Fast and Fresh

tell me it’s not truuuueeeee!!! tell me it’s a lieeeeeee!!! tell me they’ve just moooooved!!! preferably to logan square since that’s where i live nowwwwwwww and i was just craving themmmm!!! waaaaaaaaaaaaa

Pouring one out for the GIANT MONKEY.
(cue Boyz 2 Men)
This fast (and fresh) restaurant was mostly known for years because of its GIANT stuffed monkey they had in the window. That fuzzy ape was like 6 feet tall. People liked it because of the mysterious reason why he’d be their mascot. About a year ago their king kong disappeared: (someone gave me an identical one around the same time.
Speaking of disappearances the café appears to be under new management and the threat of closing any day.
I can’t say it’s a shame. The place suffered from an identity crisis. It was a fast food counter greasy spoon, but sold Medi food also… besides carry out and delivery they had tables and tried to add ambiance with orchids all over, tables, BYOB, Christmas lights year round, and a giant flat screen showing Soccer. I couldn’t figure out what they H E double hockey stix was their motive. I do know this.
The beef and chicken shish had too much gristle/​was poor quality meats. I had each several x and it was always the case.
The chicken gyro was the greasiest thing I’ve ever had. I couldn’t finish. Ghastly.
The hummus was BLAND and pita stale always! Now that’s just insulting.
The burger and fries were ok.
I’m passing this gorilla 2 bananas. I hope if they indeed close something more aPEELing opens in that conveniently located corner in idealic Lakeview.

Fast n’ Fresh, please don’t be closed. I greatly enjoy you!

Love this place. Huge fan of the gyro and I love that I can feed myself and my kid super cheap.

This is the best place! It’s right across the street from me and when we were moving exhausted we ordered something quick for lunch, chicken gyro and a burger. It was amazing. Ever since we go almost every week. It is so cheap and they are so nice!
My favorites include:
Chicken gyro– must have!
Burgers
Chicken Caesar wrap

Fast and Fresh is fresh but not always so fast. It’s usually pretty fast, but they make the food when you order so it takes a maybe 5 – 10 minutes). It’s always worth it though.
The chicken gyro is very good, and I definitely recommend the yellow rice with any of the combination meals. (You get the option of fries or rice, along with the pita and small salad that comes on the plate). I’ve also enjoyed the Greek salad and the cheeseburger.
It’s BYOB, and has a decent amount of seating. It seems many people order take-​out, but I almost always eat there. It’s open pretty late, so it’s become one of my go to places for late on Sunday. Yum.

My friends and I went here a few weeks back. I would have given it four starts except for the fact that only one table had salt and that salt shaker was so sticky and disgusting that it almost made me lose my appetite. I just got a grilled cheese which turned out to be a double-​decker styled sandwich– which I liked. They have really great fries. My friend got a veggie burger that looked like they made it there– you could see literal veggies (peas, carrots) when you bit into it. It was very good. I wasn’t a fan of their hummus– and neither were my friends. Overall I thought it was okay– especially for the price.

My guilty-​guilty pleasure.
I’ve come to expect that at least once per month, my cravings for Fast and Fresh will come on… These are the times I get my grub ON!
I always order the same thing-​Chili Cheese Fries and Lentil Soup.
What’s that?
Strange combination you say???
Ah, well my taste buds beg to differ. Crispy fries with incredibly unhealthy odd looking chili and neon yellow cheese – my mouth waters as I type. Perfectly crafted lentil soup, add a little spice and a squeeze of lemon juice and there you have it, I’ve let you in on my intimate once per month moment I vehemently deny to my trainer and food tracking app.

I have been walking past this restaurant for years so the other day; I decided to check it out. Glad I did. It is actually a neighborhood gem.
Upon walking in, the ordering counter is right there — you can’t miss it. The extensive menu is listed on the chalk board this hanging on the wall. Actually, there is something for everyone. Since I was in the mood for some french fries, I decided on the Chicken Tender platter with included a drink. You really can’t go wrong with that.
You can sit at the small counter or at one of the five or six available tables. As I’m waiting for my order, I had how clean the restaurant was. There is a television to watch to kill time. I also noticed, this restaurant does a lot of carryouts. I believe that is always a good sign if the restaurant is good or not. My food was delivered to me within a reasonable amount of time. All of the tables had condiments which is a plus. I just had to ask for some silverware. No biggie.
I had received about three large pieces of chicken. Bigger than I had anticipated. Unfortunately, the fries were luke warm. Here is where this restaurant saved itself. Inside of refrying these fries, I was given fresh and hot fries. I was also given an additional piece of chicken. Great customer service.
Overall, the meal was okay. I even had to ask for a to-​go container. For the record, the chicken tenders were good the next day — cold.
I would go back when I’m in the area. Go enjoy if you want a quick bite to eat.

I would re-​name this place. Fast and Fresh isn’t right..
You’ll usually get served within 5 minutes (somewhat fast) and you’re probably ordering a burger (fresh of the grill?). There’s no freshly squeezed orange juice or noticeably fast service. I believe a gyro or burger at most places takes about 5 minutes. Same as here.
The food is piping hot. The burgers are good. The prices are reasonable. They have some turkish/​mediteranean stuff which is delicious, I feel. Overall the food is A+ compared to 5 guys burgers or crappy turkish sit down place or equivalent. Also, I live across the street which is convenient.
Recently they redid the interior to make it more hip. There’s sunken purple lights casting shadows on beige walls now. Also, they’re big fans of turkish futball. They have a TV up and subscribe to the games. So if you’re a Fenerbace fan, this could be your go-​to at game time.
If I was in charge here, I’d ditch the Fast and Fresh moniker and put up a huge sign that said «PIPING HOT FOOD (including delicious burgers)/SUNKEN PURPLE LIGHTING/​TURKISH FOOTBALL».
Also, they have a huge cartooney stuffed monkey in the window. I’d leave that out of the sign and keep it as a surprise.

Didn’t give 5 stars… yet. I want to try it out a few more times, but my first experience was great.
Was looking for a later dinner (9:30pm), this place was open and stays open til 12 on week days. I got the chicken philly and a friend got the chicken gyro + fries. Food was fantastic. I would say it’s definitely a freshER alternative for the food that they serve. The philly wasn’t greasy AT ALL, and I didn’t leave feeling too full. That being said, they didn’t skimp out on flavor.
Fries were delicious, prices were good. So excited to get delivery, not that I don’t live 2 blocks away… :)
Service super friendly, clean place and it was fast for us!

Perfect hummus– the best I’ve seen in a long time. The restaurant was impeccably clean, as well, and the service was friendly.
Could have used a bit more pita bread with the hummus, but I’m not complaining too much about that.

Best chicken gyro I’ve ever had… Ever! Wow

Hate to give 2 stars. If I could send you pictures of the chicken, you’d agree with me.
I’ve never had anything great there. Pretty bland. Service is good.
I guess my main issue was getting some messed up looking chicken in my kebob. It was like dark and gross. I’ve had the chicken kabob there before and enjoyed it. This time it was not so good.
It’s not great, but it’ll do in a pinch. Steer clear of the chicken unless your a gambler.

Fast & Fresh is my «go to» neighborhood for take out or casual, no fuss eat-​in.
The food is made to order and for a quick serve restaurant it’s way above average. Chicken gyro is good. AKA the chicken doner. It’s the same thing, on the menu twice for your convenience. Personally I always get the pita sandwich (~$ 5.75w/tax), even with the sides the dinner plate comes with it’s cheaper to order them individually, but the plate does give you a tad more meat if you want leftovers or eat a lot.
They also have a few other kebabs… worth trying too. I haven’t really tried much else, I wouldn’t go here and order a hamburger or hot dog personally I like their kebab plates/​pita sandwiches so much.
Instead of fries, try the yellow rice. I don’t think it’s really healthier, but it sure feels like it! And it’s good.
They seem to do a pretty raging salad business, I’ve never had one but there are always (often female) people ordering them for carry-​out when I’m there it seems.
It’s BYOB and casual enough that I don’t feel bad buying a 6 pack at Treasure Island and plopping down at the table and drinking a beer while I eat. There’s almost always some sporting event on the television, which I normally don’t get too involved with but it’s occasionally euro soccer or other things more interesting than ESPN.
The manager or owner or whomever is almost always there is very friendly.
In the summer they open up sidewalk café seating. They also deliver.
My only two cons: You won’t find meat ingredients with adjectives attached it seems to be fairly run of the mill ingredients as far as that goes. That’s actually a biggie for me, enough alone that it would keep me away from some places if their food wasn’t as good, but there really aren’t any other alternatives near that do either. Tomatoes are run-​o-​the-​mill-​Florida-​water. And sometimes I want to eat in, but it’s unbearably hot.

This place is just what the name stands for, fast & fresh. Fresh ingredients every time I’ve been and never a wilt lettuce. Not pricey at all and the staff are very friendly :) tzaziki sauce is yum and not too garlicky like most places make it.
I would recommend the gyro special with yellow rice, YUM :) that costs about $ 8 which is not bad at all.

You wouldn’t really know it by looking at it (minus a star for décor/​sloppy hand-​written menu), but this place has some really decent food. I would probably even go so far as to say really good food. I’ve gotten the chicken kabob and the falafel plate, and I really enjoyed both. My boyfriend got a great chicken cheesesteak, which are hard to find in general in Chicago, and this one was delicious on top of it.
Went in the 2^nd time with a coupon I had gotten through kgbdeals, and at first the guy at the counter (who was one of the owners) had no idea there was any coupon for his restaurant, but he was really nice about it and took it anyway because he said maybe his brother, who owns it with him, set up the coupon. I felt kind of bad because the coupon was a really good deal and it seemed like maybe someone had scammed him, but he came over later and said his brother had set it up, so it was legit.
Oh also, I would say the food is DEFINITELY fresh… not necessarily so fast though.

I stopped into Fast and Fresh after my routine orange juice run to Treasure Island. I got the hummus/​falafel combo.,
Hm.
I don’t claim to be the expert on all things falafel, but these were a little harder than I was am used to. Had I taken one and thrown it at a person, I’d probably be in jail for assault with a deadly weapon, that’s how hard they were. The pita wasn’t that soft either, sort of stiff and crispy along the edges, as if someone had tried to prepare it the way you’d prepare a taco shell. I still ate and the taste wasn’t bad, but it was definitely different. No problem with the hummus, but I’m normally easy to please when it comes to hummus.
I had a gyro there and would recommend trying it. There’s various reasons to give this place a try, an extensive menu, low prices, decent grub, and really hot stuffed monkey sitting in the corner. How can one resist a hot stuffed monkey?

How can you not LOVE a place that has permanent Christmas Light décor, brightly painted interior & a GIANT MONKEY sitting on a high-​chair?!?
This is your typical hole-​in-​the-​wall-​are-​you-​sure-​its-​THAT-​GOOD kinda place. Trust me, the same questions ran through my head when I saw Fast & Fresh the first day I moved into Boystown. But with its tempting BYOB sign, friendly monkey at the window and 5-​min walking distance, I was lured through the door before I knew it! The moment I am in though, the bell in my heart rang and I realized something grand — I’ve found the perfect, late-​night fast food place!
First of all, have you SEEN the extent of their menu!?! Not too bad for a place with 6 tables, you can get anything from humus & falafel to 20+ choices of sandwiches, to 6+ burgers/​hotdogs, a full dinner menu and Oh, don’t forget about the MOUTHWATERING GYROS!
I’ve had a lot of fast-​food Gyros in Greektown, and most of the time they are overly greasy, lacks flavor /​spices wrapped around in a stale, stiff gyro. Fast & Fresh really hits the spot though — their gyros are perfectly chewy, just the right thickness and rolls up perfectly around its juicy contents. I’ve tried both the chicken & beef gyro so far, and both have been juicy, tender meat infused with delicious spices, and additional caramelized onions in between. Each bite is so juicy and delicious that the void in your heart is filled, and the everything around you begin to sing!
Seriously, this is not an exaggeration.
They do have a pretty big flatscreen TV + powerful sound system in-​store though ;)
You will never leave Fast & Fresh unsatisfied, and they deliver within 30min to surround areas! Remember to grab a menu the next time you are in, the menus have special delivery /​dine-​in coupons for FREE sides or fries!

Whoa.
A one-​star smackdown from Colleen C?!
Believe it, friends. I was lookin’ for a quick lunch spot, but nothing super fast foodie, or greasy. Ah, ok…“fast & fresh” sounds promising! NOT. This is why I check Unilocal reviews before patronizing. Holla.
It takes quite much to peeve me. I shall start with a few short points…
1. The place reeked of ammonia. They were cleaning the windows, but my entire lunch all I could recollect is «cat pee.» It’s not a good thing.
2. My falafel was SO DRY, I literally had to drink a swig of Diet Coke to wash it down (EVERY BITE). It was so terrible.
3. The pita/​wrap thingamajig was… STALE. Yes. Like hard and crispy around the edges like when I decide to leave burrito packages half open in my fridge. But, that doesn’t bother so much because that’s MY fridge, and I didn’t pay $ 5 for it. So, yes. Stale.
So, to recap:
Dry, stale, cat pee.
About sums up my feelings towards this place. :shakes head: