Multiple Personality? – Sammy’s Hot Wings
If you go to MickeyD’s, aside from the salads, chances are you are going for fast food. Likewise, if you go to a ramen shop, you are going for… Ramen! (Well, probably also some sides, like gyoza). So, when you go to a restaurant called Sammy’s Hot Wings, what do you expect? Chicken wings, of course!
So, this is the place I visited last week when I tagged along with some of my work colleagues for lunch.
In the background, construction of the Safeway in Robson and Denman.
The dinning area.
Yup, simple straight forward place. If you want to eat here, walk to the cashier, order what you want and sit. They will then deliver your meal. Once done, pay at the cashier (along with any drinks you might have had). As for food… Here is what our party ordered:
Colleague #1 ordered 10 wings with fries ($8). I apologize for this picture, as he was already starting and I did not want to ask him to hold back and let me take a “good” picture. It was not his first time here, in fact, he always order the wings so, needless to say, he likes them.
Colleague #2 ordered a chicken shawarma plate ($8). According to their menu, it is “served with salad, hummus, basmati rice, pita bread, hot sauce and tahini”. This was his first time here but he approves the dish.
Colleague #3 ordered a burger combo (burger and fries – $7.50). Just as colleague #1, it was something he always ordered so I will assume it is also good. I will have to try it one of this days (I am preparing a set of post on burgers so I have an excuse!).
This is what I ordered, a “Philly Texan (with chicken)” (large – $8). According to the menu, “served with grilled onion, mushroom, BBQ sauce and melted Cheddar cheese”. Grilled onion, check; melted cheese, check; chicken, check; BBQ sauce and mushroom… OK, mushroom couldn’t really taste it and the BBQ sauce was MIA… The bread was soft and warm, both good points. However, the chicken was a bit tasteless, which is a surprise in a way, considering they have a spit for the shawarma (granted, they did not use that chicken for the sandwich). Not the best dish…
If we take out the shawarma plate, you would easily think it is a regular greasy spoon. But when you add that dish (and others including souvlaki, kobideh, falafel, etc.) it confuses me. Shouldn’t a restaurant try to focus on a specific cuisine or set of dishes? The fact it goes all around made me wonder and my intuition was not mistaken…
Having said that, there is one redeeming point: their hot sauce. They are so proud of their hot sauce they even sell it in bottles. In their restaurant, you could request some of the sauce and have it in your plate. In my case, I used a bit of the hot sauce as dipping sauce. Oh, boy, that quite changed the sandwich! Now, it was not the hottest sauce I ever had but it gave quite a kick.
Overall, the sandwich filled my tummy but that’s about it. As for the restaurant in general, I think I will come back for the burger and probably the hot wings – in both cases, as one times. However, for the rest, I am not sure. I would rather go to the Falafel King for a shawarma plate or Subway for a sandwich. Based on the outcome of those (pending) meals, I will then make a final assessment.
Sammy’s Hot Wings
1773 Robson Street, Vancouver
