Chicken Souvlaki Dinner for Lunch

In the interest of furthering science, for the past 6 months I've eaten "chicken souvlaki dinner" from Jimmy the Greek a minimum of 3 times a week (all lunches) alternating between the 1st Canadian Place location and the one in Scotia Plaza. That translates to a minimum of 36 servings from each of the locations. Broken down into its components, that is a total of 72 skewers of chicken, 288 pieces of roasted potatoes and a load of rice and greek salad.

Here are my findings......

Ok, I'm joking. Not about the number of servings that I've eaten in the past 6 months (that part is actually true), but the part about furthering science. My intention was not to conduct some ridiculous natural experiment, far from it. I'm just a creature of habit (aka lazy and unimaginative) and thought that chicken souvlaki was a good lunch choice as it is tasty and is about as well balanced as you can find in the food courts.

One of the benefits of eating one particular dish from two different restaurants repeatedly over a period of time is that you are able to form a very informed impression of the quality of food, service, etc., for each particular location as well as a comparison of the two. So here are my real findings.......

Overall
The components of the dish at both locations is almost identical, as is the price (just shy of $10, including a can of pop). Overall, I give the dish two thumbs up or 5 stars. I have no idea whether it tastes like authentic greek food since I've never eaten the dish in Greece, regardless, it is good. Ingredients are always fresh (especially the salad) and the chicken is cooked to perfection. If you are in the mood for chicken souvlaki you will be pleased with what you get at both locations. As a side note, and subject to the proviso below with respect to the roasted potatoes, I found that the level of consistency in the food was very high. The dish tasted the same day in, day out. This is pretty amazing when you think about it. In my view, the only other restaurant that can boast the same level of consistency is McDonald's.

Comparison of the Food
As noted above, the dishes are very similar; however, over time I did notice several subtle differences that are fairly significant.

The roasted potatoes. The roasted potatoes at the Scotia Plaza location (SP) are standard roasted potatoes, cut in random shapes and boiled (?) with various seasonings (I have no idea what they are) to the point where the skin just starts to peel off. They are tasty and so soft that you barely have to chew. Random shapes are not a feature of the potatoes at the 1st Canadian Place location (FCP). The roasted potatoes there are always the same shape. Wedges cut lengthwise down the potato. Similar seasonings are used for these potatotes, but I don't think they are boiled. It almost tastes like they may have been cooked in an oven (mybe after some light boiling?). This really brings out the taste in the potato and is superior to the one at SP. The one downside, is that occasionally you will get one or two wedges that are undercooked which results in a crunchy variant that is slightly displeasing to the palate. Risk and reward I guess.

The sauces. At both locations, the staff will ask you whether you want salad dressing, hot sauce and/or tzatziki. Generally speaking, I think the salad dressing is meant for the salad, the hot sauce for the rice and potatoes and the tzatziki for the chicken. At SP, that is generally where the sauces land.. and always in the right amount. At FCP, the sauces all get blended together and end up on everything. There is no shortage of sauce at FCP either as you will get a "healthy" squeeze of each bottle. I'm a bit of a sauce freak so I actually enjoy the overdose that is typically the norm at FCP... the one negative though is that the container is pretty greasy so be careful when you carry it back to the office. No such issue at SP.

Service
Fast and efficient. Both locations employ the assembly line concept first used by the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi to build the terracotta warriors and later perfected by Henry Ford. There are essentially 3 staff that will assemble the meal. It starts with the person who takes the order and initiates the process with the styrofoam container (which is already pre-filled with salad). Next it goes to the person who handles the entree. They will throw in the rice and the potatoes and then with one swift move slide the pieces of chicken off the skewer into the container (so fast that you almost miss it). This person will also ask you if you want hot sauce and tzatziki. If you want both, just nod your head (even if you don't want it you'll get it on occassion... apparently it is easier to stop a golf swing midway then it is to stop the squeeze of the bottle...). Finally you are at the cashier who has already rung up the order and is waiting for your money.

Both locations are so efficient that long line-ups rarely have a chance to form.. and even if they do the wait time is not significant (making it the perfect lunch choice if you decide to go at noon). This is my favourite part... in and out.. no small talk... all business.

Epilogue
So that's my review. I had chicken souvlaki dinner for lunch again today. It was good.