For the love of Donair/Doner Kebab/Gyros

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Frank

Frank

So this place opens up a little while ago in town called "Simply Donair". I finally get around to trying it today. Wow, I was not fucking prepared. My buddy and I both order a couple of super combos. The guy behind the register warns us that it's an insane amount of food. We're like, for 9 bucks, how much food could it be? I decide on the chicken/beef mixed donair with sweet sauce and my friend gets the beef with tzatziki. The guy hands me the bag with our donairs and poutine in them and the bag probably weighs in at 12 pounds. I was shocked by the weight, I had no idea what was in store for me.

We get back to his place, open em up and see that the donair itself is so huge and crammed full of meat and veggies that the puny (foot in diameter) pita can barely fold like a taco shell around it. It weighed in at 1.5-2 kilos easily. Then I tasted it....Oh my gaaaaaaaaaaawd. Whatever this dude cooked it in was a billion trillion times as delicious as any of the other donair places I have ever eaten at.

Long story short, Simply Donair is fucking awesome.
 
K

Kitty Sinatra

Amorous Beauty, could ya set up the forum to accept .donair files.

pretty please?
 
Frank

Frank

I'd also like to add that I couldn't eat it normally, I had to use a fork to eat about 3/4's of the innards of the donair, then, after I was stuffed so full I couldn't eat another bite for fear of death, I was able to wrap the rest of it up in the pita bread like any other donair places largest size.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Gyros/Donairs are totally awesome when done right. I love the crispy bits of meat along the outside edge.

Speaking of Mediterranean food, my gf and I went to this Turkish place the other night. We asked for some baklava, but the guy said they were out. I made this face: :( He must have thought that I looked so pitiful that he came back after a bit and said they have some that just came out of the oven, but it hasn't cooled down and is still warm. I said, "Bring it on." It was glorious. It was like eating happiness. If you ever get a chance to have some warm baklava, do it!
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Gyros and Shaorma/Kebab are different... actually even Shaorma and Doner Kebab are supposed to be different, but they're close in taste.

Damn, now you made me want to go get some Gyros... and i've been trying to lose some weight, having a beer gut sucks (and i don;t even like beer).
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

On liberty in Bahrain once, a couple buddies and I were on a hunt for shwarma as soon as we got out the gate of the base. The guy running the stand we found was very impressed that these three American guys were after the local fare instead of the McD's just 20 yards down the street.

And those shwarmas were GOOOOOD. :cool:
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I have never heard of a donair before. I think I may have to hunt this elusive beast down and consume him.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
Probably why I've never heard of this (damn you, Omaha!!). From Wikipedia:

United States

In the United States, döner kebab is not widely known, except in some larger cities with a strong Mideastern immigrant community, e.g., New York, Leesburg, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), Chicago, San Diego, Petaluma, CA, and Los Angeles. In contrast, gyros, considered Greek food, are popular across the U.S., and frequently are found at mobile stands as fair food as well as at Greek- and Italian-style pizza and sandwich shops.
Click to expand...
 
Eriol

Eriol

Where I am (Calgary, AB), Donairs are common, and awesome. I can't claim the massiveness of the OP though. Where do you live, as that sounds like some place I'd like to visit with my brother (he introduced me to that fine food).

There's a decent donair place across the street from my work, so when I feel lazy and don't take a lunch, it's a frequent stop. The thing you have to remember about ANY donairs is easy though: sweet sauce. Too often places don't have that (not in Calgary mind you, but abroad I mean), and my brother (lives in Chicago) has to search far and wide to find a place that does. To us, a donair MUST have sweet sauce to be true. That's probably a NA bastardization of the tradition, but hey, it's awesome.
 
drawn_inward

drawn_inward

Balkoth;281237][quote=Frau VildSoul;281214][quote=Odie said:
whats the difference between Doner/Donair and the Gyros meat?
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The name.[/quote]

/Unlurk

Nope, not really. Generally gyros is made from pork. Doner which is about the same but comes from Turkey, which is predominantly Muslim, is usually made from lamb.

/Lurk[/QUOTE]

The places around here that serve gyros say the meat is lamb or a lamb/beef mix. They're run by either Turkish or Greek folks.
 
Baerdog

Baerdog

It depends on the country in which you live. I think "traditional" Greek gyros may be mostly made of pork, but lamb is much more common in the States.
 
O

Odie

Thank you, you mystical lurker (Balkoth).

You’re the monster under the bed that answers my random questions with insightful facts and then disappears into the darkness from which you came!

 
L

Lally

All the gyros I've ever had were lamb/beef mixes.

That said, there's an amazing place right beside my old school's campus that has amazing gyros... mmmmmm. Makes me want to go there right now. Or, there's a really awesome shawarma place near my boyfriend's folks' place that always gives me falafel for free.... Okay I hate you guys, I'm hungry now.

And seriously, I'm willing to drive to Canada right now to get some poutine. I haven't had that stuff in years and it's making me sad to think about it. If I had the opportunity get poutine in the US I think I'd explode with happiness.

ETA: I'm an idiot that can't spell.
 
ThatGrinningIdiot!

ThatGrinningIdiot!

Lally said:
All the gyros I've ever had were lamb/beef mixes.

That said, there's an amazing place right beside my old school's campus that has amazing gyros... mmmmmm. Makes me want to go there right now. Or, there's a really awesome shawarma place near my boyfriend's folks' place that always gives me falafel for free.... Okay I hate you guys, I'm hungry now.

And seriously, I'm willing to drive to Canada right now to get some poutine. I haven't had that stuff in years and it's making me sad to think about it. If I had the opportunity get poutine in the US I think I'd explode with happiness.

ETA: I'm an idiot that can't spell.
Click to expand...
Fries, gravy, and mozarella cheese. It's not hard to make it yourself. :tongue:

All these threads about food, I'm a hungry, hungry hippo.

Seriously, I am starving here. :sad:
 
S

Silvanesti

BlackCrossCrusader;281517][quote=Lally said:
All the gyros I've ever had were lamb/beef mixes.

That said, there's an amazing place right beside my old school's campus that has amazing gyros... mmmmmm. Makes me want to go there right now. Or, there's a really awesome shawarma place near my boyfriend's folks' place that always gives me falafel for free.... Okay I hate you guys, I'm hungry now.

And seriously, I'm willing to drive to Canada right now to get some poutine. I haven't had that stuff in years and it's making me sad to think about it. If I had the opportunity get poutine in the US I think I'd explode with happiness.

ETA: I'm an idiot that can't spell.
Click to expand...
Fries, gravy, and mozarella cheese. It's not hard to make it yourself. :tongue:

All these threads about food, I'm a hungry, hungry hippo.

Seriously, I am starving here. :sad:[/QUOTE]

What? No. Cheese curds are way different from mozarella, and much, much, much better.
 
Frank

Frank

When places use mozza, they're making faux poutine. Like Silvanesti said, it's all about the cheese curds.
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

Damn you Frankie, this is all your fault!

The Wrap

Getting ready to start!

Half-way done! Hey Bad Kitty! Thats my donair! You're a bad Kitty!
 
R

RealBigNuke

A turkish-style kebab shop *just* opened outside of my store. It serves some of the most awesome doners I've had. With optional garlic yogurt and hotsauce, with decent falafels, om nom nom.
 
@Li3n

@Li3n

Balkoth;281237][quote=Frau VildSoul;281214][quote=Odie said:
whats the difference between Doner/Donair and the Gyros meat?
Click to expand...
The name.[/quote]

/Unlurk

Nope, not really. Generally gyros is made from pork. Doner which is about the same but comes from Turkey, which is predominantly Muslim, is usually made from lamb.

/Lurk[/quote]

While that is true in their countries of origin over here they usually use chicken meat for all (they used to have more, but chicken was the more popular, so nowadays other meats are rarer), but that's not what makes them different, they use some different ingredients and you can tell the difference (if they're using the names right). Trust me, i had gyros in Greece and found a place here that sells gyros just like there (as far as i know it's also the only one serving gyros here), and you can tell the difference even with the same meat in it.

with decent falafels, om nom nom.
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They don't even have those at the place closest to me... man, has that place fallen from it's hey day... but it's still one of the best in the city. Still, that's why i switched to gyros mostly...
 
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