**** Istanbul Kabob has closed
After eating at Motor City Deli, I noticed this place while walking to my car.
I walked up to the window which said "Istanbul Kebob"…..really? There was lamachun and pide on the menu….really? Really? How could I not know about this place?
The location did seem kind of strange, but curiosity had already gotten the better of me, I just had to check this place out. A couple of days later I dropped by.
Entering the well worn interior of the place, I looked up at the menu and didn't see any Turkish dishes at all. Until I looked ot my left and saw this.
I had more than enough time to check out the menu, because there was no one out at the counter to take my order. The young guys in the back were cracking up and having a good old time it seems.
By the time someone came out to take my order, I had lost my nerve and decided to go the conservative route and ordered the Doner Sandwich ($8.49), something simple that anyplace should be able to make. I also asked the guy if the owners were Turkish and he told me that the former owners were and when the business was sold they were taught all the Turkish dishes and decided to keep it on the menu. Not a very comforting answer, but hey, I've had some good meals under stranger circumstances and in odder places.
So I get my Doner (gyro) sandwich which is wrapped in foil and walk to the table where I unwrapped it and "holy …." (fill in the blanks) "…(more blankety-blank) is this?"
This wasn't a flat bread wrapped product….it was a burrito…the darn thing was wrapped in a tortilla. Still, my criticism of such an adulteration would be minimized if it was any good….which it was not. Basically, 50% tortilla, 35% dry gyro meat (at least it was heated up), 15% veg, all served with a insipid, runny yogurt sauce…..for real? I know this is SoCal, where, as Kazumi once told me "anything goes with food", but this just wasn't good. I have a special place in my heart for Turkey, especially Istanbul, and this just seemed wrong.
On the bright side….well, the fries were hot and crisp.
And I guess I've finally had a "Turkxican" Burrito(Doner-rito?)….my first, and hopefully last. And yet, in my twisted mind, I can only imagine what the foreboding sounding "Black Sea Pide" is going to be like?
Istanbul Kebab/Miramar Pizza
7094 Miramar Rd Suite 110
San Diego, CA 92121