Small pieces of pork or chicken grilled on skewers, eaten from the stick or wrapped in pitta with tomato, onion, tzatziki and chips.
What makes it souvlaki
Small cubes of pork or chicken, marinated in olive oil, lemon and oregano.
Grilled over charcoal.
Pitta, tzatziki, tomato and onion — and often chips inside the wrap.
Where it comes from
Souvlaki means little skewer. In Athens the skewer itself is often called kalamaki, and souvlaki can mean the whole wrap. Meat grilled on spits is as old as Greek cooking, and the souvlaki shop is where much of the country eats quickly and well.
How it varies
Gyros
Meat stacked and roasted on a vertical spit and shaved off — a cousin of döner.