In Downtown Carbondale, IL, Sam’s Cafe is a small place that sells lots of different kinds of food, even though it doesn’t look big. It’s open late, from 8:00 PM until 3:00 AM, mainly because that’s when the bars and clubs are busy. You might think it’s just for people who’ve had a bit too much to drink, but actually, the food is pretty good.

My visit to Sam’s was satisfactory. Upon entering, I was greeted with good customer service. The gentleman behind the counter, hailing from the Middle East, engaged in a brief chat with me in Arabic. When I was ready to place my order, he assisted me, providing information about the menu items such as the sandwiches and other offerings.

Their menu was pretty decently sized; they have a little bit of everything on their menu. The worker behind the counter told me, “The most popular [thing] we have is the gyro combo, which also comes with a can of soda.” 

When I asked Gabriel Roman, a senior at Carbondale Community High School and frequent Sam’s Cafe customer, about his opinion on the place, he replied, “The food is affordable and delicious for the price.” He also told me that the food only took around 10 to 15 minutes to make, with a couple people ahead of him.

I ended up getting the Gyro Combo, which is what was recommended to me by the person behind the counter. The gyro sandwich had plenty of meat and vegetables and a special white sauce. The fries were also pretty decent. I’ll give my overall experience at Sam’s Cafe a 7.0/10 with the customer service, price, and the food. If you are interested in Sam’s Cafe here’s a website you could visit.