Slutty Vegan (Athens, GA)

700 Baxter Street, Suite 800, Athens, GA

 

Slutty Vegan is a new chain out of Atlanta that serves vegan burgers and sandwiches (fried chicken, hot dogs) and fries as well as some desserts. It is Black-owned and the story of founder and CEO Pinky Cole is inspirational! Slutty Vegan currently has five locations in and around Atlanta, with Athens being the furthest, but is opening new locations outside of Georgia soon. Inside, the music is extremely loud — to the extent that you can’t understand the people behind the register, and they can’t understand each other — and the personnel (has to) do an annoying loud routine when you come in and leave. All burgers have sex-themed names, are made with Beyond Meat, and come only in (pricey) combos. Weirdly, you cannot eat inside or outside, while there is no drive-thru.

 

I get the Sloppy Toppy ($15), which comes with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions, fresh jalapeños, and “slut sauce” on a vegan Hawaiian bun. It looks messy and tastes mostly like a whopper, but one with a good kick because of the jalapeños and sauce. The fries are thick wrinkle-cut, but they lack a bit of flavor, despite the light seasoning.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

While I love everything about the story of Slutty Vegan, it is not for me. Then again, I am not the target audience. To be honest, there is no reason to go here if you are not vegan. It is crazy loud, you cannot eat inside or outside, and the food is expensive and not remarkable. However, if you are vegan, this place comes as close to the “real” experience as anything I have ever seen.

Slapfish (Hilton Head Island, SC)

 1024 William Hilton Pkwy, Hilton Head Island, SC

 

Slapfish is a national chain of upscale fast food fish restaurants with currently some 20 locations across the US. It has an eclectic menu, which reflects more a fish restaurant than a fast food chain, including Chowder Fries, Lobster Roll, Fish & Chips, and various salads.

 

I get the Fish & Chips, choosing two pieces rather than one ($14), which comes with home-made Tartar sauce. The two pieces of fish are lightly breaded and well fried: very good! The fries are thick and crispy, with light seasoning. The Tartar sauce is yellowish and has a bit of a citrusy taste.

 

VERDICT: 90/100

Very good fish & chips and the other, healthier options, were good too (although the salad had a lot of fries in them).

Palmetto Dunes General Store (Hilton Head Island, SC)

1 Trent Jones Ln, Hilton Head Island, SC

 

Palmetto Dunes General Store is a grocery annex tourist store in the big tourist community of Palmetto Dunes on Hilton Head Island, they have a small buffet that serves mostly Southern (fried) food -- I took the picture when they were closed already. Their fried chicken, in particular, is famous in town — they make it at 11 AM and run out fast.

 

I get one big piece of fried chicken and two chicken thighs in hot sauce ($4.99). The fried chicken was a bit dry but the taste of both the chicken and the coating were great (bet it tastes awesome when it is freshly fried). The thighs were really meaty.

 

VERDICT: 88/100

Seems like the hype is deserved. Next summer I’ll be back, at 11 AM!

 

B & D Burgers (Pooler, GA)

238 Pooler Pkwy G, Pooler, GA 31322

 

B & D Burgers, which stands for Blake & Duncan, is a local chain of burger restaurants with currently four locations in and around Savannah. I visit the large new restaurant in a strip mall in Pooler, just outside Savannah. It serves mainly burgers, with a variety of options (beef, bison, chicken). In addition to about 10 options you can also create your own.

 

I get a Bison Burger, which comes with lettuce, onion, tomato, pickles, and I add fresh jalapeños, bacon, and B&D sauce ($23.27). I order it “pink”. The patty is well-done, not medium, but juicy. Overall, the burger is big and salty. The fresh jalapeños add the kick, the B&D sauce has little taste. The fries are softer than I like but tasty (if, also, too salty).

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Good but expensive burgers. A bit too salty too.

Royal Donuts (Saarbrücken, Germany)

Dudweilerstraße 2A, 66111 Saarbrücken, Germany

 

Royal Donuts is a chain of donut shops with some 170 locations in Germany. This particular one is rather big and situated in downtown Saarbrücken. It serves only fancy (and expensive) donuts. The donuts themselves are regular size but they have big toppings.

 

I get a Chocolate-Raspberry and a Pistachio donut (both are €3.50). As they have been made a long time ago, they are a bit cold and hard. The chocolate has not much flavor but the raspberries do, including the filling in the dough. The pistachio donut has a good taste.

 

VERDICT: 82/100

Original but they look better than they taste.

Imbiss (Saarbrücken, Germany)

Berliner Promenade, 66111 Saarbrücken, Germany

 

This Imbiss does not seem to have a name and is not indicated on Google maps, but it is in the center of Saarbrücken and is one of the few places that serves food after 2 PM on a Sunday (don’t get me started). It serves various sausages, some other meats, and rolls or fries.

 

I get a Currywurst (€3.40), where you choose your type of sausage (red or white). The sauce is liquidy and warm but very original and tasty. The sausage is a bit overcooked.

 

VERDICT: 88/100

Very good Currywurst

Café Plancken (Mannheim, Germany)

O6 6, 68161 Mannheim, Germany

 

Café Planken is a large ice cream place in the shopping center of Mannheim, which is very busy on this very hot summer day. They serve some 25 flavors of Italian gelato, mostly classic ones, some vegan options too.

 

I get Hazelnut and Lemon. The flavors are really good, not too creamy, not too sweet. The hazelnut is smooth and the lemon has mint in it, making it fresh with a distinct flavor.

 

 

VERDICT: 92/100

Excellent gelato!

 

WestFood & Coffee (Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland)

 Rue Roger de Quinps 29, 1400 Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland

 

WestFood & Coffee is a new and hip US- and TexMex-type restaurant just outside of the shopping part of Yverdon-les-Bains, which does burgers and sandwiches but also nachos and chili as well as coffee.

 

I get the Large West Curry Chicken Sandwich (CHF 15.90 or ~$16.35), a long baguette with slices of spiced chicken, tomato, rucolah, and curry sauce. It tastes really fresh and tasty. 

 

I also get 5 Chicken Tenders (CHF 12 or ~$12.30), which comes with a choice of sauce. The tenders are big but thin, coated more tempura style, and a bit too dry.

 

VERDICT: 90/100

Great sandwiches in nice setting. Snacks are not all top.

Báhn Mì Vietnamien (Lausanne, Switzerland)

Chem. des Pêcheurs 7, 1007 Lausanne, Switzerland

 

Báhn Mì Vietnamien is a hole-in-wall that is kind of hidden on the outside of a larger restaurant at the lakefront in Lausanne. It is a small Vietnamese restaurant with a decent sized terrace with view of the harbor and lake. It serves a limited selection of the usual staples, sandwiches (Bahn Mi), soups (Pho), etc.

 

I get Nem (CHF 12 or ~$12.30) and a Bahn Mi Chicken (CHF 13 or ~$13.30) as well as a drink (CHF 5 or ~$5.15). The Nem (crunchy small spring rolls) are pretty good. The Bahn Mi comes on a long, thin regular baguette. It has pulled chicken on it but very little vegetables, which means that it lacks the fresh flavor.

 

VERDICT: 84/100

Quite steep price, although it is at a prime location in Lausanne, this is an acceptable but not remarkable Bahn Mi.

Zum Frischen Max (Zürich, Switzerland)

Max Frisch Platz 2A, 8050 Oerlikon, Switzerland

 

Zum Frischen Max is a relaxed cafe that looks like a beach club next to train station Oerlikon, in Zürich. It has a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks (high hipster content) and a small selections of bar food done with a hipster twist (pulled pork burger, hot dogs, salads).

 

I get one of the daily specials, the Veal Burger (CHF 19.50 or ~$20). It doesn’t look like much; regular bun, big pieces of lettuce, thick slice of tomato, thick patty, and a bit of sauce. However, the meat is really juicy and very tasty, while the spicy sauce gives it a good kick. With a more subtle bun and less lettuce this would have been killer. The fries are thick and quite crusty.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

Remarkably good burger, mostly because of the excellent patty.

Syriana Falafel (Augsburg, Germany)

 Fuggerstraße 14, 86150 Augsburg, Germany

 

Syriana Falafel is a small shawarma and falafel place in the center of Augsburg that does mostly wraps and plates. Everything looks pretty fresh, which is also what they promise: fresh Turkish food.

 

I get a Big Falafel Wrap (€6) for which the falafels are freshly made. They ask for “spicy” or not and I, of course, say yes. The wrap is long and thin, is more European than Arab (i.e. lettuce, tomato, onion), and is a bit messy to eat. However, the falafel are really moist and the wrap has a nice kick to it.

 

VERDICT: 88/100

Not authentic but tasty

Wurstteufel (Weißenburg in Bayern, Germany)

Eichstätterstrasse, 91781 Weißenburg in Bayern, Germany

 

 

Wurstteufel is a chain of sausage stands across Germany. I visit one at the parking lot of a small mall, outside the center of the small town of Weißenburg in Bayern. It has fries, sausages, meat balls (though not today), and somewhat surprisingly burgers. Interestingly, for the first time in my life, the people working in the stand ask me to take a picture without them in it.

 

I get a Currywurst with Fries and Mayo (€6.10) and get a choice of different levels of spice (I choose 2 out of 3, mainly because 3 is habanero, and I don’t like that flavor much. The sausage is overcooked (has been laying there for too long), the curry sauce has small pieces of bell peppers in them, and the powder has a serious kick. The fries are small but crispy. All in all, quite good.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

Original Currywurst with a kick

Athos (Günthersdorf, Germany)

06237 Leuna OT Günthersdorf

 

Athos is a gyros place in the food court of the enormous NOVA mall on the outskirts of Leipzig. It actually serves a wide range of Greek dishes, more similar to a restaurant than a food court fast food place. I get a Pita Gyros (€4), which is a weird kind of combination of pita gyros and Döner Kebab. On top of the shaved Greek seasoned meat, cabbage, onion, tzatziki, tomato, they also add lettuce and some weird kind of salad dressing. All of this comes in Turkish bread, not Greek pita. The bottom, which is mostly Greek, is pretty good. The top is kind of gross.

 

VERDICT: 70/100

Cheap but suspect. Would ask without dressing and lettuce.

Fugger Imbiss (Berlin, Germany)

Fuggerstraße 17, 10777 Berlin, Germany

 

Fugger Imbiss is a Döner place, rather than a traditional Imbiss, in Nollendorfkiez, Berlin. Fugger serves the usual staples: Döner kebab, Turkish pizza, meat skewers, but also grilled chicken from the skewer, Currywurst, and meat balls.

 

I get a Turkish Pizza with Salad (€4) and a Döner Adana (€7). The Adana is well grilled but the sandwich is a bit sompy. The vegetables don’t taste too fresh and it all just morphs into a decent but not really very good sandwich. The same goes for the Turkish pizza.

 

VERDICT: 80/100

Fine but just fast food Döner fare. You can do much better in Berlin.

Smash Burger (Berlin, Germany)

Wittenbergplatz, 10789 Berlin, Germany

 

Smash Burger (or Smash) is a stand at the Wittenbergplatz just off the famous KaDeWe, which is part of the Hauptburger chain. It serves three types of smash burgers, one type of fried chicken burger, and fries. I get the Double Fried Onion Chili Burger (€8), which is two extremely juicy smashed beef patties, thin sliced onions, jalapenos, homemade pickles and chipotle sauce on a brioche bun. Not sure where the chili comes in. But this is a very juicy and tasty burger, despite the rather minor kick.

 

VERDICT: 89/100

Excellent smash burgers and not too expensive given the location.

Fritpleintje (Zaventem, Belgium)

Heidestraat 3, 1930 Zaventem, Belgium

 

Fritpleintje is a frituur in downtown Zaventem, just a mile from Brussels National Airport. It has the old name outside and the new one inside (odd). They have a pretty modern operation going with all the usual snacks but few homemade stuff.

 

I get a Small Fries (€2.90) with Mayonnaise (€0.90) and a Grizzly (€3.00) with Samourai (€0.90). The fries are thick and perfectly fried. I enjoy them although I miss something extra (which might be because I have COVID). The Grizzly is standard: spicy mystery ground meat in a thin coating. The sauces are good but I prefer them fresh on my snacks rather than in prepared little cups.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

A very solid frituur. Worth a visit.