Restaurants in Zanesville

The most famous offering on King Gyros' menu is the Big Fat (and presumably Greek) Gyro ($7.99), an extra-large pita packed with 12 ounces of thin-sliced gyro meat and topped with gyro sauce, diced tomato, onion, banana peppers, black olives, and lettuce. If that isn't Greek enough for you, try the souvlake gyro ($4.19+), which is a gyro wrapped around a skewer of filet-mignon tips. You can order them by the sack (up to $34.95 for five BFGs), like Socrates always did, or with a side of fresh-cut chili cheese fries ($3.69).

The service is somewhere between leisurely sit down and blazingly fast, a perfect compliment to the restaurant’s middle-ground nature, though the menu definitely takes the high road. It’s full of the eats that little Italian schoolchildren dream about at the moderate prices papas and mammas sing about in the shower.

T.G.I. Friday's transforms the six worst days of the week into the only day of the week that is acceptable to most Americans. Friday's is equipped to fill your life with Jack Daniel's sauce and endless salad and breadsticks. The multipronged menu contains prongs for burgers, sandwiches, salads and soups, seafood, pastas, chicken, and more so that any craving-flame can be put out.

East of Chicago Pizza placates grumbling hunger mobs with its selection of 11 specialty pizzas. Scale the sour-creamed peaks of the taco pizza, which mingles chicken or beef with lettuce, tomato, black olives, and onions ($14.99), or lounge on the bacon-blanketed shores of the Hawaiian, with ham and pineapple ($14.99). Topping-centric thrillseekers can venture down into the deep-dish depths of the Tower, whose upper crust erupts with pepperoni, mushrooms, sausage, green peppers, onions, ham, bacon, mild banana peppers, and green and black olives ($15.99). East of Chicago also offers the seven-layer veggie ($14.99), which sates the plant-based tastes of vegetarians and irradiated mole rats.

Warm, natural woods, terra cotta, wrought-iron fixtures, and exposed ceiling beams lend the upscale eatery an Old World charm studded with pops of contemporary green chairs, red lamp shades, and ethereal purple lights glowing above the bar. Overlooking scenic Big Walnut Creek and its surrounding park, the dining room is a romantic and comfortable spot for first dates that's free of the stuffy atmosphere and snooty waiters commonly associated with date-night fare. For an even better view and more intimate outing, hit the outdoor patio, where a fire pit casts flattering light and warm fuzzies on couples, old friends, and former P.E. teachers.

A whirlwind of utensils hovers over a sizzling grill under the ministrations of a deft hibachi chef, sending morsels of seared meat to diners seated around a crimson-hued circle of polished wood. Guests can request orders of teriyaki chicken, hibachi steak, or shrimp and watch the multitasking chef cook each meal to order while entertaining fellow diners and writing a grocery list to shop for after their shift. Vibrant, rustic murals and dioramas decorate the dining room, and lantern-style light fixtures cast a warm glow on tables and working fountain by the restaurant's entrance.