# Your National Dish Of Shame **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 20, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784 "2022-05-20T19:31:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 24
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/462 "2023-05-04T21:13:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s the döner vs shawarma that I’m unsure of. My very general rule of thumb: the former Ottoman Empire is basically a continuum - and since Turkey is between Greece and Lebanon/Israel, doner is somewhere between gyro and shawarma, with elements of both. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/463 "2023-05-04T23:25:19Z")
For general differences, I always reckoned shawarma was a meal served on a plate, a s a chunk of meat, with salad and rice/chips. Gyros tend to be in a pita bread. So same base meat (can be donner, can be other things) just presented differently. Each different country and region tends to do things their way according to locals. There’s a thing in the UK where they serve it on nan bread. I hate that. It’s just too much bread, and not enough meat. There’s a place a minutes walk from my house which does this and doesn’t serve them in Pita. I walk past them to wherever sells what I want. Germany they serve it in this large flat bread with outside crust. Hungary, they do it in mini pita pocket things with the top sliced off and stuck back on. Wallonia in Belgium it was in a wrap (called Duruum). They sell whatever sells in the local area, so it’s not one thing, it’s many versions. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/464 "2023-05-04T23:47:59Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > For general differences, I always reckoned shawarma was a meal served on a plate, a s a chunk of meat, with salad and rice/chips Well, here, shawarma can be served three ways: a plate, on a pita, or as a wrap. I just had some yesterday as a pressed wrap. And that’s the same with gyros. You can get a gyros plate or a gyros sandwich (on pita.) > [@Smid](#): > > Hungary, they do it in mini pita pocket things with the top sliced off and stuck back on I guess that depends where. In Budapest, it was typically served as a wrap, at least along the shops on the körút. 3 Testvér, Szeráj, those places – but that was a decade to more ago, so maybe things have changed. But typically if I ordered a döner or gyros from your typical Turkish stand late at night, it’d be something like this: [![](https://m.blog.hu/va/varosban/image/!201104/sz.JPG) ](https://m.blog.hu/va/varosban/image/!201104/sz.JPG) (Actually, now I’m wondering if that fell out of style. The 3 Testvér place seems to be gone, as is Szeraj, but that type of döner used to be the default in the early 2000s, and quite a convenient eat after a night out drinking, or, more like, in between drinking stops, as you could drink all night into the morning there.) I do have to say, the first time I had a Berlin döner I was absolutely floored. One of the most delicious things I’ve ever had in my life. That bread was effing killer. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/465 "2023-05-05T00:06:45Z")
One should be careful about confusing döner kebabs with real [Donner kebabs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Par), an American dish of shame from the mid 1800s. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/466 "2023-05-05T00:23:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m not entirely sure of the difference between shawarma and döner kebab that I’ve had. They both look exactly the same to me. And gyros is just the Greek version of that (traditionally pork, but here in the US usually made with a mix of ground beef and lamb in a gyros cone.) In Russia, you can also get them made with veal, which is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/467 "2023-05-05T01:22:04Z")
Same with Hungary or at least back when the places I mentioned were around. Szeráj was my usual late night stop and the options were veal or turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/468 "2023-05-05T08:43:11Z")
My experience of kebabs in Budapest (I say that rather than general Hungary, because you didn’t tend to get them often out in the sticks of the countryside) is from the last 10-15 years where we’ve been visiting regularly. Tended to be more pita than wrap but sure you could find both. The point stands though, that they tend to vary by country, and even inside that country, so spiced meat in something, usually with vegs, sometimes with chips even. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/469 "2023-05-05T11:21:20Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > For general differences, I always reckoned shawarma was a meal served on a plate, a s a chunk of meat, with salad and rice/chips. Gyros tend to be in a pita bread. So same base meat (can be donner, can be other things) just presented differently. Last month I ordered pork gyros in a restaurant in Athens fully anticipating the pita bread version you describe, but no! It was on a plate with chips. No bread in sight. The street vendors tended to do the filled pita version though. So I guess it describes the meat, rather than the pita. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/470 "2023-05-05T13:53:00Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > The point stands though, that they tend to vary by country, and even inside that country, so spiced meat in something, usually with vegs, **sometimes with chips even**. So…a California burrito. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2023, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/471 "2023-05-06T03:28:26Z")
I think “Kebap” is regional in all of Europe, The UK, and America and depends on your immigants’ tastes and culture, and traditions. My regional American variance and prreference is Greek-American with the Gyro of lamb and beef. Only onions, cucumbers, tomatoes - (The Greek Holy Trinity), and tzatziki. Greek salad or fries, all around a fiver. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/472 "2023-05-06T20:32:25Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Did he eat beaver (the animal, you pervs!) during Lent? > > If he did and was French Catholic, he could say that “One man’s meat is another man’s _poisson_.” I had to read a monograph for an upper division American folklore class that emphasized food culture. It was called “One man’s meat is another man’s person.” > [@Smid](#): > > Not helped by the fact there’s a UK bar called a Milky Way as well which is a mars bar without the caramel. That would be the Three Musketeers. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/473 "2023-05-07T00:14:35Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Did he eat beaver (the animal, you pervs!) during Lent? > > If he did and was French Catholic, he could say that “One man’s meat is another man’s _poisson_.” A French Canadian fur trader probably would. The two dudes on _ **Eating History** _ once sampled pan-fried beaver tail. It was pretty gross and consisted mostly of fat. Bleah! 🤢 About the only thing more disgusting was boiled moose head. Think meat and hair in aspic. 🤮 ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/474 "2023-05-07T05:30:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > About the only thing more disgusting was boiled moose head. Think meat and hair in aspic. 🤮 Um… you’re supposed to skin the animal before cooking it. The hair is on the outside. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/475 "2023-05-07T10:58:28Z")
You got it! That episode is on YouTube. Give it a watch. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/476 "2023-05-07T11:55:19Z")
In Pittsburgh, a salad often comes topped with french fries. This is just wrong. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/477 "2023-05-07T12:04:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > About the only thing more disgusting was boiled moose head. Think meat and hair in aspic. 🤮 Yes, but look at the bright side. You can feed a family of 8 from the antlers alone! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/478 "2023-05-07T12:08:41Z")
I once knew a hunter who killed a moose. (Seriously!) He had enough meat in his freezer to last through the winter. Said it tastes like beef. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/479 "2023-05-07T12:21:46Z")
I don’t know if it’s still the case, but in Maine you’d enter a lottery to get a “tag” that entitled you to kill a moose. Groups of families would get together and have a compact that if anyone in the group got a tag the meat would be shared between all the families. This was in the Bingham ME area c2002. One of the staff at the whitewater rafting tour was still buzzing from having three people in her family’s “compact group” having drawn tags. So they didn’t buy meat from a store the whole winter. They got over 200 lbs per family. I might be misremembering some details. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/480 "2023-05-07T14:45:17Z")
I had reindeer once on a trip to Finland. The meat was ground and used in a tasty stew. This was at a commercial reindeer farm just above the Arctic Circle. It’s known (cheekily) as “The Home of Santa Claus.” I gather venison is common in Wisconsin. Not surprising, since it has the second largest deer herd in the US after Pennsylvania. I like venison. It’s tasty and lean (very healthy!), and it makes good chili whether ground or in chunks. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2023, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784/481 "2023-05-07T23:34:31Z")
MO is wall-to-wall with Whitetail. I swear there’s as many of those dead on the roadside as there are cows in the fields. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784.md?page=23) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-national-dish-of-shame/964784.md?page=25)