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See also: the Mexican “taquero”
Calgary Shawarma. I don’t know his name, but my grandfather was sick and I was stuck at work (working on a phone line repair at the auto shop next door.) Dead of winter, miserable cold. Then my mom calls: Grandpa died. Shawarma guy overheard this, I’m sitting in my van crying. Knock on my window. Guy hands me a Shawarma. “Boss, you should come in to my shop, have some food, get warm. No charge.” He sat and listened to my grandpa stories until I had it together and could go back to finish my job.
Seriously, total stranger, and he was there for me on one of my worst days, and I’ll never forget.
I was 20 years old absolutely broke, living in a rundown flat in Longsight, Manchester during the gang wars, when my funding for university got fucked up.
He saw me sitting at the bus stop outside his shop looking at few pence I had left in my hand while looking at the food. I had only eaten 1 meal that week and had shed 20lbs that month (I was slightly underweight to start with). Before then I had been there 3-4 times per week.
He came over gave me my normal order only twice the size and said to come back the next day for more. He kept me going for 2 months until I could get some financing straightened out.
Is this the same guy ? If so, is there some kind of special heaven for people like him, who are so kind to strangers ?
We can all do things like this. :)
Every day can be a fun challenge to find someone to help, with anything at all.
We moved to Germany. Berlin is a kebab paradise and the people who run those counters rock. They’ll chat with us and our poor German, fix up a great meal, and it’s always tasty to eat.
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Für mich? Alles und sehr scharf!
Fùr meine Ehefrau? Kein rotkohl und kein scharf, aber beiden gemüse und pommes, bitte.
Und mit Käse, bitte!
Alles er op en er aan alstublieft! - “Everything on and on top please!”
As a semi-middle eastern person who grew up with access to real Turkish cuisine, seeing German/European style döner makes cry. Not only they dare to put lettuce/cabbage in it at all, it’s like 60% of the content. It took me years to find proper döner in Poland, but now I finally know 2 places.
I have this but with Simit. Done Erasmus in Istanbul (a lifetime ago, before Erdogan), the Simit from the street vendors and small bakeries … Ooof. Haven’t found any that can even remotely compare since 😿
When you go in a place that hasn’t been redecorated since the 80’s, there’s a mop bucket randomly in the middle of the floor, and “Wat I get you todaie, Bahddy?” You know you’re going to eat good!
Also: is still open after every other restaurant in town has closed for the night.
You havent been drunk until you have been 3am kebab drunk.
Ha! Last time I went for kebab was because I worked too late on a project… But drunk kebab is definitely a thing!
This man exists in every town in the UK, and is the only reason the entire country hasn’t collapsed already.
Same with the guy who runs the rundown phone shop and can fix your phone screen for £20 on the spot. Singlehandedly keeping the whole country running.
Beans on toast or döner? Which way Western Man?
Korma Sutra in KC.
It’s run by an older couple. You get your food and then the woman will come over to check on you, tell you that you’re too skinny and you need to eat more, then get naan and out in on your table (free).
The man likes to goof around. He puts a balloon on each ear then walks around making jokes and chatting people up.
I first went there 5 years ago. Someone texted me the other day asking if I’d been and relayed their recent experience which was exactly like mine from 5 years ago.
I love them. Plus they named their restaurant Korma Sutra which is funny. It’s like going to visit your auntie and uncle.
Embarassed to say I didnt get the Korma Sutra joke for waay to long lol
Don’t be. I guarantee you’re more interesting then some frat dude who makes that joke and giggles when he orders Korma.
These guys are the best.
This post is Euro-coded.
Because people only eat kebab in Europe?
No, but I don’t think you get what I’m saying and I’m not sure I could fully explain it.
Only Europeans can get it
And Canada. At least from Toronto to Montreal.
Nope sorry, only the smarmy Euro’s know what late night drunken kebabs are like. We lowly non-Europeans could never comprehend it.
Because kebab shops are not ubiquitous in the US. As everyone knows there are only two places that exist, the US and Europe. That’s simple geography.
They are pretty damn ubiquitous in Canada, so there’s really nothing uniquely European about this.
You must not have studied geography. Canada is not the US and therefore Europe.
I haven’t seen a decent kebab shop in Metro Vancouver yet. I could count on my Turkish brothers in their van parked next to supermarket in UK to hook me up anytime after 5pm.
Here they skimp on meat and you’re still hungry even if you order the largest portion. Also the meat is shit in comparison to even the worst kebab I had in UKWhere have you tried?
About 5-6 places in my vicinity (within 10-15min driving distance) or along our commute/travel routes, any longer than that is a waste of time imo. Plus a fancy kebab in Nanaimo - though I don’t count that, it wasn’t a typical doner kebab, it was proper roasted lamb, which I personally hate in comparison, but my wife enjoyed it so I can’t call it bad objectively, and they didn’t have anything advertising what they actually sell as we went in seeing the stellar reviews (no pictures just people raving about it and the portion was decent for the meat quality)
Since then I occasionally look at kebab places’ menus wherever we drive in lower mainland and majority don’t even have a typical lamb doner meat, its usually mostly beef and absolutely no lamb in it. Out of the few that do even list it as an option, there’s currently only one on my list of places to try, but the reviews seem to be a bit negative lately.
By comparison, there were about 3-4 separate kebab vans near my commute routes or within 5-10min drive in UK that I’ve frequented over the years, plus tried another 4-5 shops and out of those only couple of shops that changed management had become shit. According my family members still there, one even managed to turn it back around.
Funny story; when we visited NYC several years back, I decided to check whether the situation is any better. It surprisingly wasn’t, there was only one place that seemed to serve something I could compare to UK meat or portion wise according to reviews and it was completely out of our way (we only had a few days, all walking/public transport) so unfortunately didn’t get to try. Also apparently it was some guy who kept going out of business and having to start new restaurants again, so he was known to people who enjoy a good kebab, which is a bit of shame.
Real question : how popular are they in Australia?
Probably one of if not the most common food shops around. I can think of 5+ within 5km of me.
Nice. Now I’m curious about worldwide popularity of kebabs
Very (and honestly as a former UKer they’re better)
Yes.
There are as many kebab shops as there are fish and chip shops, that being out other main food group.
Turkey is barely Europe
The Turkish doner kebab man doesn’t live in Turkey though. He lives in Europe.
I can smell /r/europe on this guy
I tried a
German Doner Kebabsince they seem to be a chain cropping up everywhere here in the UK. Awful. Terrible. Skimps on the meat. Salad tastes stale. Bread is some weird waffle mix.Never again will I betray my local doner/durum man, for this new weak euro-corpo-bullshit
That is a local issue. I live in Berlin. It got expensive, but is still the best bang for the buck in fast food category.
Wtf. You guys have that brand over there too? I just thought it was a thing to entice English rubes to something vaguely european sounding
Not a brand, more of a style, but:
Right at the bottom. So to say, Döner im Brot is a very Berlin-way to eat a Döner.
Isn’t that image just Fladenbrot? Döner im (pitta) Brot is the defacto standard here, and I’m talking about this weird bread that the brand “German Doner Kebab” uses:
Just imagine this, but less meat and the salad is soft. The bread is so stupid that unlike a pitta, you can’t stuff it until its full, but have to underpack it so that it actually holds closed
wtf is that? That’s gonna fall apart in 0.2 seconds.
That’s a fuckin gyro on a waffle cone.
It’s a crime, is what it is. Half that’s going down your shirt.
THANK YOU
Pita Golden Pocket in Toronto. I moved away ten years ago but went back when I was in town visiting recently. The guy remembered me, he even shook my hand. Then he made me a shawarma wrap that weighed over a pound. Fantastic!
Omg. NYC is probably going to start to be completely over run by these guys when Zohran takes over! You probably won’t even be able to get a hot dog or a pretzel. It will just be Doner every corner!
More good news.
What if we make him president? Can I too have Doner every corner?
We never got the “Taco Trucks on Every Corner”, another failed Biden promise.
My yyro and falafel guy has an amazing memory for people. He used to be a waiter in his uncle’s Mediterranean restaurant before opening his own place after his uncle retired. People can come into his shop who ate at his uncle’s place one time 15 years ago and he’ll know their name, what they ordered, and if they liked it.
If you customize your order next time you order that item he’ll be like “No onion on the Gyro and an extra pita with the hummus?” if you come in a year later.
And he’s super, super friendly.
They don’t have kebab places in the US (at least not nearly on the same level as they do in Europe). It’s a national tragedy and is probably why things are going so poorly for us.
I mean… they definitely do in many areas. Often some of the best food around.
Yeah, around me they usually use Greek labels, probably because of racism. But still owned and staffed by middle easterners. They’ll have gyros with tzatziki, but also shawarma with tahini.
Yeah we had a place in West Palm that was the absolute tits! Buckets of olives everywhere, and that pickled radish was just out of this world! I was really saddened to see they closed down last time I visited.
I think you’re onto something here. I agree.
I’ve got a guy like this who does rice and three curries. When I came back from working outside of the city centre for a couple of years he automatically made a plate of my favourite combo and said “where’ve you been?”, and It’ll be the same when I’m next back in England.
One time I went in with a Sikh mate and apparently the proprietor was being shitty to someone for being the wrong kind of Indian, but at least he seems to be ok with colonisers like me.
