Hungry Guys Kitchen is basically like Tractor or Freshii; They have menu items but also a build your own Burrito / Salad / Bowl option. Pro-tip, if you order the build your own salad, one of the base options is rice, so you can basically still get a build your own bowl for about $2 cheaper (before add-ons like protein or guac).
The Good: Lots of options! Vegan and Vegetarian friendly, with meat options for those who want that instead. Lots of topping choices and dressings (all but 2 are vegan, so rest assured, we plant-based foodies will have a dressed salad!).
Portions were pretty good. Got a lot of bang for my buck! Me and my friend went around 7:30 and there was no line, so we got our food quickly, though I can't imagine this place gets as busy as chipotle or anything. I can't see people waiting too long regardless of time, but I can't say for sure, as I have only been here once.
The staff was friendly, and had no problem with me bringing in my own large bowl to use instead of their disposable ones.
The Bad:
For a company that explicitly says on its website (pictured) that sustainability is important to them, I was disappointed that there weren't reusable bowl / cutlery options for people who chose to eat in store, especially since they ENCOURAGE people to stick around on their site.
The salad my friend got came in a plastic bowl. Supposedly it can be recycled. Did you know containers need to be rinsed / washed before they can be reycled? Hopefully everyone does this at home already, but it's near impossible when eating out. No-one is washing these containers before they're tossed away, and no-one at the recycling plant is going to take the time to clean them, so they will probably be thrown out.
The cutlery is also supposedly biodegradable. Fun fact about bio-plastics; they need to be heated to temperatures of 140 degrees f to break down, and Vancouver doesn't currently have a system in place reserved for bio-plastics. They can't be recycled, because they would ruin the quality of the other recycled materials, so they must go in the trash.
I would love to see Hungry Guys Kitchen bring some eco-friendly, washable plates/bowls/cutlery to their store, so people eating in can enjoy a waste-free meal. At the very least, maybe they could eliminate the plastic bowls and switch to the same type of compostable dish as the burrito bowl comes in, the kind of larger bowls Freshii has. Would also love to see them switch to bamboo cutlery as well, a truly biodegradable option.
Here is my issue with Hungry Guys: they talk the talk but don't walk the walk. While their materials are currently "recyclable" and compostable (note: their website even uses the word reusable, so I would like to ask, where???), and people have fooled themselves into believing this is a viable option when trying to be eco-friendly, the truth is, there is still a ton of energy that goes into actually making and breaking down these items. They don't materialize out of thin air. Even these biodegradable bowls, which go back to the earth use energy to make. The best option for sustainability will ALWAYS be to have reusable dishes and utensils available. read more