“I can still remember when doner kebabs were sold for €3.50,” reminisced one teenager amid calls for a price brake to stop rising kebab costs.

The German capital is the birthplace of that ubiquitous European fast food, the doner kebab, and it shows.

Kebab shops line streets of many German cities, particularly in Berlin, and the scent of roasting, skewered meat is never far off.

Some two-million doner kebabs — meat wrapped in bread, topped with sauces and vegetables — are consumed a day in Germany, according to an industry association, quite a lot for a country of 83 million people. And the doner kebab has even supplanted the old stalwart, the currywurst — fried veal sausage topped with ketchup and curry powder — as the most popular fast-food dish in the country, according to a 2022 survey.

  • @[email protected]
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    174 months ago

    The local version of this in southern California is the Banh Mi, a Vietnamese sandwich on a baguette. Less than 10 years ago you could get a good banh mi for 3 or 4 bucks, and these days even the cheapest I’ve seen are $6.50 and many places are charging over $10 for this perfect sandwich. At least double in under 10 years :(

        • @[email protected]
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          -314 months ago

          All fucking Döner taste the same. Anyone who claims to know the best Döner in town is full of shit. It’s garbage meat that is lathered in copious amounts of spices. It all tastes the same.

          • @[email protected]
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            64 months ago

            You sound like me talking about Philly cheese steak. They are dry and bland compared to a proper Italian Beef here in Chicagoland. And yeah, in talking about authentic Philly, not some local knockoff. They’re just super overrated.

        • @[email protected]
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          -44 months ago

          I absolutely agree with the latter two options. I’ve also always preferred a Pita over a Döner. Either one of those is only acceptable when drunk however.