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So what's the deal with kebabs in the states? Are they as good as the ones over here?


Not in my experience. If you want a Shish kebab then you can generally find them, although everywhere seems to want to include different vegetables with them. Here in New England, squash and zuchinni (like marrow and courgette ) seem to be popular. Ugh.

Doner kebabs are out of question. At least, as I know them. The closest I've had is a gyro, which my local greek take-out will deliver. They cut the meat much thicker than most UK kebab shops/vans, and it never has that just starting to brown flame-licked texture/taste that UK kebab meat often has. I doubt that this is due to demand preventing the meat from having a chance to brown, so I assume that it's being cooked differently. I don't recall ever seeing a spit in there on the few occassions that I've actually been in. The bread is wrong too. It's more akin to a nan bread than a pita, but it has a 'breadier' texture and taste than a nan. At least the vegetables are close - lettuce, onion and tomato.

But what both kebabs miss are the key ingredient. Chili sauce! How can you have a kebab without chili sauce? Everyone knows that the measure of a good kebab is it's chili sauce. People have been known to stagger a mile past one kebab van/shop to get to the next just for its chili sauce.

I try and get around this by mixing some vague chili sauce at home. It never quite works though. Although I can make some lovely chili con carne, I haven't managed to replicate any of my favorite kebab van chili sauces yet.
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