Dirty Apron (YVR Domestic Departures)

You might be wondering why the heck I'm posting about something located in the domestic departures at YVR...  Well, let me tell you this - food is a necessity when you are waiting for your flight and sometimes it is a life-saver if there is a delay.  Also, I've had my fair share of bad food at YVR including that awful Banh Shop in the US departures.  So when we had something fairly delicious at The Dirty Apron this time around, I had to blog about it!

So we were traveling to Quebec City with Elaine and Costanza and ended up grabbing 4 sandwiches.  The first was the Roast Beef with chimichurri, roma tomatoes, tomato aioli and arugula.  I thought this was the most pedestrian of the choices we had.  The beef was tender but not particularly meaty in texture.  I liked the aioli as it was creamy and had a real tomato flavour.  I thought the bread was a touch on the heavier side, but manageable.

Something that looked really familiar if you've ever been to Finch's is the Prosciutto, Fig and Brie.  In addition to the ingredients already listed, we also found balsamic onions, arugula and balsamic glaze.  The combination of ingredients lends itself to layers of taste.  You have the salty meatiness of the prosciutto balanced off by the sweetness of the sliced figs.  Yet, the creaminess of the brie brings everything down a notch while the balsamic affords some sweet tanginess.  Good combo.

For myself, I had to get the Cuban Ham (or their version of a Cubano) with BBQ pulled pork, honey ham, Swiss, pickles, yellow mustard and chipotle aioli.  This was rather messy and cheesy, but that was the whole point of the sandwich.  Lots of meatiness from the tender pulled pork and salty ham.  The pickles gave a nice tangy kick while the mustard did some of the same.  There was also a background spice.

The best sandwich, according to all of us, was shockingly the Roast Chicken with shaved parm, tomatoes, arugula and chipotle aioli. Due to the big chunks of roast chicken breast, this sandwich also weighed the most.  It ate hearty with tender bites of chicken with the tanginess of the tomatoes and the salty nuttiness of the parm.  Ultimately the sandwiches at The Dirty Apron at YVR were a decent option at the airport.  Prices range from approximately $17.00 - $19.00, which is actually reasonable considering we are kept captive in post-security area.  Much better than the Banh Shop in the US departures. Just remember (and this is really important!), get a freshly made and toasted sandwich.  Not one of those premade one sitting in the refrigerated display.  Those are gross.

The Good:
- Sandwiches actually taste good and have enough filling
- Reasonably-priced with all things considered

The Bad:
- Bread is a bit dense
- Only in the domestic departures