Why are 'Chicago-style' gyros everywhere in Nashville?

Our question today: What is a "Chicago-style gyro," and why are there so many shops with that name in Nashville? 

Little did we know that trying to figure this out would take us way beyond Nashville and lead us to uncover the very creation of the gyro as we know it. And reporter Justin Barney is taking you along as he crisscrosses the country, plunges into culinary history, hits the factory floor, and gets face-to-face with the man who elevated a niche menu item into a cultural staple.

You can make Curious Nashville even better by asking us a great question at WPLN.org/Curious.

Credits:

Curious Nashville is a production of Nashville Public Radio and uses music from Blue Dot Sessions. Another version of today’s story was also produced for the food podcast “Proof,” from America’s Test Kitchen, and you can check that out if you want to go deeper into culinary history.

Host: Tony Gonzalez

Reporter & producer: Justin Barney

Editing: Blake Farmer

Special thanks to Nashville Public Radio's Tasha A.F. Lemley, Mack Linebaugh, and Cynthia Abrams.