The Dudes of Food

Have you been drinking? Craving a warm pita bread with chicken or pork, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, some white and red sauces? Good choice!

I know what you’re thinking: it sounds like a good ole’ European döner kebab! And in Greece, souvlaki sandwiches are fast food. 

But in Madrid, Egeo Suvlakeria adopts a cooler vibe with take-away sandwiches and sit-down platters. The restaurant’s interior design includes exposed brick and a couple Corinthian columns that probably don’t contribute to the structure’s stability. Smoke fills the little restaurant from the kitchen’s open-style barbeque.

Everyone is eating skewers, the souvlakis, either on a plate with fries or stuffed into a pita. The sandwich proportions are good, so I can devour my souvlaki on the go without scrambling to catch sauces dripping down my forearm. And the meat—cooked to a juicy medium—is the main event. The pork souvlaki comes with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, and tzatziki sauce made from yogurt and cucumbers. The chicken souvlaki includes lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo. Dude tip: you can mix and match ingredients and sauces, just ask when ordering!        

Chicken with tzaziki

Egeo also thought up some souvlakis with a Spanish tinge. The Creole Sausage, chorizo criollo, explodes with flavor, and the Hamburger, hamburguesa, packs in protein with a fried egg atop a lamb and beef patty. Yes, there’s even a trendy vegetarian option with pumpkin-based meatballs. For a to-go sandwich, you can’t beat the fresh ingredients!   

I figured this post’s “thesis” would be something like: “Döner kebab alternative,” or, “Grab and go sandwich.” After all, Egeo’s prices match those of döner kebab shops and its dishes are similar too. A souvlaki costs just 3.30 euros (an FSFW!), much like its döner kebab cousin, and meat platters in both types of establishments come with fries or rice for 7,00 euros. Egeo’s meat quality, however, seems better. 

But restaurants aren’t only about the food, and my working thesis exposes some guiri naiveté. Madrileños rank immigrants and their dishes along racial and ethnic lines. For example, an American immigrant is “favored” over a Turkish or Bangladeshi one; as a result, American food in Madrid—like burgers and milkshakes—is valued much higher in price and social capital than North African couscous. This phenomenon isn’t unique to Madrid. Think of the different associations wraps and burritos bring up in the States. 

The Suvlakeria’s ambiance and soft exoticism contributes to its charm. Despite harsh economic conditions, Greeks still hold a relatively positive cultural cache in Spain’s memory. After all, they were Europe’s intellectual epicenter and are white, Mediterranean Christians. So even if the restaurant’s owners arrived alongside Bengali and Turkish immigrants, they’ve had an advantage from the get-go. 

From now on I’ll probably fill my drunchie meat-sandwich fix with a souvlaki instead of a döner kebab, and you should too! But as you chomp down on the pumpkin meatballs (oxymoronic much?), remember that the comparison isn’t perfect. Egeo caters to a trendier audience in the burgeoning Lavapies. And tzaziki might not drip onto your patent-leather shoes.