Written By: Robert Guthrie

Already an epicenter of experimentation laid out in front of guests. Like many popular and exploration of flavors and ideas, America restaurants, select your protein, fixings, and has become hungrier for new and interesting the rest of your kebab and watch the whole tastes in recent years. As an increasingly thing get assembled right in front of your eyes. international state, Texas is no exception. It is a step up from your average on-the-go food In addition to our many delicious, nationally- experience and that is by design. “We were so recognized barbeque joints, steakhouses, and Tex- unimpressed with the fast-food options,” Heyne told Mex eateries, Texas now also plays host to some of the Houstonia magazine in an interview last year, “And nation’s finest ethnic and fusion restaurants such as Uchi wanted to create something nicer.” Judging just by the in Austin or Afrikiko in Houston. As it is no secret Texans incredible growth of VertsKebap, it is pretty clear this love to eat, our love of good food has made the Lone Star sentiment has resonated with Texans. State a prime location for new and exciting trends in food and dining. THE TREND GROWS ACROSS THE STATE One of the most interesting (and delicious) of these VertsKebap is the biggest indicator of a growing trend; trends, the döner, or döner kebab, comes to us from the smaller contenders like Kebabalicious in Austin and Dögarz Middle East by way of Europe. Though the kebab has its origin Döner in Houston are also bringing this delicious street fare to in 19th century Anatolia, its modern street food incarnation Texans in their own unique way. Dögarz Döner is even younger comes largely from Germany where it is wildly popular. It than VertsKebap, starting as a food cart in 2012 and opening regularly competes with, and often outsells, burgers and its Midtown Houston location in September 2014. According sausages as a well-loved favorite of the late night crowd. to the owner, Zubair Dögar, the response has been extremely positive: “Just since 2013 we’ve seen a huge surge in interest.” WHAT MAKES UP A DÖNER KEBAB? Of Turkish descent, born in Pakistan, raised in Canada, and now The essential element of the kebab is the rotating spit of meat, a happy resident of Houston, Zubair is an excellent poster boy usually lamb or beef, from which the center of the sandwich is for the worldly, international type of person that Texas has been carved. The slow-roasted, marinated cuts from the rotisserie are attracting in recent years. “I’ve traveled to a lot of metro areas over usually placed into a piece of flatbread or a pita, paired with salad the years, and I wanted to move somewhere warm, somewhere greens and tomatoes, and slathered with a variety of sauces. south,” he said when asked why he chose to move himself and his Depending on the particular döner joint’s ethnic fare, the sauce family to Houston. “We’re very happy here.” So happy, in fact, that could be tzatziki, hot sauce, garlic sauce, herb sauce, harissa, in 2012 Dögar decided to take a chance on the food cart that would and more. Like hamburgers and hot dogs, a döner is easy to hold in become the Dögarz Döner restaurant, now a very popular lunch spot for one hand and eat while on the go, a probable reason for its popularity. Its Houston’s young professionals. portability also lends itself to being sold from a food truck in places such as Austin, and the larger cities. A HEALTHY OPTION FOR THOSE ON-THE-GO Like so many ethnic foods that have come to America, restauranteurs THE KEBAB CHAIN BORN IN AUSTIN have adjusted the classic döner to meet a modern set of needs. The döners Popular for years among immigrant communities on the coasts, the found in Europe are delicious, but often greasy and caloric; an increasingly döner kebab has been making its way inland in a big way. The world’s waistline-conscious America hardly needs another heavy option, which second-largest Döner kebab chain, VertsKebap, has been opening may be why döners have taken so long to catch on. “We didn’t want to locations all over Texas, beginning in Austin and spreading to Dallas, just replicate döners,” said Dögar, “we wanted to create a healthier, higher Houston, and many upcoming locations. Started in 2011 by University of quality dish. We asked ourselves, what’s the best way to do this? What’s Texas MBA students Michael Heyne and Dominik Stein, who were hankering the best bread? What’s the best type of meat?” The result is the gourmet for a taste of home, VertsKebap has proven to be wildly popular and has döner offered at Dögarz Döner, which, like gourmet burgers, resembles grown in just four years from a single location to twenty-one and counting. the original but cooked more intentionally and with better ingredients. For After its nine original locations in Austin proved successful, VertsKebap Dögar, this proved to be exactly the right kind of angle to take. expanded to Houston in 2014 with three more stores, recently opened At this point, no matter where you are in the Lone Star State, you locations in Dallas in 2015, and is planning for San Antonio in the months probably have a döner place near you or you will soon, and at the rate they to come. are working their way into Texan hearts (and stomachs), döners may soon VertsKebap, in contrast to the original food carts of Europe, is a very be almost as common as burgers or tacos. If you have not had a chance to modern establishment with rotisserie meats turning slowly behind the try out this tasty international trend, head down to your closest döner kebab counter and a smorgasbord of vegetables, sauces, and topping options place and find out what you’ve been missing.

48 | October 2015