Tasty Donair at Riverside Hopital (WTF?) [General]

2012 Aug 8
I was at the riverside hospital for a routine ultrasound appointment this morning (I’m not pregnant, at least I don’t think so hehehe). As part of the ‘procedure’ I had to fast for 12 hours – which as you can imagine is virtually impossible for a foodie. As I was leaving the hospital at about 11:45, I walked past the canteen - I know what you are thinking – “avoid the hospital caf”. But it smelled good, and the people behind the counter seemed really friendly – I think they were all volunteers. Most of the stuff they were offering was soup, premade wonderbread sandwiches and muffins, but they also had a very small menu of things like grilled cheese, egg on toast etc. all of which were very – I mean very – reasonably priced. Not on the menu but found on a little stand-up board they were advertising “beef donair, $3.95”. I was fricken hungry, and at that price what did I have to lose?

A few minutes later I got a very decent donair served with lettuce, tomato and decent garlic sauce on a fresh tasting and soft gyro style pita. The meat was standard, but surprisingly moist and not dry. Damn, I made a good decision. At $4.15 all in, it’s a damn good buy, especially when all the proceeds from the canteen go towards something at the hospital.

Just a heads up to you foodies out there, there is a decent food option at the Riverside campus, I thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact I live around the corner on main st. so if I am ever home during the weekdays (since they only serve the donair weekdays 11 – 2) I will stop in and pick one up for 4 bucks. It sure beats spending at least $15 on the green door (love the green door, but it's expensive considering it is one of the only other options close by)

Pleasantly surprised!!!!

2012 Aug 8
Haha It might have only tasted so good because you hadn't eaten in 12+ hours...

2012 Aug 8
Very true egg princess, but the constituents of the wrap were objectively decent. Fresh pita, tasty and strong garlic sauce and moist meat.

It is what it is. It is certainly better then some pizza joints, one I can think of is centretown pizza's "halifax donair" which was horrible.

I guess at the end of the day, it still beats campells soup and wonderbread sandwiches. lol

2012 Aug 8
Easy now - "Halifax Donair" ain't no normal donair!

Maybe the sweet sauce is an acquired taste, but I wouldnt' say its horrible (Although, Their meat is pretty dry, which is why I ususally ask them to coat the meat in sauce before putting it in the pita)

P.s. I like the angle of the photo, makes me want to take a bite right out of my monitor!

2012 Aug 8
No disrespect to the Halifax style donair... I was commenting specifically on "centre town pizza's extremely lackluster version".

I love me some sweet sauce!

2012 Aug 8
I'll disrespect the Halifax donair !

Except for that football sized one in Mount Uniack - you can't disrespect a football sized donair

2012 Aug 8
This is some pretty sweet intel, seeing as I'll be there myself in a couple weeks for a test. Did you happen to get a glance at any of the soup offerings?

2012 Aug 9
Actually...

It's funny that I remember the soups (cream of broccoli and minestone)yet I cannot remember names and dates.

They had - made to order - grilled cheese, egg on toast etc.

Don't get your hopes up though, it is still a hopsital cafeteria. But you may be surprised like I was.


2012 Aug 9
If anyone watches CHUCK'S DAY OFF on the Food Network they were likely as stunned as I last week when he dedicated a dinner to the staff at a Montreal hospital that treated him for a busted leg and praised, repeatedly and in detail, the hospital food.

No, seriously... Chuck Hughes.... Garde Manger in Old Mtl, Debbie Travis protege, kicked Bobby Flay's rumproast on Iron Chef with a lobster poutine KO Chuck Hughes praised the hospital's head chef, the kitchen and the food.

2012 Aug 10
Saurian,

I had the soup when I was there for a test a few months ago. The soup rotates but they are all home made. I had the beef barley and it was decent.

2012 Aug 11
I worked at the Civic Hospital years ago, before they transitioned to what they called "end stage heating" of patient meals. In those days all the soups were made in house and the food was decent if not spectacular. Now it's all like airline food. the meals are held on refrigerated racks and popped into a unit on the patient ward where the hot compartments are heated and the cold ones are kept cold. Pretty awful stuff. I was on the committee who reviewed those meals from the different manufacturers, all of whom claimed that the results were superior to what could be done in a remote kitchen and that the food would get to the patients hotter and better. Every time I was asked to review a system and presented with menus to select from, I always asked for the same thing: a poached egg and toast. In every case the egg had turned to rubber and the toast was either cardboard dry or wet and soggy. They did not select a system while I worked there, but having been an inpatient recently I can tell you that however they are cooking it now, it's unacceptable rubbish.