Taste

Savor a döner or two at Las Vegas’ new Berlin street food spot, Wolf Down

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Wolf Down’s beef döner
Photo: Wade Vandervort

Every metalhead knows that something’s extra-badass when it requires an umlaut. It’s true of Motörhead and Mötley Crüe, and it’s especially true of the döner, a rib-sticking, gyro-like treat cooked up by Turkish migrants on the streets of Berlin. Wolf Down, a Canadian import now open in Chinatown’s jam-packed dining nexus the Center at Spring Mountain, brings the döner to Vegas—and like “Ace of Spades,” it rocks like nothing else.

Created by first-time restaurateur Joelle Parenteau with help from the German co-founders of e-commerce company Shopify, Wolf Down is such a simple concept, you’ll probably underestimate the place when you first walk in. The menu, painted white on a solid black wall, is simple: Choose a protein (beef, chicken or tofu), veggies (it comes with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cabbage and onion), a sauce (“secret” is creamy and mildly sweet; “spicy” is exactly what they say), and how you’d like your döner delivered—as a sandwich, rice bowl or salad, all $12. (Extra protein and bread are $3 apiece.)

Place your order and wait in the airy dining room, sparsely decorated but for two neon signs that read, “Screw it, let’s do it” and “This is our happy place.” Then watch your meat being carved from the vertical spit and stuffed into Wolf Down’s delicious, sesame-crusted flatbread with a generous helping of veggies.

You might be close to drooling by the time the döner makes it to your hands, and your first bite will exceed expectations. The crispness of the leafy greens, the peppery flavor of the meat and the finishing punch of the sauces (my advice: mix them) satisfies like the riff from “Live Wire.” It’s a burst of pyro exploding on your taste buds, and you’ll definitely want an immediate encore. That’s umlaut power, right there.

WOLF DOWN 3853 Spring Mountain Road, 725-204-7632. Daily, 11 a.m.-midnight.

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Tags: Dining, Food
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