Turkish Döner in Eagle Röck
2506 Colorado Blvd. (just inside Eagle Rock)
Phone: 323-257-5600 | map | website

Something about meat being shaved off of a vertical revolving cooking apparatus triggers a Pavlovian lust. It must have something to do with the whole "meat being shaved off a vertical revolving cooking apparatus" aspect of it.

Completely unassociated with dog breeds or Olympic swimmers, Spitz is the home of the döner kebab*, normally enveloped here in focaccia or lavash. The meat is a choice of beef/lamb or chicken; the chicken actually seems to edge out the former in a taste test, but I daresay that's because there are truly marvelous, shiny shawarmas being sliced off of thigh-sized pillars of seasoned Mammalian bliss all over the Los Angeles area with which to compare.

I've had the mixed Döner plate, which has everything all together in one basket, fighting for supremacy: the beef/lamb, the chicken, tzatziki, atop thin-cut seasoned fries, salad on the side with pepperoncini, strips of seasoned & fried pita, and hummus. The hidden gem here is the hummus, which is homemade. I'm always on the hunt for good falafel, and the falafel balls are good and not utterly dry, especially with the hummus. But then everything's good with the hummus.

And guess what! Spitz offers LA MILL coffee, iced if you like (which I do). There's also passionberry iced tea. And, huh. Gelato, eh? Reputed to be quite good, but all gelato places make this claim. The double espresso bean flavor beckons me for next time.

So is it authentic? Well, it's based on a Turkish cuisine, made popular in Germany, discovered by the owners in Madrid, and adapted to please the American palate. So, no. But for a local place I deem it Lord High Beylerbey of Lunchtime.

* Döner is slow-cooked meat from Turkey, something like shawarma, something like gyros, although thinly shaved meat from vertical roasters is not solely Turkish in origin; doner merely means "turning" in Turkish. There's your poorly presented language lesson for today.