SLC27-W3 // Medina Gate Night Cart - Cheese-Stuffed Mix Sandwich (Tunis, Tunisia)

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Saludos/Bonjour/Hello, Steemit!

I chose to document a true curbside institution that comes to life after sunset near one of the gates of the old medina of Tunis, the kind of street cart where the lightbulbs turn the pavement into a tiny stage and the plancha sings all evening, and I reached it by following the smell of peppers and onions until the glow of a red canopy appeared beside the historic arch where a patient line had already formed, people chatting while the cook worked in full view and I joined them with the very simple goal of ordering the city’s most honest bite which is a mix sandwich filled with merguez, chicken escalope, a spoon of kefta, onions, tomatoes and green chilies, all pulled together with grated cheese that melts into the meat and a quick ribbon of garlicky white sauce.

_{The cart under the gate with neighboring stalls lighting up the lane and the flow of late night customers.}

The ordering ritual is beautifully direct because there is no printed menu and you simply point at the trays behind the glass case while the cook nods, then he builds the sandwich like a small choreography that never gets old as he drops rings of onion and slices of green chili on the hot steel until they glisten, adds halved merguez that brown and release paprika and cumin, slides in thin ribbons of escalope and a touch of kefta for depth, and once the meat is lacquered he pushes everything into a neat mound that is ready to be crowned with dairy and sauce, while the bread warms on the upper rack to keep it crisp and clean.

The cook splitting the roll and moving between bread and plancha with practiced motions.	The foreground filled with sausages, tomatoes and peppers that hiss and smoke.

The transformation from a pile of ingredients to a cohesive filling happens in a few theatrical seconds because the cook takes a fist of grated cheese that looks like snow, rains it over the mound and lets it catch, then squeezes a narrow line of white sauce so it softens into the cheese and binds everything, and at that point he flips the toasted roll cut side down onto the plancha for a heartbeat so it takes on a thin varnish of flavor, stuffs the bread full, tucks in a slice of fresh tomato for brightness and asks the eternal Tunisian question which is whether you want harissa or salade méchouia, and I always ask for both because the heat of the harissa and the smoke of the méchouia make the cheese taste even more alive.

_{Grated cheese melting into the mix while the edges caramelizeA ribbon of white sauce pooling into the cheese with a blistered tomato in the background.}

The first bite is a small avalanche of textures that keeps reshaping itself as you work your way down the loaf because the peppers remain slightly snappy, the onions go sweet, the merguez perfumes everything with paprika and garlic, the escalope stays tender and the cheese threads cling from one wall of bread to the other, and by the time you reach the heel the crust has picked up tiny brown spots from the hot plate and you understand why the cart never loses its line as the night deepens.

The finished sandwich with tomatoes and green peppers peeking through the molten cheese.	Me perched on a concrete bollard in front of the cart while traffic glows behind and a street cat claims the shade of a parked scooter.

Although the cart is minimalist, the flow is quick because every step is visible, the ingredients turn over constantly and the plancha is scraped clean between batches which keeps the flavors bright, and all payments are cash which keeps the queue moving, while prices float with fillings and extra cheese but my generous mix with cheese and a touch of harissa remained under ten TND (30 steem) which is an excellent value for a sandwich that weighs like a proper dinner and replaces the need for a second course. If you crave something cooling after the spice you only need to step a few meters to the fruit seller who peels prickly pears and cradles them on ice, and the sweet floral flesh rinses the palate better than any soda.

crown of peeled fruits glittering with ice.	The work table with whole prickly pears piled high and the trimmed fruits ready to serve.

The best time to enjoy this kind of fast food in Tunis is evening and late night because the heat eases, families stroll, students drift out of classes and shift workers look for something warm that is ready in minutes, which means that from early evening until close the plancha almost never stops and the cart becomes a tiny social hub where strangers share napkins and compare spice tolerance while waiting for their number to be called.

Street carts like this one are not only delicious, they are also economically meaningful because they transform modest savings into a micro business that buys local bread, vegetables and meat, provides a job to a helper, pays rent for a sidewalk spot and sends a steady trickle of earnings back into the neighborhood economy, and when you multiply this single cart by the many that light up across greater Tunis you get a network of small enterprises that reduce unemployment, feed people at fair prices and protect culinary knowledge that families have carried for generations.

Location and maps

Important data (quick reference)

Field	Information
Name	(Tunis – Tunisia)
Type	Street Food
Date of visit	August 30, 2025
Hours	Everyday: 9 PM–3 AM
Google Maps	https://maps.app.goo.gl/RfCG4w933aHqcbF76
SteemAtlas	//:# (!steematlas 36.805551 lat 10.176382 long d3scr)

Practical facts

The cart opens after sunset and runs late every day when weather permits, there is no card terminal which means cash only, cleanliness is fair for a street setup because ingredients sit behind glass and the cook scrapes the plancha between rounds, etiquette is friendly and efficient and there is no formal seating so people lean on bollards or sit on the curb which becomes part of the charm, I visited on August 30 2025 and service time for my order stayed at roughly five minutes even with a steady line, the menu is compact with escalope merguez kefta sometimes liver or an egg onions tomatoes green chilies white sauce harissa and salade méchouia, cheese comes either as slices or grated and the second option gives a better melt, portion size is generous and a single sandwich easily replaces dinner.

Video

A short clip that captures the sound of the plancha and the layering of the sandwich is here