Rony’s Rotisserie is good value
Seven words adorned the front windows at Rony’s Rotisserie when we approached their doors last week: fresh, healthy, Mediterranean, succulent, authentic, real, and charcoal.
Sure enough, when we walked in and crossed the modern looking dining room to the counter, bags of charcoal sat behind the counter, ready to get lit up in the indoor pit.
We lingered up front, making up our minds from the menu, which was hung above the counter. As we did so, one of the young women working there, donned in a black shirt, brought over some small skewers with a tender piece of chicken on each for us to taste. She and her co-worker were welcoming and inviting. Google classifies Rony’s as good for kids, and the service fully supports that claim. As our son made up his mind, another skewer was brought to him by the same woman, this time with a side of sauce, as our server patiently went over options with him.
After we finished ordering, we looked around for a place to sit. The dining room looked quite new, which made sense, since I found out Ronny’s has been open just 13 months. There were shiny wooden tables, black plastic chairs, a very clean floor that looked like dark and light wood inlay, and silver lamps hanging from the loft ceiling above. Dining in had its perks in such an attractive space, and we grabbed our pops from the refrigerator and sat down.
Even if you don’t want to dine in, Rony’s does a fair amount of takeout. There were at least four people who came in for pick up while we were there. When I called to fact check later, Rony Shamoun, the owner, confirmed pick up or delivery does make up about 80 per cent of their business. They deliver from Centennial to Fruitland roads, and from Mountainbrow all the way to the lake.
We got called up to the counter shortly to pick up our first round of food, which was served on a metal tray lined with paper. A small, four-cornered bowl held the chicken soup and the chicken kebab came wrapped in a pita that had been pressed, panini-style.
I was pretty excited for the soup since they made the chicken stock in-house, and presumably, there would be so many bones to work with. The flavour, however, was lacklustre. Thick slices of carrot and celery accompanied the chicken pieces, which were a little overcooked.
The wrap, though, was fantastic. I would order this again in a heartbeat. The chicken in this dish was clearly the star. It shone through the heat of the scotch bonnet peppers, which were tempered by a delicious yogurt sauce and all together, it was super fresh and tender. Succulent indeed.
While we were busy tasting, the coals were poured into the metal base of the rotisserie and set alight. The aroma of a campfire began to disseminate through the room, but instead of marshmallows, several chickens were put on the spit and carefully basted and rotated.
The freshness of the chicken came through on every dish. We ordered the half chicken and, unadorned, it was excellent — perfectly cooked throughout. Eating the skin, though it wasn’t exactly crispy, I felt the same satisfying flavour burst I usually associate with bacon.
There were a variety of sides to choose from, and this is where the Mediterranean comes in. In addition to the house salad, coleslaw and fries, the menu displayed a choice of Moroccan lentil soup (which we found out was only available in the winter), tabooli, basmati rice, potatoes or hummus.
The square shaped bowls again appeared on a tray, this time filled with the hummus, coleslaw and tabooli, along with a pile of pita wedges. The hummus and coleslaw could have used a little acidity and a pinch of salt to pep them up a bit but the tabooli was very nice. Full of fresh parsley, and tomatoes, it was a lively forkful.
Our son ended up ordering a chicken kebab platter and it was a steal at $9. The chicken pieces were again delicious and the rice was spiced with curry like flavours that made for a nice partner. It was a generous serving too. Even for an adult, it would have been plenty, and it came with two sides: fresh sliced fries and a mixed green salad.
We didn’t pace ourselves too well during the meal, but fortunately for our waistlines, there were no desserts. So we gathered our
things to go and took one last whiff of the rotisserie aroma. Stoney Creek is a bit of a hike for us, but I’ll have to find an excuse to go to Rony’s for another wrap soon.
Alana Hudson has cooked at restaurants including Le Bernardin, Vong, and Avalon.