushrooms
    Stuffed mushrooms
    BrickStone Brewery

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    Lori's Diner

    Lori's Diner

    4.3
    (18 reviews)
    0.9 mi
    $

    I stopped here on a cross country trip. I had a dog with me so we sat outside. I didn't know what…read moreto expect but it looked cute so I decided to try it. It was great! They were closing but they allowed me to order. I had a scrambled egg dish that I ate every single bite of. The prices were super reasonable and the young lady who helped me was friendly and attentive. I would absolutely recommend this place.

    I would give a ZERO star if I could!…read more I went to Lori's for the first time yesterday and will never go back. My daughter and i went there for breakfast. My coffee cup had lipstick on it that i thoroughly wiped away and wiped it with alcohol wipes from my car. Already, my initial thoughts were negative. As we sat in our booth near the front door we looked around. Their booths are very aged and in horrible condition with ripped seat covers. We then got our food. It tasted 'ok' to say the most. About an hour and a half later our stomachs started hurting and cramping very bad. We were on our way home about 45 miles south of kankakee and I had to use the bathroom. My daughter waited for me in the car for about 20 minutes while I dealt with explosive diarrhea. I will NEVER return to this place and i recommend you think about it too before you just go there. As of typing this review I am waiting for labs to come back. If it comes back as food poisoning I will be filing a lawsuit against the establishment for both negligence AND breach of warranty.

    Photos
    Seating
    Seating
    Entrance
    Entrance
    Menu

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    Menu

    Poor Boy - greek - Updated August 2026

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