What’s your opinion on Döner Kebap?

46 comments

1. A what?!?

   -America

2. We don’t have the immigrant population to make that widespread.

   It’s the same reason why you can’t get Mexican food in Europe

   EDIT: Because people keep commenting “BuT yOu CaN gEt MeXiCaN fOoD iN EuRoPE”:

   In the context of this conversation, Mexican food is easily found throughout much of the US whereas doner kebab is not. Similarly, doner kebab is found throughout much of Europe while Mexican food is not.

   I didn’t mean to communicate that there are literally zero Mexican restaurants in all of Europe. But it isn’t widespread. It is very easy to not find it at all. And if you happen to find a Mexican food item on a tapas menu, it probably will bear little resemblance to what you can get in much of the US.

3. > Why isn’t it more common in the US?

   My understanding is that gyros and shawarma are both basically types of döner (with different names because they arrived here from different countries) and al pastor tacos are derived from the same thing. So that food niche is filled here, just under a different name.

4. There are a few places that do it in NYC. It’s alright

5. It’s pretty good, but niche. Here I generally see it in places I would call “takeout oriented”, as opposed to “fast food”. It’s also usually a small family business. I’d probably eat more of it if it was more prevalent, but it’s also usually kind of pricey for what it is, so it really depends on how well the place does it.

6. Kebob

7. My only experience with it is from watching Red Dwarf. In fact I’m not even sure what it is

8. I love it. When I go to germany in a few months, I will have to have it.

9. In North America we call it shawarma. kebabs here are pieces of meat and vegetables on a stick, like a skewer. They aren’t as popular mainly because we have millions of fast food joints on every corner. Compared to Europe, chain restaurants dominate our dining experience, while local independently run joints are a risky investment because they close down all the time.

10. It’s one of my favorite foods. I live near 4 doner shops, but there’s one that I go to weekly. I’l miss it when I leave Germany, but then I’ll have Mexican food, which is even better.

11. It’s great. It isn’t more common because immigrants from areas where that is a traditionally common food just started immigrating here enmasse relatively recently.

    Think as to why Mexican food isn’t so common there.

12. I tried it while visiting Germany, and absolutely fell in love with it. Some of the best food I’ve ever tried.

13. Tacos and shawarma take it’s place.

14. Just hasn’t caught on. It’s delicious and I wish you could find it more.

    We have al pastor, gyros, and shawarma which are similar yet very different.

    It’s probably similar to why most European countries don’t have a lot of Mexican food.

15. Unfortunately here in the us we have shawarma, but the spices lean a lot more towards middle eat and not Turkey.

    European kebabs are typically from Turkish immigrants and us shawarma are demon Lebanese/Palestinian/Egyptian etc influenced.

    I much prefer the European/Turkish kebabs as they are a bit more subtle with their spices.

16. It was my favorite go-to whenI was in Germany. We simply do not have the Turkish immigrant population here to make that a highly desirable food

17. I have no idea what that is.

18. When it comes to fast food in Europe, my favorite tends to be Leberkäsesemmel

    Kebab is good though, I don’t get it as often though when I’m in Europe because I like Leberkäsesemmel more.

19. I like the way they taste.

20. They are the best thing ever!!

21. There are some middle eastern/Turkish resturants around in New Hampshire and when I went to college in New Haven there were a few Turkish resturants.

    Falafel and a döner are a great late night eat after going out w friends.

22. Love it. Miss it. We had a chain in Texas that folded.

    Doner with jalapeños and garlic sauce is freaking amazing

23. God, I miss döner, much more rare here

24. I have a boner for a döner

25. I don’t know what this is

26. I love it! I ate it lots when I lived in Berlin for a few years.

    I live the USA countryside currently, so I wouldn’t be able to easily get it even if it was available. Also, it was pretty cheap in Berlin, and it would probably cost twice as much here in the USA cause *Freedom*.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if it became popular here at some point. I’m not sure enough people with resources have tried to make it popular.

27. I’ve never heard of it.

28. When I spent a few months in Germany as a poor college student, I ate numerous kebaps because they were cheap and way tastier than fast food. I have really missed them in the US, and I do wish they were more popular. In my area at least, there are far more Greek immigrants than Turks, so we have a plethora of gyro places. While I love gyros too, I would be risking life and limb to audibly compare them to kebaps.

29. I love döner kebab, but yes it is way less common in the US than it is Europe. In the US, I have only really seen it at a few Middle Eastern restaurants, and only in New York as street food. Instead, Greek/Mediterranean dishes such as gyros and souvlaki are much more common. Döner definitely fills a similar niche in Europe as tacos do in the US: very popular quick/comfort/to-go dish which also satisfies one’s “drunk at 2 AM” cravings.

    Yes, I do wish it was popular in the US, and I only really came to love it after moving to Germany.

30. OP can you explain what it is? Not like a detailed recipe but a description and how you eat it? That would be helpful! I guess I want to know if I’ve eaten or seen something similar under a different name.

31. We have a few Turkish places in DC. I love doner kebabs. One of the great things about DC is that we get a constant stream of people from all over the world and they bring their culture and food with them.

32. When my parents lived in Stuttgart they were my favorite thing to eat while visiting. Unfortunately I haven’t found anything remotely as good as what is available in Germany, even if it has the same name in the US.

33. I took German in high school and heard plenty stories about doner, I wish we could get them here.

34. The doner I had in Berlin is some of the best, if not *the* best street food on the planet.

    The doner I had in other parts of Europe, even German-ish speaking countries like Austria and Switzerland was not anywhere near as good. It was fine.

    Ubiquity is not a thing here since we don’t have a large Turkish working-class immigrant community compared to anywhere in Europe. Our equivalent would be Israeli/Lebanese/Levantine Shawarma or Greek Gyro – which is delicious and found in most cities. It scratches a similar itch.

    We also have incredible food from Latin America & Caribbean due to our immigration history and proximity. Tacos, burritos, tamales, ceviche, pupusas, sancocho, jerk chicken, saltfish, curry goat, etc. Stuff that’s much harder to find in Europe at a similar quality. So it’s a trade off.

    I have hunted Doner locally and have tried pretty much every place I’ve seen that advertises they sell it. There’s a few places that are tasty, but not the same flavor profile as what you find in Germany. Actually, I can only of two places in my American travels that compete and they’re both in NYC. Turk’s Inn and Kotti Berliner Doner Kebab. There’s also a Berlin Doner on MacDougal St. near the Comedy Cellar that’s quite passable.

35. They exist in the United States, but as Gyros since we have had substantially more Greek immigrants compared to Turkish.

36. I live in Germany, so I have it a fair amount and am a fan. It’s not that common in the US since Turks are a relatively small immigrant group in comparison to others and most of the Turkish-American population tends to be from a wealthier background than the Turkish-German population (so fewer restaurants). There’s also a lot more competition from other immigrant food places that are more established than Turkish places. I’d like it if it was bigger in the US, but it’ll probably start spreading as the Turkish-American population increases. I also wish good Mexican food was bigger in Germany, so that’d be nice.

37. Absolutely amazing and a highlight food item in our travels throughout Netherlands/Germany. Love it.

38. I LOVE them and have been hoping for a Turkish place to open near me like 2 decades. No such luck yet. Guess I’ll have to take a trip to Europe!

39. Its good but there’s so much better turkish food. Lahmacun is fire

40. I have literally have only heard of it on this Sub.

41. If I was president, I would offer Doner Visas to Doner restaurant proprietors around the world who want to set up shop here in the states

    I’m going to Europe in September and it’s my favorite post bar meal.

42. There was a great place in Athens, GA which had it. The guy who ran it was a German or Austrian who had retired to Georgia. He had expanded to a few locations at one point & was trying to franchise it.

    Unfortunately they shut down a few years ago.

    I think there just aren’t enough recent German immigrants to provide a base level of interest which you need before a food can take off outside the community.

43. When I’m asked what I miss about being in Germany, this is my answer. I forget the names often but oh my goodness I regret not being able to just pop down and get one whenever the mood struck me.

44. I love it and it makes me so sad it’s hard to find in America.

45. I lived off of it when I was in the UK. I’m a huge fan and I recently found a place here in Salt Lake that sells them.

46. Is that what they eat on the Doner pass?