doener and bratwurst: a city without fast food chains

"A hearty welcome. We are open."

another joy during my stay in zeitz has been the absence of fast food chains. zeitz is about as big as athens and the 28,000 citizens also frequently need of a quick bite. the 21,000 athens residents can fall back on the obligatory array of mcdonald's, burger king, wendy's, subway, and taco bell with their predetermined brand menus of burgers, fries, sandwiches, and wraps. so how do the inhabitants of zeitz survive on the move without this selection?

what looks like a scary shack is a very popular "Imbissbude" along the highway. it is spelled in the old way with the special german character "ß" which is pronounced like a sharp s.

"Imbiss" is the solution. it means to bite into something, to eat a quick, little meal for which you wait a few minutes in order to devour it on the spot. the "Imbiss" is usually offered by a "Bude", a booth, shack-like trailer or buggy. while roaming through zeitz i could detect four categories of "Imbiss":

1. bratwurst,
2. asian food,
3. rotisserie chicken, and my favorite:
4. "Doener" (usually spelled with the german "o" with funny dots).

1. bratwurst, "Klopse", "Rostbraetel" & co

fried potatoes left, "Bulletten" in the middle, "Rostbraetel" in the upper right hand corner and the classic bratwurst to the right are standard offers at a regular "Imbissbude".

besides the bratwurst other pieces of meat are put in to a crisp white bun: flattened meat balls so called "Bulette", thick slices of a meat loaf called "Leberkaese" or a small steak namely "Rostbraetel". the older generations usually insist on mustard as the sole companion to the meat but lots of people use ketchup or a mixture of both.

take two: allar's imbiss comes with a special offer of ready to eat eggs sunny side up.

the "Imbiss" along the highway with the hearty welcome sign had some special offers like fried eggs sunny side up on a steak.

bratwurst, meatballs, sandwiches, buns and everything else that the hungry traveler needs: part of price list of "allar's imbiss".

most of those meat pieces in a bun cost about 1.50 € ($2.35), ketchup, mustard ("Senf") or curry starting at 0.10 € ($0.15).

2. "Asia-Imbiss"

asia imbiss in the heart of zeitz located along "rossmarkt" boulevard.

asian food is similar to the asian dishes served in u.s.: fried noodles or rice with tiny pieces of chicken, beef or pork and some scraps of carrots, cabbage, and scrambled eggs, egg rolls, and egg drop soups, etc.

asia imbiss close to a zeitz "kaufland" supermarket.

this "Imbiss" woos the customer with the slogan "prepared fresh daily". prices here start at 3 € ($4.75) which is advertised as the budget dish of the day.

3. rotisserie chicken ("Grillhähnchen")

rotisserie chicken booth close to a zeitz "kaufland" supermarket.

for only 1.75 € ($2.75) you can buy half a rotisserie chicken which is sufficient to feed about two people when eaten with fresh buns. this booth advertises "fresh german poultry" from the grill.

4. "Doener"

some doener booths also offer spaghettis or other noodle dishes as this one indicates on its label "Nudeln".

"Doener Kebab" is probably the most common quick snack. it is similar to the "gyro" that is sold in athens. it is a meat mixtures containing lamb grilled on a vertical rotisserie and then placed into a thick white triangularly cut bread that splits in the middle.

the rotating sign in the right corner promises a "Doener" at this zeitz corner store.

people often have "Stammdoener", similar to the "Stammtisch", this is a place to which an individual returns because (s)he swears that only this "Doener" is the yummiest in town. the word "Doener" for the food is often also used to describe the location where it is sold.

step 1: get a plate. tie up your hair. put a napkin in your lap. it will be messy.

you can eat the "Doener" in the shop or have it wrapped in aluminum foil as a take away meal. apart from the classical "Doener" many stores offer chicken or veggie version along with falafel.

step 2: cautiously remove the aluminum foil to breath in the warm grilled meat fragrance.

most "Doener" cost between 1 € to 2.50 € ($1.58 to $3.95).

step 3: take a hearty bite -- without dripping sauce (it won't work.)

and are served with white and red raw cabbage, onions, a couple of tomato and cucumber slices topped with a yoghurt and a zesty reddish sauce. mmmhhh!

enjoy your next individual meal when you have chance to escape the grip of the fast food chains!

ps: all euro to dollar conversion were made with the google conversion rate as of the publication of this post.