Kebabalicious: A Taste of Europe in Austin...

Trying out the local food was one of my favorite things to do while I was in Europe. I did spend a lot of time in McDonald's; in fact I ate more McDonald's Big Macs in Europe than I do at home. They are everywhere in the most convenient locations, cheap, fast, they have free Internet access, and often times they were the only places that were open.

But looking for and eating the local food was one of my favorite things to do when I wasn't stressed, rushed, or on the move. Two of my favorite foods were the Döner Kebab while I was in central Europe (mainly Germany) and Burek while I was traveling through the Balkans. These are perfect traveling food. They are cheap (around 3.60 Euro in Germany), widely available foods, high calorie foods that will keep you going for hours. The establishments that serve them usually stay open well after other restaurants close.

I have not be able to find Burek anywhere in Austin or in America for that matter. But there is only one place in Austin where you can get an authentic Turkish Döner Kebab. It originates in Turkey and is a flour wrapped in chicken or lamb, with vegetables, and a particular kind of sauce that gives it its unique flavor. It is similar to a Greek Gyro. What is unusual about it is that the meat is mounted on a heated rotating stand to keep it warm. It is shaved off in thin slices using an electric razor.

Kebabalicious replicates the flavor and style very closely to what I was eating in Germany. They are a small food stand located on 7th and Trinity in a parking lot. Unfortunately they only open from Wednesday thru Saturday late nights (after 9 pm or 10 pm)  and only if the weather is reasonably decent. I would suggest you get there well before 2 am as the lines get very long when the bars close. I highly recommend it as a great place to get a late night place to grab a bite to eat. It's too bad that they don't open longer hours and only serve the downtown bar scene.