Little Cub Eats: Penn Kebab

Penn Kebab 418 E College Ave

Ease Of Access: 10/10

Penn Kebab is right across the street from South Halls!

Bank Account Happiness: 75%

Yeah, it was good, but it wasn't that good. It was just beef and rice. It's also not a bad price overall, I'm just cheap.

Big Group or Study Spot?


Neither. Penn Kebab is perfect for grabbing a quick bite to eat. There are a few tables outside, but we walked our boxes back to the hub for a drink and some chairs.

The Food

There's a bit of a back story required for this time around. All three people (mom, dad, and me) from my family have been to Germany, although not the same place and not at the same time. My dad and I are suckers for a good gyro, and have both have separate experiences with the wondrous Döner Kebab that has grown in popularity since the immigration of Turks to Germany in the 60's. So, when I suggested we get kebab for dinner, we were expecting something resembling this:

Now, as with anything you form expectations for, there is always a chance for disappointment, and this is why it is important for you to be in our brains leading up to our arrival at Penn Kebab, to hopefully bring understanding to the slight saltiness I feel towards this meal.

Penn Kebab, as we have discovered, does not serve anything of this sort, the closest being their

Kebab Box with beef and white rice

Kebab wraps (which, admittedly, look pretty good). We scrapped our original ideas of what to order and chose seemingly the next best thing: the Kebab Box. This box comes with your choice between beef or chicken kebab (another disappointment as we hoped for lamb meat) and either fries or white or yellow rice. Nothing else (aside from yogurt sauce).

Putting aside our preconceptions of Döner Kebab, the Kebab Box is actually quite delicious. The beef is thin enough for someone as anti-meat as I am to enjoy and the rice tasted as if butter and lemon had been added. Along with the cucumber sauce, the box was significantly more flavorful than meets the eye.

Unfortunately, we all got the same thing, so I can't offer a review of any other items from the menu, but my mom got chicken and yellow rice and was equally satisfied as the rest of us. The drinks all seemed (since I wouldn't know) to be Turkish favorites, as we did not recognize any of the labels.

The man behind the counter was friendly, and the service was fast and right in front of our eyes. I would definitely recommend Penn Kebab as a quick meal, easy to grab between classes or on a lazy day-- the restaurant itself is nearby and the box makes it ideal to carry to wherever you are headed next.

Please do not be deterred by our initial disappointment, the food was rather delicious, and, in fact, as I'm writing this almost a week after I ate at Penn Kebab, I'm starting to crave another box.


Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mahmood/4603407465