That German Döner

Looks are deceiving; the German döner kebab is like nothing you have ever tasted before. It looks like something that shouldn’t be eaten. It originated in Turkey, but has been a specialty in Germany. It is served hot and comes in many different forms, with many different ingredients. It is even said that the Germans produce more than four hundred tonnes of döner meat, every day. The large amount of meat shows how much of a favorite it is. It is something that an American in a foreign country is forced to try. Even though it looks like one has barfed in a cone shaped holder, it is pleasure to your taste buds.
I traveled to Germany for Christmas 2008, and while I was there had the fortune of not only trying new things, but also visiting my friend Jesse who was a two hour plane ride North of where we were . My cousin and I sat on the plane for two hours so that we could visit Jesse who was doing an exchange program. Jesse was going to be our tour guide for the day and show us the hot spots, famous buildings, the red light district, and the best food, of Hamburg, Germany in only a day. We stopped and had a Strüdel, a fluffy treat, which did not satisfy my needs along with a Spezi. Now Spezi is a German drink that is the mixture of coke and orange soda. I like the taste of orange soda, and I love the taste of coke, but together they are like oil and vinegar. So looking for something to grasp my hunger, Jesse asked if I had ever had döner before, I answered no. Immediately and without hesitation he brought me to a döner store in one of the train stations.

Walking up you see two windows for people to order at, and a line of people waiting to order. When looking at the menu, you hesitate not knowing what to order, you have never had one before. So Jesse takes the initiative. You see four rotating spits with HUGE döner meat on them, and when I mean HUGE , I mean that the meat is massive. It looks like the size of a cows belly on each one of the spits. Chicken, Lamb, what will you have? Do you want lettuce, tomato, onions, and cabbage? What sauce do you want on it, garlic, herb, yogurt, curry, or hot? Would you like to eat it with French fries? After yelling at Jesse to just order me one before I run away because it looks so disgusting, he decides that I will have a döner with lamb meat, lettuce, tomato, taziki sauce, along with the hot sauce, all with pommes (French fries). “Ein döner mit pommes bitte” says Jesse. One döner with French fries please. I then see the man turn and use a huge knife to slice shards of the lamb meat off of the rotating spits and into the cone shaped holder. Then the French fries, then the lettuce, tomato, and all the sauces. “EW!!” Was all I could say once seeing it, it looked like barf.

After forcing me to eat this messy snack, it was better than I originally thought. The mixture of flavors, the two sauces, with the French fries, and lamb meat, creates an explosion of taste in your mouth. The meat was hot along with the sauces creating a fire in my mouth. Even though my mouth was hot I continued to eat because it was that delicious. My cousin had ditched the French fries and got hers’ on naan bread, so I tried hers’ as well. And compared to hers I enjoyed mine much more. So the barf looking treat became something I enjoyed. And once I arrived back in Stuttgart I wanted another. So next time you are in Germany, make sure that you try this döner, and it is even better with the French fries!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab