Kebab, Gyros, Souvlaki?

Souvlaki? Kebab? Gyros? Confusion abounds. Maybe you're savvy when it comes to Greek street food, (in which case this blog is of zero relevance to you), but if you're anything like me, there is much to learn. I came to Greece knowing that I would devour souvlaki as regularly as possible. What I didn't realise immediately, was that those delicious pita wrapped packages I saw in many a tourist’s hands were not always souvlaki. Some were souvlaki, but others were kebabs and others still were gyros.

Many menus features all three of these options with little description as to the difference. I suppose, the quickest way to solve the riddle would have been to reach for Google and, while most people would attest, that would usually be my natural course of action but...when in Athens...I felt taste testing was the way to go. Without further adieu, the results of my one women study of souvlaki, gyros and kebab.

Gyros

Another tasty pita wrap. Again, I went pork, although I was also offered chicken, and asked for all the offered toppings. This one was filled with thick cucumbery tzatziki, a little bit of tomato, chips and shaved pork. I later learned that gyros is traditionally prepared from shaved rotisserie meat.

Kebab

No specifications were made, I asked for the kebab the restaurant was known for and the wrap was different again. This delicious pita was filled with red onion, fresh tomato, parsley and well-seasoned, sausage-like minced meat cooked on a skewer.

Souvlaki

A traditional pita wrap with your choice of skewered chunks of meat (I was offered beef or pork) and assorted toppings (tomato, parsley, yogurt, red onion). I asked for everything, of course. The pork souvlaki I received was filled with thick pieces of grilled skewered pork. I've since learned that these skewers were traditionally cooked over coals.