The Mighty Fork – Mighty Good (Vegan) Hot Dogs!

I’ve been following The Mighty Fork on Twitter since they tweeted about Vegfest UK in March. Back then, their website was just a survey about the types of hot dogs and fillings you’d want to see when they started up their vegan hot dog stands.

I excitedly filled out the survey and linked a friend to the website as I knew it would be right up his street.

The Mighty Fork create, as they put it, “globally inspired hot dogs so packed with flavours that you’ll want a fork to go back for the toppings”. The dogs are 100% vegan, cholesterol-free and low in fat. But the best bit about this reinvented, former “junk food” is their creative and insanely good toppings. Ever thought about topping your hot dog with curry and wasabi mayo? The Mighty Fork have. Or what about drenching it in hot beer sauce and jalapeños? Yep, they’ve been there, done that too. Here’s their delicious menu:

Since March, said friend and I have waited patiently for The Mighty Fork to open their first stand so we could try these hot dogs out. When it was finally announced that they were going to be in Venn Street Market at Clapham Common on Saturday 13th July, we freaked out. Clapham Common? Why, that’s our neck of the woods!

We tweeted, facebooked and texted each other about the amazing hot dogs were were going to eat on Saturday. (You may not think hot dogs are something worth getting that excited about but when you’ve been waiting months to try loaded vegan hot dogs with crazy and interesting fillings, you can get a little worked up.)

Saturday was the day the heat wave really hit London and we were excited to eat out hot dogs under the shade of a tree on the common. I’d had a big night on Friday and (healthy!) hot dogs seemed like the ultimate hangover food, which made the anticipation heighten. We got to Venn Street Market at around 2pm, saw the big, yellow banner for The Mighty Fork and skipped our way down to their stand.

…

They had just sold out.

Sold. Out.

Gutted doesn’t even begin to cover it.

After consoling ourselves with not-so-exciting food from M&S instead, we vowed to go earlier next time.

So this past Saturday, although I was again recovering from the night before (July is a busy birthday month, I swear!), I hauled myself out of bed earlier and we headed down to Clapham Common again. The Mighty Fork’s fully functioning stand with the friendly hot dog connoisseurs serving, was a sight for sore eyes.

Behold! Mighty hot dogs!

I went for The Big Chilli and my friend went for the more exotic Yasai Dog (yasai being Japanese for vegetable).

I don’t really remember what real hot dogs taste like but my friend confirmed that you could trick keep any meat-eater happy with these tasty tofu dogs. The wieners (snigger) were pretty good but the toppings are where it’s really at! The chilli was delicious and just the right amount of spicy. The yasai curry was surprisingly sweet and worked perfectly with the sautéed onions.

After the anticipation whilst I took a billion photos nearly killed him, my friend’s hot dog was gone in about 17 seconds and he claimed he could happily go back for another one! I think that says it all. As for me, a notoriously grubby eater, I ended up with mustard and chilli all over my leggings and half the toppings back in the tray. Thank goodness they give you a fork!

Here’s some more Fork porn.

The Mighty Fork are at Venn Street Market again next Saturday, as well as the last two Saturdays in August and they will also be setting up a stand at Vegfest London in October.

Given the mighty success of this brand new venture, I expect to see them popping up all over London in a matter of time. Best stop my Friday night drinking so I can make sure to get there early enough every week before they sell out…

UPDATE: Sadly, as of March 2014, The Mighty Fork has permanently closed.