Since this is Hollywood, it's easy to think of the story of Spitz: Home of the Doner Kabob in pitch form:Boy travels to Spain for semester abroad. Tastes a doner kabob and falls in love. Learns everything he can from the old and grizzled master kabob-maker. Comes back to the U.S. with a grand kabob vision, graduates from college, and partners with an old friend to bring the magic of this late-night European treat to America. But! They run into obstacles and it's unclear whether their dream will become reality. They have a falling out, followed by a dreary, sleepless night, soundtracked by a wailing Middle Eastern ballad. Not to fear--the friends reunite, the restaurant opens to great acclaim and spawns a Spitz chain across California.Or something like that (melodramatic fight/reunion not true-to-life, as far as I know). There's a reason I'm not in the entertainment industry!
Doner kabobs are sandwiches made from a mixture of ground lamb and beef, somehow turned into a big slab o' meat, slowly cooked in a vertical roaster, then sliced paper thin. The sandwiches at Spitz are served on either thin foccacia or even thinner lavash. Unless you order the sandwich a la carte, it comes with a fountain drink and a side of fries or fried pita strips and hummus. For 75 cents extra, you can get sweet potato fries or a salad instead.
The thin strips of meat pack a flavorful punch, helped along by the cool tzatziki and spicy chili sauce. My palate is not refined enough to pick up on the mix of lamb and beef flavors, and while I really liked my sandwich, it's very reminiscent of a gyro. Other than the mix of the two meats, are there other major differences I'm missing?
Spitz also serves gelato, a nice treat on the patio after your sandwich, if you have room (the sandwiches are huge). We'll definitely be back, and hopefully, as The Daily Nosh requests, this place will get a beer and wine license sometime soon.
Other Spitz reviews from LA foodblogs: the new to me Colorado Chow and la.foodblogging (they've changed the foccacia since these pics were taken--it's much thinner now).
Spitz: Home of the Doner Kabob
2506 Colorado Blvd.
Eagle Rock, CA 90041
323-257-5600
3 comments:
Hey Erin!
Great report, thanks. Do you recall if they have yogurt flavored gelato? If they do, I think I will have to go every day.
Thanks!
No yogurt flavor unfortunately. We had vanilla bean, which was good but not as good as Pazzo Gelato in Silverlake. Spitz uses an outside vendor for their gelato (I think--can't remember the name).
According to Spitz website, they rotate among the following flavors:
tiramisu, burgandy cherry, creme brulee, double espresso, green tea, pistachio white chocolate, hazelnut espresso cheesecake. They also have sorbetto in the following flavors: strawberry champagne, mango, lemon ginger, passionfruit, blackberry merlot.
Thank you for the post, really useful data.
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