Steamrollers
4 locations in Metro Vancouver
1195 Robson Street (location visited)
Vancouver, BC
Donair Spot
1240 Robson Street (?)
Vancouver, BC
The last week or so, it has been a bit hectic for me. With some tight deadlines, instead of having decent lunch, I just go outside to grab something, eat and go back to work. Not necessarily a good thing but, (sigh), what can I say… To make things worst, my stomach start to grumble as early as 10:30 a.m. While I could easily go to a nearby Safeway, Subway or McD’s, I don’t want to go that way. After all, it does not allow room for an interesting post. In two of those days, I chose to walk a little bit further to get some lunch and I ended up in Steamrollers and Donair Spot.
Let’s start with Steamrollers. It was one of those days that by 10:30 a.m., I was already hungry. The problem is that, at that time of the day, almost nothing is open. I started walking to Timmy’s but notice Steamrollers was open. While I don’t recall being there (and, if I have been there, there ought to be a reason for me NOT to remember), I was hesitant, given my experience with one other wrap shop. But, alas, my stomach overruled any sense I had and walk in and made my order. Come to think about it, I don’t think I even stopped to take a closer look at the menu and instance what they had listed as a “special”: “Curry in a Hurry” (or something on those lines).
Another evidence I was not thinking straight: I order an overpriced bag of chips and drink!
As for the wrap itself, as the name might have suggested, contains, well, curry. And, as usual on these, the usual “filler” happens to be rice. Aside from that, I don’t think there is anything positive to say. The rice was bland, the veggies in the wrap were bland, the curry was bland (barely any pieces of boiled chicken breast, which by itself is also bland). I don’t want to beat the dead horse so I will stop here…
On another day, I was, again, walking towards Timmy’s but took a similar detour. Unlike the day I ended up in Steamrollers, it was a bit later on the day which meant there were some other options. One place caught my attention as I was sure it was not there a couple of days ago: Donair Spot. Then, I remembered: it used to be a Red Burrito. Well, I am willing to try almost anything, so…
Now, I was facing this dilemma. Which one to order? Lamb (in the vertical spit to the left) or chicken (to the right)? Or how about both? They had a 2 for $10 “grand opening special” so that is what I ended up ordering. And, to the donair, I could add the usual suspects: lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chopped parsley (I will assume it was meant to be tabouleh but it was completely dry), along with hot sauce or tsatziki. (In my wraps, I took the easy route: add everything!).
Of course, for a wrap that usually sells for slightly over $6 each, you ought to expect they would cut some corners. Unless this is not the regular size, I will have to say it was smaller than the ones you can get in almost any other shawarma/donair shops.
I started with the lamb donair, which is made with minced meat and then shaped in the the cylinder which would then be cooked in the spit. No, please do not say “mystery” meat! ^_^;;; Anyway, I found it lacked a bit of spice I was expecting from such concoction, specially if I compare it to a gyro (which would be practically the same).
I chose not to finish it and started with the chicken. In this case, it will be quite similar to the shawarma wrap you will find around. However, the same problem that hit the lamb version hit the chicken version as well: it lacked some spices to make it tastier.
Overall, Donair Spot can be considered average if I compare it to other shawarma places I have been. Whether it was due to them just opening or it was indeed below average, I can’t say. However, given what I experienced, I am not in a hurry to come back.
I am still under tight deadline and there is at least one other post in the queue describing such in-a-hurry meal. Regardless, there is one lesson I learned: I ought to bring some snacks from home to appease the hunger until a more reasonable time of the day…
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I had Donair spot twice this week, both times, uneventful, and pretty boring. it’s decent, but on a standard way. the special you got was the opening special, the prices when they go regular price is rather expensive, but so is robson st rent. i had the lamb plate, it really wasn’t very good, but earlier in the week had the chicken plate, that was pretty standard. abduls at crystal mall has still the best wrap.
i’m still looking for good value downtown myself, is there anything you found near robson and bute?
sorry to hear that it was just average!
ugh average lunch eh?
fmed, it might be me but, everytime I have been to Abdul’s, I get really thirsty afterwards… Near Robson and Bute, there are some options but it depends on your budget. If it is under $10, I am not sure. Ebisu might be a good option (have not been there yet but I am planning to do so soon) or Red Chicken (next to Ebisu) if you are up for Korean.
LPV, yup, just average…
I love the sign at Donair Spot and the fact that they sell donairs, shawarma, falafel and gyros. Basically if it comes wrapped, they sell it!
a donair and a shawarma are the same thing. one’s greek and the other’s lebanese. i’ve been to the donair spot a lot of times and was always satisfied.
{ 1 trackback }