I’m a native Haligonian and I have a confession to make: I do not eat donairs. No way, no how, not gonna happen. No mystery meat for me, thank you very much.
While I’m not a vegetarian, I haven’t eaten red meat in almost 20 years and the smell of donair meat turns my stomach when I walk past a fast food joint.
And so it was that I attended Halifax’s first donair crawl feeling like a fish out of water, waiting to be outed as a traitor to my hometown.
It was a dedicated crowd of about 200 who showed up on that hot day in August, proudly wearing t-shirts that made their meat-eating intentions clear (not to mention their plans to do unspeakable things to their intestines, arteries and breath).
Beginning with King of Donair, the tour consisted of six restaurants, including a stop at Robie Street Station for a doughnairnut. A new phenomenon, it’s exactly what you’d expect: a doughnut topped with donair meat.
At pizza corner, the “Halifamous” intersection of Grafton and Blowers streets in the middle of the downtown restaurant and bar area, donair crawlers were remarkably chatty nearing the end of the meat extravaganza.
After his fourth donair, Raj Phangureh from Winnipeg liked the King of Donair offering the best, and said he liked the doughnairnut but wouldn’t get it again, declaring it “too much doughnut, not enough meat.” His companions Shawn and Tara Phangureh, visiting from Vancouver, were sharing their fourth donair.
Terra Wilkins and Krista Wadman also admitted to splitting donairs in an effort to make it to all of the stops, but said they loved the doughnairnut.
When he was asked about the chicken and vegetarian variations at the newest restaurant, Johnny K’s, Dylan MacBurnie said he enjoyed the chicken donair that he was given by mistake, but declared a vegetarian donair a “bad idea wrapped in a pita.”
History
The donairs that first arrived in Halifax in the early 1970s originated in Greece and Turkey. There are versions of meat on flatbread wraps found around the world, but what makes a Halifax donair unique is the sweet sauce, likely adapted for local tastes from a garlic yogurt sauce that would have been served with the original variations.
What are donairs?
Donair meat is traditionally ground lamb, or a combination of lamb and beef, mixed with spices and packed on a vertical spit in an inverted cone. It’s sliced into thin shavings and served in a pita with tomato and raw onion with sauce made from condensed milk, sugar, garlic and vinegar. Johnny K’s vegetarian donair is made with seitan, a wheat product. The donair itself is vegan, but the sauce has dairy in it. “We are working on a vegan sauce to make it 100% vegan,” claims the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Are they safe?
Donair meat spins on a vertical spit in many pizza shops in Halifax, and I’ve always wondered if it’s safe to keep meat warm for long periods of time.
Restaurants are subject to unannounced tests to ensure that they follow the Nova Scotia Food Retail and Food Services Code safety regulations. “Inspections may include ensuring proper food storage, food contact surfaces and sanitation equipment are used,”said Heather Fairbairn of the Nova Scotia Environment in an email exchange. High risk establishments are subject to two tests per year.
Regulations ensure that donair cones fit properly in their cooking unit, and specify that the meat “should undergo a secondary cooking step designed to achieve a temperature of 71 C (160 F) in the case of beef, lamb, and pork containing products or 74 C (165 F) in the case of chicken containing products.”The code also specifies required cooling procedures for leftover meat.
A quick glance at the online Nova Scotia Food Establishment Inspection Reports doesn’t show anything alarming, so…
Will I break my two-decade no-donair streak?
The chicken and veggie options at Johnny K’s were intriguing, so I decided to give it a shot, even though these slightly healthier alternatives seem like the antithesis of a proper donair.
The verdict? The chicken donair was okay, definitely better than I remember. The fresh tomatoes and raw onion helped cut the mild spiciness, and the secondary frying adds a welcome crispiness to the meat. The chicken version seemed slightly leaner than the traditional style, but it’s still almost impossible to eat a donair without getting telltale drips of grease and sweet sauce on your clothes. So will I go back? I’d consider trying the vegetarian one next time - I just couldn’t do it in front of the donair crawl crowd.
Recipe
While the best way to try a donair is arguably standing on a street corner with sauce dripping down your arms after a night in a pub, you can make them at home if you’re ambitious or too far from Halifax. I can’t claim to have made these (see story above) but Dash's Donair Recipe on AllRecipes has glowing reviews.
Not to be left out, there is apparently a way to turn almost any food into a donair-based meal. If you're feeling ambitious, give some of these a try and tweet us at @YahooCanadaNews to let us know the results:
Pizza crust stuffed with donair