One aspect of European culture which has never really penetrated the Atlantic is the kebab.  I know you’re probably thinking, I’ve had shish kebabs before, what are you talking about? But I’m not talking about skewered meat at a barbecue at your uncle’s house. I’m talking about late-night pita wraps full of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern meats and vegetables. It is something all over Europe, from Ireland to Belgium to Prague and everywhere in between. If it’s late at night you can get a kebab.  They are quite possibly the world’s best drunk food when you’re coming back from the pub.  Tasty hot and delicious.  I don’t know why they’re not very present over here in the states.  I’m sure if they were better known in the states there be just as popular, it’s just one of those mysteries I suppose.

At any rate, in Oxford kebabs are little different.  Instead of restaurants or storefronts that sell kebabs, Oxford is covered with kebab trucks, which are little trailers with full kitchens in them, just like the one Phil is standing next to above, from which you can buy your kebab. The thing is, there are the literally hundreds of these trucks around Oxford, which is not a very big place.  The only reason all of these trucks can stay in business is because of the intense loyalty that each college has to a particular kebab truck.  For the most part each one of the 46 colleges that make up the University of Oxford has their own private kebab truck and the students are absolutely loyal to them.  For example, Christ Church College and Black Friars College are right across the street from each other, but on each side of the street is a separate kebab truck. The students from Christ Church will swear their kebab is the best in the city, and the students from Black Friars will swear to you that No, their’s is the best, just like everyone else, but the truth is they are all pretty much the same.  The loyalty and enthusiasm everyone has for their own kebab trucks is pretty exciting to watch, and quite a lot of fun.

Another way that kebab stores will compete with each other, is with the different sauces they have available.  Most of the basic places will have ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, or garlic. The really nice ones however, have been known to have 15 or 20 different sauces available.  I never went to any of these, but it wasn’t unusual for people to go completely out of the way just to get the kebab with the right sauce.

Something else fairly unique to English kebab stores, as far as I can tell, is the different things they do with French fries, or as they call them of course, chips.  You can get chips with cheese, chips with hummus, chips with meat, chips with salad or the granddaddy of them all, Chips, Cheese, and Hummus.  A lot of people I know we’ll just go for the chips.  As someone who absolutely loves his French fries, I have to say that they are pretty good.

As I mentioned, I haven’t a clue as to why these places are absolutely as popular in America are as they are in Europe.  Everyone I’ve talked to who spent time over there says that they are amazing, so if you’re ever on that side of the world, please try a kebab, but only if you’re drunk broke and staggering back from the pub.