St. Louis, MOGyros

George Nicholas Sr. opened this McCausland Avenue room in 1980 as a souvlaki shack, using recipes from his cousin Marietta. His sons have kept it running for more than four decades. Order a gyro and the saganaki, brandy-soaked kasseri lit at the table. Kebabs, moussaka and spanakopita round out the menu. The family salvaged church pews and cut them in half for the booths.

Michael Malliotakis turned a small neighborhood bar into a Greek-American restaurant in the late 1970s. His daughter Katina now runs the 250-seat room. Gyros and gyro salads are among its biggest sellers, alongside pastitsio, moussaka, lamb shanks and burgers. Order a gyro with the oregano-laced Greek salad of tomatoes, feta and Greek olives.

This Gravois Avenue carryout builds a classic gyro with lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber sauce, and has a second counter in Oakville. Call ahead for spinach pie: crisp phyllo folded into small triangles around spinach, herbs and feta, served six to an order with tzatziki. Baklava is regularly available; custard-filled galaktoboureko appears less often.

Vedad Becirovic opened the original Soulard Gyro in 2009. His Bosnian upbringing in Germany, Turkish influences and a family friend's kebab shop shaped the slow-roasted meats in its gyros and doner kebabs. His favorite is the classic doner, a baked bun filled with chicken or beef and lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and red cabbage under house-made tzatziki and a red pepper blend. The Cali Gyro adds avocado and applewood-smoked bacon.

The gyro platter spreads roasted meat over rice with pita rounds and creamy tzatziki, turning the sandwich into a sit-down meal. A classic pita-stuffed gyro is also on the menu, with crinkle-cut fries available on the side. Order the platter to get the full combination of meat, rice and sauce that makes this O'Fallon kitchen's gyro stand out.