If you've ever wanted a Dyson vacuum, this editor-favorite is at its lowest price ever. Here's why we love it
For a Dyson at the lowest price possible, you can't go wrong with the basic but mighty Dyson V8 Plus Cordless Vacuum. It offers two cleaning modes, three attachments, and a cleaning time of up to 40 minutes.
SpecificsThe Dyson V8 is a great entry-level option from Dyson, especially if you want to have a Dyson cleaning tool in your repertoire. That said, is also Dyson's basic offering. You get excellent cleaning performance, HEPA filtration, and a good suite of accessories. If you're looking for newer models with slightly longer battery life, LCD screens, and auto-adjusting suction, expect to pay another $100 or $200. We've also included some of Dyson's other models on sale at the bottom of this story so you can know all your options.The Dyson V8 is incredibly versatile. In addition to being lightweight and easy to use, it comes with helpful attachments for cleaning beyond your floors. The mini-motorized hair screw tool is great for cleaning pet beds and upholstery. In contrast, the crevice tool and soft dusting brush are essential for getting into tight spaces and cleaning blinds or other delicate surfaces, respectively.The Detangling Motorbar cleaner head, found across the entire Dyson lineup, also features hair removal vanes to clear long hair and pet hair from the brush bar. While we did witness some hair wrap around the brush roll, the idea is that as you continue to clean, the hair should unwrap itself and deposit itself in the dustbin.The Dyson V8 Plus has two cleaning settings: Eco and Boost. You'll be able to clean almost everything on normal, but should you need that extra oomph, Boost mode gets you a burst of power. It's easy to toggle between the two settings.When used as a handheld, the Dyson V8 can clean for up to 40 minutes. With the main cleaner head, we were able to clean for just short of 30 minutes, which is more than enough time for small and medium homes. However, in boost mode, the charge lasts just seven minutes, which is on par with cordless options that share this same run time.Dyson's excellent multi-layer HEPA filtration captures 99.99% of microscopic particles as small as 0.3 microns. It's the same filter protection found in pricier models, too.The Dyson V8 is particularly well-suited to pulling dust bunnies from the carpet and suctioning fine particles in one or two passes. Where it struggles, however, is picking up larger debris, pushing it forward instead of sucking it up.
For a Dyson at the lowest price possible, you can't go wrong with the basic but mighty Dyson V8 Plus Cordless Vacuum. It offers two cleaning modes, three attachments, and a cleaning time of up to 40 minutes.
If the above Dyson V8 is sold out, or you're curious about the other promotions, here are other highly rated Dyson vacuums discounted for Prime Day.
The Dyson V11 Origin is a step up from the V8, with up to 60 minutes of run time, three powerful settings with a sleek LCD screen, and it features a HEPA filter to help keep allergens out of the air.
The Dyson V15 Detect will change the way you clean your floors, with its groundbreaking laser technology that reveals the dust your eyes or even LED lights can't see. Excellent suction power, performance, and battery life make this one of Dyson's top offerings. This is among the lowest prices we've seen on this edition.
This edition of the Dyson Ball series, one of the most powerful uprights available, is especially effective on pet hair and carpets. It comes loaded with an array of attachments for extra versatility, including a tangle-free turbine tool, combination tool, multi-angle brush, stair tool, reach-under tool, carbon fiber soft dusting brush, mattress tool, and tool bag.
Shopping for more discounts? Check out our roundup of all of the best Prime Day deals, or browse Amazon's website for the full selection.
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CNN
41 minutes ago
- CNN
Hurry! The 27 best Amazon Prime Day TV deals are about to disappear
Yes, this unprecedented four-day stretch of summer Amazon savings is coming to a close. I've been watching discounts go up and down as the top Prime Day deals on TVs came and went, and now they're hours away from going back into hibernation. So, I hope you've added the set of your dreams to your cart and measured the space where it's going to live. This Prime Day may have been longer, but it was pretty similar to the rest, as sets from industry titans including Samsung, LG and Sony hit prices that were a lot more palatable than before. I even found Amazon deals on my two favorite Roku devices, in case all you need to do is replace the OS on your existing TV. For those looking for a special kind of TV, I've got a whole section on art TVs, such as Samsung's The Frame. Prime Day is also the perfect time to find great savings on OLED TVs, which are among the best TVs due to their color and contrast. So, without any further preamble, here are the best on TVs and streaming devices worth your time and money. TCL 75-Inch Class QM7K Series 4K Smart TV With a whopping $1,000 discount, TCL's QLED TV might be the best deal we've found. Not only does it come with smart TV features, but it also boasts a super-bright 4K picture for easy daytime viewing. Hisense 55-Inch U6 Mini-LED 4K TV Widely revered for its contrast and HDR color, this Hisense TV does very well for a non-OLED TV, and Amazon's got the best price we've ever seen with this $352-off deal. Insignia 50-Inch Class F50 Series 4K Fire TV Best Buy's Insignia brand is even getting in on the Prime Day shenanigans, with this 50-inch 4K Fire TV hitting a new low of $170 ($10 lower than it was a couple of days ago) for Prime members, for a whopping 43% off. Amazon 75-Inch Fire TV Omni QLED Need a new TV on a budget? Amazon's custom-built Fire TV — complete with smart home integration and advanced HDR — has hit its lowest price ever at nearly 50% our review Roku 75-Inch Pro Series 4K QLED TV With respectable specs and built-in fine art backdrops, the Roku Pro Series is another wallet-friendly Frame alternative that will hang flush against your wall. This is the cheapest recorded price our review Hisense 75-Inch U8N Mini-LED Smart Google TV This 75-inch version of our favorite midrange TV is currently $200 off, and about $160 shy of its all-time low price. Our testing showed it offers solid brightness, color and contrast, and it's an even bigger steal at this our review Sony 85-Inch Bravia 5 Mini-LED TV Sony releases its new TVs in the spring, which makes Prime Day the best chance at saving big on its latest sets. For example, this super-bright Sony Bravia 5 TV is currently $502 off, for its lowest price yet. Toshiba 85-inch Class C350 Series LED 4K TV While this budget-oriented model might not be able to compete with top-of-the-line OLED counterparts, 85 inches is a lot of TV for $600. Plus, you get all the features you'd expect from a basic smart TV, including Alexa integration. Amazon 43-Inch 4-Series Smart Fire TV Of all Amazon's inexpensive 4-Series Smart TVs, the 43-inch model is seeing the biggest discount, dropping it to a new low price. Sure, you won't get any bells and whistles beyond Alexa integration, but that's OK at this sub-$300 price point. Insignia 32-Inch Class F20 Series LED HD Smart Fire TV I'm not gonna lie: You're not going to want this 720p TV in your living room. The picture quality isn't good enough, and it's way too small to watch from the couch. But it's cheap enough discounted that it might make a useful secondary TV for your guest room, kitchen or college dorm. Samsung 55-Inch The Frame TV (2024) CNN Underscored editors and readers agree that Samsung's The Frame is worth checking out if you want your TV to double as a work of art when you're not watching anything. Amazon's currently got the 55-inch model at its best price ever, while Samsung and Best Buy have it for $2 our review Samsung 75-Inch The Frame TV (2024) If you have a larger wall to fill, however, you need to check out this deal that takes a huge chunk out of the 75-inch The Frame's price and brings it a few hundred bucks shy of its our review Samsung 65-Inch The Frame Pro 4K Neo QLED Smart TV While Samsung's regular art TV is a popular model, its new The Frame Pro impressed the heck out of me with improved picture quality when I spent time with it earlier this year. And right now it's $300 off, which is a mere $50 more than the best I've ever our review Hisense 55-Inch CanvasTV This alternative to Samsung's The Frame is even cheaper, and our own editorial director Chelsea Stone is a fan. She just installed the 65-inch model in her apartment, but that model is $100 more than its lowest price. This 55-inch model is the better deal, currently at its record low! TCL 55-Inch 4K NxtVision TV (2024) Those who prefer TCL over Hisense, though, have their own art TV option, and this set offers Dolby Atmos, the dimensional audio standard Hisense's CanvasTV doesn't. This is a new record-low price, $11 lower than the previous low. LG B4 48-Inch 4K OLED Smart TV OLED TVs tend to be more expensive, but they don't have to be, especially if you're willing to trade down to a smaller size. Case in point: LG's lauded B4 Series TV is $150 off at Best Buy, and it comes with a smoother 120Hz refresh rate, AI upscaling and smart features. Sony 48-Inch Bravia XR A90K OLED TV This Sony OLED TV with Dolby Vision and Atmos support, plus HDMI 2.1 and PS5 gaming features, is at its lowest price ever for Prime Day with this $401 discount. LG 65-Inch C4 OLED Evo Smart TV As an LG C2 owner who still loves his set, I can attest to the quality of LG's C-series TVs that provide great contrast, deep black tones and solid color, and that's why looking at the 2024 version of LG's OLED TV instead of the 2025 model is a good idea. In Prime Day's final hours, it has seen another price cut on Amazon. LG 55-Inch Evo C5 OLED TV LG's latest C-series OLED TV impressed me with its brightness and color output at CES 2025, and it's currently $523 off at Amazon, which is the lowest price we've seen. Panasonic 65-Inch Z85 Series OLED 4K TV I was impressed by the Z85's mix of brightness and detail when I got to see it last year, but don't let Amazon's $998 list price fool you. I've double-checked the price history, and it's been as high as $1,876, making it $878 off! This is a mere $32 shy of its lowest price ever from earlier this week. Read our review Samsung 65-Inch S90D 4K OLED TV This bright Samsung OLED TV may be from 2024, but it's definitely worth checking out at a whopping $550 off its Amazon list price. Sony 65-Inch Bravia 8 II OLED 4K TV Sony's one of the more beloved OLED TV makers, so I'm happy to see this $500 discount on one of its latest sets. The deal is technically even bigger, because the set was $1,000 more expensive for its first month on sale. Supplies are running low at Amazon. Roku Streaming Stick This 1080p stick makes it easy to add a simple, easy-to-use interface to an older HD TV or one with an OS that you just don't like. And it's currently at its lowest price ever!Read our review Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Don't love your TV's built-in interface? The 4K Fire TV Stick is the streaming device that most people who live within the Amazon (especially Amazon Prime Video) world will probably buy, since it funnels so much of the streaming ecosystem into the home page. Right now this 50%-off discount is nearly the best I've ever seen — a mere $3 shy of its record low. Roku Streaming Stick 4K This 30% discount is the best we've seen on our favorite streaming device, which offers snappy performance and a clean interface, in the last six months. It's worth a look even if it's $10 shy of its record our review Roku Ultra (2024) Roku's best standalone streaming device is the one I give my parents every time it gets updated because it's superfast and easy to use. It's currently at a record low price for Prime Day with this $31 our review Microsoft Xbox Wireless Controller Bundle With Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max and 1-Month Game Pass Ultimate If you don't have a console of your own, this bundle gives you everything to try Microsoft's take on cloud gaming, including a controller and one month of its Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Oh, and you get the fastest Fire TV stick, all in a bundle that costs up to $62 less than the total of its components. All the products on this list are at or near the lowest prices CNN Underscored has ever seen, using price histories available online, along with our own records. Having hunted deals for this long, I know the difference between a new record low, a price that matches the previous low and one that just comes close. More importantly, these are all current TVs and streaming devices, including models we've gone hands-on with or tested ourselves, from Samsung's The Frame to Amazon's Fire TV Stick 4K. CNN Underscored comprises a team of writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has been reviewing gadgets for more than a decade and has been tracking deals during Prime Days and Black Fridays on them for just as long. Just last weekend he helped one friend find the best affordable streaming stick for their needs.
CNN
44 minutes ago
- CNN
Time's running out on the 29 best Amazon Prime Day Apple deals of 2025
Featured Apple Prime Day dealApple AirTags, 4-Pack: $65 $99 This deal is constantly changing at the time of publishing, with Amazon getting it back in stock after running out. Get it while you can! I hope you've got your favorite Apple products in the cart ready to check out, because these Prime Day deals end in mere hours. As I've texted friends, family and even colleagues, this is one of the very best chances to get Apple items at the prices that make far more sense, such as the AirPods Pro 2 at $149 — a record low. We've also got new low prices for the best iPads and good deals on our favorite MacBooks. Oh, and Amazon finally has the AirTag four-pack deal back in stock after selling out earlier. There's only one problem: This plethora of deals can be hard to sift through, and many sales aren't actually that great if you scrutinize them. This is where I come into play, as I've been covering Apple deals for every Prime Day ever, starting in 2015. I've also been reviewing Apple's products along the way, giving me the experience of knowing which Macs, AirPods and iPhones you should be looking for and which you should just skip. Here are the best Amazon deals on Apple products, the only ones you should consider this Prime Day. Apple AirTag It never hurts to have a spare AirTag handy for tracking your stuff, especially when they're on sale only a single dollar above their all-time low price. Read our review Apple AirTag, 4-Pack This deal is constantly in flux, as Amazon's had trouble keeping this four-pack of trackers in stock. Fortunately, both Amazon and Best Buy have the trackers now, but that could change our review Hatalkin AirTag Holder, 4-Pack You pretty much need an AirTag holder to actually affix Apple's tracker to most of your stuff, and this mega-popular set gets you four of them for just over $5 right now. Apple 20W USB-C Power Adapter As someone who loses stuff constantly, I find that you can never have enough power bricks. This tiny-but-speedy Apple charger has been my go-to for years, and you can pick up an extra for close to its lowest price right now. Anker Nano 30W USB-C Charger Block We love this fast and compact Anker charging brick, which has an even higher charging wattage than Apple's and is currently cheaper than we've ever seen it for Prime Day. It comes in a bunch of sweet color options too. Eveready CR2032 Lithium Coin Batteries, 10-Pack No, these aren't Apple-brand batteries, but they are the batteries you'll need to replace in the AirTags once a year. And this Prime Day discount makes them a perfect purchase for anyone who owns AirTags or is buying more. Apple USB-C Woven Charge Cable It never hurts to have a spare charging cable handy, and this popular option (which we've used a ton) gets you a sturdy woven design and a comfortable 6.5 feet of slack for a lowest-ever price. Apple iPhone 16 MagSafe Clear Case I've bought and loved Apple's clear cases for years, and you can now give your iPhone 16 some translucent, MagSafe-ready protection for a solid 18% off. Anker 140W 4-Port USB-C Laptop Charger Most laptop power adapters are only designed to power your laptop, but this four-port power adapter from trusted accessory brand Anker means you'll be able to charge a MacBook, iPad and iPhone and even an Apple Watch at the same time, provided you have cords for each. It even ncludes a braided USB-C cable for the first device. Oh, and it's at its best price ever. Twelve South HiRise 3 Deluxe Magsafe Charging Stand I've used plenty of MagSafe chargers over the years, but there's only one I actually love. This 3-in-1 model can charge an iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch at the same time, and it takes up a minimal amount of space while it does so. Today's 50%-off discount enables you to get this well-designed stand for less than ever our review Apple USB-C VGA Multiport Adapter Adding USB-C, USB-A and VGA ports with this adapter will come in handy if a MacBook Air is your daily driver. Still on the fence? This is the lowest price we've seen in months. Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) With USB-C Even having tested tons of great competitors over the years, I constantly come back to the AirPods Pro 2 for their superb sound quality, excellent ANC and headache-free connectivity with my iPhone. These oft-discounted favorites just hit their lowest price ever for Prime our review Apple AirPods 4 Even as an AirPods Pro snob, I was incredibly impressed by the AirPods 4's Pro-like sound quality and immersive spatial audio. They're a very good pickup at this lowest-ever price. Read our review Apple AirPods 4 With ANC The noise-canceling version of the AirPods 4 are an excellent AirPods Pro alternative for folks who prefer less of a tight seal. They offer shockingly good ANC for a set of open earbuds and are a great deal at this lowest-ever price. Read our review Apple AirPods Max Apple's pricey over-ear headphones sound great, and they've just dropped back to $399 in Starlight. However, keep in mind that prices keep fluctuating on these luxe our review Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) The Apple Watch SE is an excellent pickup if you just need the basics. It's just $20 shy of its best-ever price and a great sub-$200 value. Apple Watch Series 10 Our favorite overall smartwatch just dropped to its best price yet, making it a better time than ever to grab one if you're looking to better track your health or spend less time on your our review Apple Watch Ultra 2 The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the way to go if you're a hiker, diver, extreme athlete or just want the most feature-packed watch possible, and this lowest-ever price makes Apple's most premium wearable more attainable. Read our review Apple iPad (11th Gen) Our pick for the best tablet and best iPad, Apple's 11th-generation basic tablet is still absurdly capable for the vast majority of people. Better yet, it's a buck short of its lowest price ever for Prime Day. Read our review Apple iPad Mini (2024) The iPad Mini is my go-to for bingeing YouTube, reading comics and catching up on TV shows on the go, and the speedy 2024 model with A17 Pro is currently at the lowest price we've seen for it. Read our review Apple iPad Air M3 (2025) With superfast performance and the handy Stage Manager mode for desktop-like multitasking, the iPad Air is as good as the iPad Pro for most people. That's especially true when you can grab the latest version of this great slate for its lowest price yet. Read our review Apple Pencil (USB-C) This is the lowest price we've seen on the basic USB-C Apple Pencil, which works with most modern iPads for your drawing and note-taking needs. Add it to your cart now before the price jumps again. Logitech Keys-To-Go 2 Keyboard iPad shoppers trying to find a keyboard within their budget can skip Apple's much-more-expensive options for Logitech's super-portable keyboard that I've enjoyed testing — which Prime members can grab at its lowest price our review Apple 11-Inch iPad Pro M4 We love the iPad Pro's stunning OLED screen and best-in-class performance for power users who need top speed for drawing and editing. It's certainly a splurge, but much more attainable at just a dollar shy of its all-time-low right our review Apple 13-Inch MacBook Air M4 Our pick for the best laptop and best MacBook since it first launched, the latest MacBook Air packs more than enough power for most people's needs within a beautifully slim design. It's about $50 shy of its all-time low price, but this is still a great deal on a great laptop. Read our review Apple 15-Inch MacBook Air M4 I wouldn't normally focus on a different size of a laptop, but the 15-inch MacBook Air is my favorite because of its lightweight design, large screen and great mix of performance and battery life. This $150-off deal isn't the best we've ever seen, but this laptop is too good for me to gloss over. Apple MacBook Pro M4 The latest MacBook Pro M4 delivered some of the best performance scores we've ever seen from a laptop while offering some pretty impressive battery life to boot. It's a great pick for those who typically push their notebook to the limit and are willing to invest in the best of the best. Luckily, this discount takes off a bit of the sticker shock, and it's a mere $24 shy of its all-time low price. Read our review Apple Mac Mini M4 If you clip the $46 coupon, the Mac Mini comes close to its lowest price ever. The small computer is an excellent option for remote workers short on space, as it packs a punch without taking up desk our review Apple iMac M4 This iMac earned a spot in my home office as my favorite big-screen device I can turn to for everything from my personal email to running a media server, thanks to its slim design and speedy performance. This $150 discount isn't the largest I've ever seen, but it's still enough to merit inclusion our review Every product on this list is at or close to the lowest price we've seen yet, according to Amazon price tracker CamelCamelCamel. More importantly, these are all current Apple products that we've personally tested and recommend, from the cheapest AirTag to the most expensive MacBook Pro. CNN Underscored has a team of writers and editors who have many years of experience testing, researching and recommending products, and they ensure each article is carefully edited and products are properly vetted. Electronics writer Henry T. Casey has been reviewing tech products for more than a decade, and he's been a part of Prime Day deals coverage since the original in 2015. He's just recently helped friends of his pick out the right MacBook for their needs and budget.
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
From fast casual to fine dining: 50 years of the American gyro, and a look at the dish's Chicago history
It's the lunch rush on a busy Wednesday at Dengeos in suburban Skokie. The restaurant's menu reads like the guest list for a party dedicated to fans of Chicago greasy spoons — mustardy hot dogs, Italian beefs, Polish sausages and mostaccioli abound. And, of course, gyros. Dengeos is a Greek restaurant first and foremost, and it's been serving up the yogurty, salty pita pockets since 1972. Behind the counter, between the shuffle of cooks and kitchen staff, Dengeos owner Nick Theodosis shows off the key to the joint's long-running success: three large machines, each with its own cone of rotating, sizzling gyro meat. 'These are the autodoners,' said Theodosis. 'And this,' he picked up a device that looked like a handheld Dyson fan, 'is called the Wizard. It shaves the gyro paper thin.' In 1974 and 1975, only a few years after Dengeos first opened, two Chicago-based companies, Grecian Delights and Kronos Foods, began mass-producing the world's first hydraulically pressed gyro cones. This modern marvel of rotisserie meat allowed for a more consistent, and therefore easier-to-sell, product. Eventually, the two companies merged in 2020, but in the years prior, they helped turn an ancient dish (some estimate the cooking techniques behind the gyro could be at least 2,000 years old) into a fast-casual staple, one that launched as many Dengeos-style Greek eateries as Helen launched ships from Troy. Now, over 50 years later, the popularity of the gyro has waned, as the classic Greek spots that once covered Chicago's North and West sides have dwindled, replaced by taquerías and shawarma joints as new waves of immigration have changed the city's culinary landscape. With fast-casual options out, Greek food in Chicago has moved in a more upscale direction, entering a new era of Greek fine dining that looks like it is here to stay. When Theodosis' father opened Dengeos, he had just fled a Greece where the economy had been ravaged by Nazi occupation and a bitter civil war. Long before that, however, Chicago had been a major hub for Greek immigration. According to Katherine Kelaidis, director of research and content at Chicago's National Hellenic Museum, between approximately 40,000 and 60,000 Greek immigrants settled in the Chicago area in the years immediately following World War I. Between 1945 and 1974, it's estimated that an additional 80,000 to 100,000 Greek immigrants came to the Windy City, many of whom expected to earn money they could send back to the homeland. There is actually a word in Greek for this periodic exodus, ',' said Kelaidis. Loosely translated, it means 'to go live in a foreign place to make money. Chicago is one of the first landing places for (Greek) people,' she said. When Greeks began arriving in Chicago in the 20th century, said Kelaidis, they settled on the city's West and Southwest sides, neighborhoods such as Little Italy, West Town and, of course, Greektown. Those with expendable capital began purchasing restaurants and gyro joints, places like Greektown's famed Greek Islands, which has been around since 1971, or the nearby Parthenon (where Kelaidis' grandparents had their first wedding anniversary), which closed in 2016 after 48 years in business. These restaurants were important spaces where the Greek community could gather, said Kelaidis, and they also created avenues for Greek immigrants to assimilate into the wider culture of the United States. Dino Sakkas certainly remembers his family's Lakeview restaurant, Gyros on the Spit, as a community gathering space. Open from 1973 to 2000, the restaurant was an old-school counter-service spot. Gyros, kebabs, baklava and spanakopita would arrive in red baskets lined with wax paper and a side of fries. There was always Greek music playing that would bounce off the restaurant's fake candelabras, gingham tablecloths and wood paneling, Sakkas said. 'It was a Greek restaurant, but a lot of people used to say it kind of looked like an old German brew ,' Sakkas said. Sakkas' uncle, one of the original owners of Greek Islands, helped his father start the business, but running the restaurant was really an all-hands-on-deck affair. When Sakkas' parents moved to Chicago from Greece in the 1970s, they didn't know many people, and Sakkas and his sister would spend most days after school hanging out at the restaurant. By 17, Sakkas was fully running the place. Sakkas is proud to say that, unlike most gyro spots at the time, Gyros on the Spit never made the switch to Grecian Delight Kronos Food's hydraulically pressed gyro cones, preferring instead to do it the old-fashioned way, marinating, slicing and stacking their meats by hand. This earned them a loyal following in the neighborhood. The lunch shift would see local building engineers, dinner would welcome large families (some Greek, some not) and the bar crowd would start rolling in around 2 in the morning and stay until 4 a.m. Sakkas' father would give everyone a shot of ouzo on their way out — complimentary, of course. 'I think the familiarity with Greek food, and an Americanized Greek food like the gyro, gave white Americans permission to see their Greek neighbors as one of them,' said Kelaidis of Chicago's Hellenic Museum. According to Kelaidis, by the 1960s, Greeks had moved from being seen as an ethnic minority to being seen more simply as white Americans. With white flight pushing most second-generation Greeks out to the suburbs, Greektown was soon Greek in name only. This exodus also meant fewer gyro spots. 'The block that my dad was on back in the early '70s, all the way to, I'd say mid-'90s, there were five (gyro places) on that block,' said Sakkas, 'and now there's none.' With the loss of many classic gyro spots, the Greek restaurant void has been filled by second- and third-generation Greek chefs who are putting their own spins on the classics they grew up eating. Among them is Doug Psaltis, a Greek restaurateur and chef-owner of Andros Taverna in the Logan Square neighborhood. One of the largest changes Psaltis sees from his grandfather's generation of Greek restaurants is their design. According to Psaltis, Greek restaurants used to have the 'Greek restaurant kit' — white stucco walls, azure blue ceilings and fake frescos of the motherland. This has since been replaced by more modern designs that feel more artistically driven, a change that is reflected in the food as well, said Psaltis. Whereas before you might have Greek dishes that were tweaked for an American palette, restaurants (and restaurantgoers) have now begun embracing more modern takes on traditional dishes that highlight the freshness of Mediterranean cuisine. At Andros Taverna, this looks like flying in fresh fish from markets in Athens and Barcelona, and baking their spanakopita to order rather than in large tray bakes that were more popular in the Greek diner generation of Psaltis' grandfather. When Psaltis first opened Andros Taverna in 2021, he wasn't planning on doing a gyro at all. 'I was like, no, it's not that kind of restaurant… This isn't like a quick eats place. It's a restaurant.' After playing around with the recipe, the restaurant now serves its signature gyro made with Midwestern pork, cooked over a charcoal grill and nestled in their made-to-order pitas. It's one of the most popular items on their menu, said Psaltis. Upscale gyros are also doing well on the menu at Meze Table, a Greek catering business based in Bridgeport run by best friends and collaborators Elizabeth Morris and Beth Salentiny. Like Theodosis and Psaltis, Salentiny also comes from a family of Greek restaurant owners and grew up eating Hellenic classics with a Midwestern bent. Her mother used to make a meatloaf with beef, pork and Greek spices that she would slice thin and serve pita-gyro style. She would also replace the more traditional fixings with Midwest staples like mayo, onions and lettuce — a Mediterranean meatloaf turned rustic gyro. Salentiny and Morris still make their gyros in a meatloaf pan before slicing thin strips that are crisped up on the stove. As if a meatloaf gyro wasn't Midwestern enough, the duo debuted their latest creation, the 'Gyro Hero' at a pop-up in June at Electric Funeral in Bridgeport. The sandwich features their homestyle gyro on a hoagie roll topped with a tzatziki-style slaw. You can try the sandwich at their next pop-up at Maria's Bar in Bridgeport on July 22. 'I'm so stoked to do it. It's a good blend of Maxwell Street-style counter food and gyros and Greek food together,' said Salentiny. Avgeria Stapaki, chef-owner of the Greek fusion restaurant Táma in the Bucktown neighborhood, is working on plans to open a counter service gyro joint where she will serve 'authentic Greek gyros' alongside Greek potatoes and Greek wines. The Greek-born and -raised Stapaki is known for fusing food from her homeland with cuisine from other cultures, creating flavors as uniquely Chicago as they are classically Greek; dishes like Táma's guacamole, which comes with a pico de gallo that mimics the flavor profiles of a Greek horiatiki salad, or their avgolemono ramen, which switches out the Greek soup's traditional starchy rice with ramen noodles. Stapaki said the number of Greek fine dining restaurants has more than doubled since she first visited the city in 2016. For evidence of this trend, she points toward fine dining darlings like Avli Taverna, which opened in 2018 and has a kitchen staff led by Greek-born chefs. Amid the fine dining fog, Theodosis, the owner of Dengeos in Skokie, said he will continue to serve up the classic gyros that have kept his customers coming back for the last 50 years. 'When we go to Greece, every corner has a gyro stand,' said Theodosis, 'It's just an awesome fire: Flaming saganaki sparks interest worldwide decades after its Greektown origin
