Döner kebab at Balkan House
3028 Caniff St., Hamtramck; 313-262-6234; balkanhouse-restaurant.business.site
No restaurant and menu item blew up this year quite like Balkan House's döner kebab. It deserved the praise. The döner's lepinja bread is like a puffier, lighter, and softer pita, and Balkan House stuffs the pocket with salty, somewhat greasy, and thinly cut kebab meat that's the pre-cut gyro variety, not sliced from a spit. The lamb and beef is counterbalanced with fresh slices of crunchy cucumber, white onion, red cabbage, shredded lettuce, and tomato slices. But owner Juma Ekic says the sauce is really what makes or breaks a döner. She uses a very garlicky Greek yogurt-based condiment and ladles it on thick, hits it with a dusting of sour sumac, and sends out of the kitchen a döner so packed that its contents nearly bust out of the lepinja. —Tom Perkins
