Poor Boy

My friend told me to try out the gyros. I was impressed and very pleased. I will be coming back often.

I am a vegan person and this place is the worse for vegetarian people … not even any single option for a vegetarian people … only greasy & fried food. By the way price are not for Poor guys!
I ask for vegetarian burrito and they charge me same as beef one. Terrible experience and disgusting food!

Really great place close to Layola as well as Hines VA has a great variety of all kinds of American food from hot dogs, hamburgers, gyros to burritos. Great prices are very reasonable and great.

Everything here is great. The chicken philly sandwich w/​everything (grilled sweet peppers, onions, mushrooms & melted mozzarella) is my go to favorite!

Absolutely love this place!!! When I feel like being more «healthy» I get the Chicken Greek salad or the Gryo salad, both with house dressing. I love the combination of the freshly cooked meat on the crispy cold veggies. However, when I really feel like getting my greasy but amazingly delicious food fix I get the gyro (not necessarily greasy, but so much meat!!!) or the Italian Beef (wet or dipped of course) with hot peppers… yum! I have exposed many people to this place (if you are in the neighborhood of course) and yet to get a negative response! My hubby loves their hotdog meal too… I will just go out on a limb and state that you can’t go wrong with any selection from Poor Boys!!!

Disgusting. Chicken kebabs looked as if they sat in the fridge for over a week. Worst stomach aches in ages. Yuck.

Best Onion Rings!!!
I try to get here bi-​weekly for an order of onion rings. Nice and crisp light batter. The onion is super tasty and almost melts in your mouth. I don’t even dip them in anything. So glad I found these.

I came in yesterday and had their Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers, with a side of fries and a coke. The sandwich came juicy, hot and ready, and had great kick from the peppers. The fries were fresh and the coke was great to bring it all down. Definitely will come again for more of that!

This place has always been a neighborhood fave for others. I just started indulging about 2yrs ago. I really can’t believe I was sleep on this place! Anywho, I have had several things from here: grilled chicken pita, gyro, italian beef, burgers, hot wings & a ribeye steak sandwich. All pretty good. They stay open til 2am week days and 4am weekends. Pretty cool. Check them out 4 a quick delicious bite.

This place is no big deal. I got the Italian beef special: beef, fries, Coke @8.79 total. So not cheap, but not outrageous. The fries were standard grease pit thin and crispy. The Italian beef was weak. It was maybe the weakest beef I’ve had in a while. It was on what seemed to be a beef sized hot dog bun. Wrong bread. The beef was borderline dry and bland. The hot peppers weren’t even that good. This place is churning out mediocre food for sure. It’ll fill you up and then you will forget all about this one of a billion grease pits in the area. What’s this place called again? Poor effort?

For the type of food this place serves up (greasy fast food), this place is pretty legit. I had a client visitation in the area and the guys decided upon Poor Boy. I nearly always let the client pick where they would like to go. Aside from just being courteous, it also allows me to check out localized favs and also forces me to check out places Unilocal reviews might have steered me clear of. Sometimes it works out, other times it’s a disaster. In this case, it worked out well.
The menu at this place is pretty massive for a fast food joint. They leave no stone unturned; burgers, dogs, Italian beef, subs, chicken, salads, burritos, and much more is all on tap here. I went with the Philly Cheese Steak combo that was on special for just over 6 bucks and included fries and a drink. For that low of price point, my expectations were pretty low, but it was surprisingly delicious. Many places that serve phillys have the meat so saturated in au jus that the bread is a soggy mess before you even take your first bite. That was not the case here. The meat was just the slightest bit too salty, but the fresh melted cheese and onions made up for this. I scarfed it down in short order. The fires here were of the skinny and extra crispy variety, so if your a fan of potato wedges or steak fries they may not be to your liking. As for me, these are my fries of choice!
The dining room here is huge, with ample seating abound, and even right at 12:30 when the place was really busy, the exceedingly friendly staff had our food kicked out to us in no time. It was also very clean, which is a critical variable that I always factor into my reviews of busy fast food joints. Both of my companions went with dogs and fries and ate them down hungrily, though I am still not sure I understand the whole fascination with hot dogs in this town.
A huge scene did take place while we were eating lunch which was memorable, and testimony to the patience of the staff. I was about ¾ of the way finished with my sandwich when I heard some yelling coming from the order counter. Convos from the rest of the diners got quiet really quick and everyone directed their attention up front. There was a probably 350 pound black woman at the counter, In neon orange stretch pants, screaming about something. What was she yelling about? I can’t really be certain as it was (I think) English but largely unintelligible aside from profanity. I could see the look on the poor clerk’s eyes who was directly in front of her and make out a non-​verbal «Oh-​No» from his facial expression. This verbal mêlée went on for a solid min and a half, which had to be excruciating to the staff. Some people really do not have any common decency when in public. Fortunately, what I assume was a manager emerged and very cooly and calmly informed her that she could either leave or the police would be called. Kudos for this one, as I am not so sure I would of been able to keep such a level head in a similar situation.
Overall, this is a great option for fast food if you are in the area. They offer fast service, great tasting food, and the prices are dirt cheap. My clients informed me that they stop in about once a week and the food and service is always consistently good. I am sure I will be back here at some point on another visit.

Went to this place wanting something different and got it .The special was 3 hotdogs and fries plus a drink for $ 6.25 –I was expecting alot less than what I got ! I would put their hotdogs up against some of the pricier places so this place is definitely well worth it. It is the last place to eat at before going to Brookfield Zoo save some money eat here before you go. I also got a toasted sandwich that was really good ! A must try

We have been wanting to try this place for awhile, especially after they renovated the exterior. We live just down the street and would like a good «chicago» food place that’s not Portillo’s. This place is about on the same level. I had the Italian sub sandwich and it was decent, but the bread was hard. We definitely want to come try the Gyros, but I don’t think it will change my opinion. The food is OK, the service is OK, and the restaurant is OK.

Nothing fancy when you pull up, honestly had second thoughts until I walked in. Great little joint, best Italian beef I’ve ever tasted, dipped but not soggy and amazing flavor. Wife had gyro plate that was delicious, kid had ribeye sand which and cheese fries which he loved. If you’re heading to the zoo, you definitely want to eat here on your way to or from.

Food was fast and good. I ordered the chicken tender dinner with a shake, also a medium cherry coke to wash it down. Obviously drinks at any place has lots of ice. So when I was finished with my drink I asked for a refill… they wanted $ 0.50 for the refill… What?!! Its no wonder why they call the place Poor Boy…
At least at Nana’s Hot Dog they donate the $ 0.50 for a refill to charity.

I like the Chicken tender Dinner with Greek Fries. The place is true to its name. The options are relatively cheap add big on taste. The service is decent and the for is great for on the go.

Restaurant update:
This continues to be the best grease joint in the area next to Portillos. It has a leg up on the competition due to the combo meals. Please read my prior review for all the details. The specials are valid for lunch and dinner which includes your meal and a drink. So these are my comments on the different types of foods I have tried:
1. Italian sausage– average size, reheated on the grill. Great tasting on french bread
2. Philly steak– compact, small but cooked fresh on the grill with ribeye and cheese
3. Gyro sandwich– hot off the spit, very greasy but good with the gyro sauce
4. Double cheeseburger– Simply number 1, so much meat and grease it will keep you filled
5. Patty melt– a trim down version of the double cheeseburger, but still good. Very greasy though
6. The hot dog combo 3 hot dog and 2 fries– is way too much for one person. This one does not come with a drink though. All beef frank so you can’t go wron
7. Chop steak– taste like a burger but greasier. Somehow this is cheaper than the double cheeseburger but I think I like that better

I have been working in the city for a year now and frankly, I have a hard time finding a cheese burger that is worth the effort to buy. I have said this before does anyone over the age of 15 really look forward to McDonald’s, does anyone really think Burger King tastes char broiled?
I was already at the Forest Park Blue Line station having decided against everything open down town, when I remembered Poor Boy! YAY!
I had a double cheese burger, too many french fries and a pop for a little over $ 7.00 which is a great price. Now when you consider it was excellent! I mean really satisfying. They do really great french fries as well.
Just wanted to say, excellent!

Was waiting outside of the hospital around there and needed to grab something to eat and kill some time… so I went to Poor Boy.
It’s the typical burgers, hot dogs, pizza puffs, etc. kind of place… but it does have sandwiches which is where I assume it takes on its name.

On Roosevelt Road in Maywood sits a decent sized fast food eatery called Poor Boy. I’d driven past it quite a few times and finally took the time to stop in. Near where I live in Wheaton is a place called «Poor Boy II», I strongly suspect that these two eateries are completely unrelated. Heading in I noticed that there was a decent amount of seating and one large counter to order at.
In visiting I decided to go for a hot dog and fries. The hot dog here came on a classic Chicago style poppy seed bun. The sausage was skinless There was a thick not particularly long pickle here, this pickle slice created several problems. First off it was thick enough to where if you bite into it, the pickle flavor easily overpowers everything else, and it’s not long enough to get pickle in every bite. A thinner longer pickle slice would be preferable to what was used here. There was also one thick tomato slice, this created a similar problem as it was short and very thick, one big burst of tomato flavor and then nothing for the rest of the hot dog. The mustard, relish were adequately applied but the onion was a little lacking. There was no noticeable celery salt on the dog but there were quite a few sport peppers.
The fries were thin McDonalds like fries, they were crispy and whatever they were cooked in gave a nice flavor to them. A fair number of hot dog stands I’ve visited use these same style of fries and they’re usually pretty good, this was no exception. Overall I’d say these were excellent fries to compliment a hot dog.
My experience at Poor Boy was that this place while inexpensive isn’t for poor boys only. The food was average and it’s close by it wouldn’t be a bad place to stop. But if you’re willing to drive a little further better options do exist. I am going to give Poor Boy three stars as it’s an average Chicago style eatery.