die imbiss - snack

sprinkled liberally throughout berlin are imbiss stations; smallish storefronts with a counter, a few tables, and the ever present rotating cone of meat. similar to kebob stands in london, the imbiss is the mcdonalds of berlin. fast, hot, and greasy. but instead of a regular kebob or a good ole hamburger, at the imbiss you get the "döner kebap" or the"currywurst".

as dan and i ate lunch at an yesterday we thought it might be time to enlighten you all to dan's favorite thing about berlin - döner. in fact, dan was going to write this little homage to döner himself, since he feels so strongly about it, but work has him busy for the next few months straight. i'll try to do it justice, dan.

döner is a turkish dish of marinated, slow cooked, sliced lamb meat, served on a plate with fries or rice and salad. or you can have it as a kebap: a pita stuffed with lamb and salad. a variety of sauces are offered with the kebap, including yogurt-dill, curry, and a thousand island type dressing. for dan there is only one sauce that will do - yogurt-dill. as the square bread is smeared with yogurt-dill, the lamb is shaved off the cone and stuffed into the pita, the salad is added, and the whole thing wrapped in the tiny doner sleeve, dan loses touch with reality, his head feels light and airy, he drools and is incapable of answering simple questions. this huge, fattening, turkish delight is dan's true love. and it's only available at the imbiss.

side note: dan gives the currywurst a big thumbs down but i feel the need to mention it. basically it's a bratwurst covered in ketchup laced with curry, served on a bun or in a little paper bowl with more curry sprinkled on top, and fries. dan likes curry, dan likes wurst, not so much the currywurst.

ok, ode to a kebap is over. here are some interesting facts surrounding the imbiss and döner:
1. berlin is home to the most turks in europe. 117,624 turks live in berlin. istanbul is one of berlin's sister cities.
2. the term "döner" literally means "rotating roast meat"
3. germans eat 200-300 metric tons of döner a day
4. there are trading cards for döner stands - get some and you can trade with dan
5. jordan thinks doner is just "ok"

this weekend when dan's parents visit i anticipate some döner will be eaten. for dan, imbiss is right up there with the brandenburg gate and the berlin wall on the list of important things to show guests. it is for this reason that i am glad we are only staying 6 months. if dan lived here permanently he would be headed straight for cardiac arrest. but he'd be a happy, döner-full man.