It didn't take me long to get to Columbus' first and only vegetarian hot dog cart--I missed the grand opening by a few days. Rad Dog lists its location on the Web site, so you too can easily run into the mostly organic street vendor.
I love the idea of quality street cart food in a high foot traffic area. I associate vegetarian street eats with the 15 minutes I had between Mass Communication Theory and my Seminar in International Media at Ohio University, which I typically spent at the Burrito Buggy (never mind the times I spent at the Buggy before stumbling down Jeff Hill at 3 am).
But I believe a well positioned street cart could do serious business in Columbus. I hope Rad Dog could succeed in filling this niche because if you've read this blog before, you know I love vegetarian food.
The cart griddles Tofurky dogs. I tried the Cowabunga, a chili dog with salsa, and the Rad Dog, a beer "brat" with kraut, peppers, onions and spicy, horseradish-tinged mustard. The Cowabunga was good, the Rad Dog was really good. The full aresenal of toppings make both tasty treats.
Other items on the menu include veggie hot dogs, beer brats and Italian sausage with an arsenal of classic tube steak toppings. There are also chips, chili and Pattycake vegan cookies available along with a limited selection of drinks.
The prices are a little more expensive than the run of the mill fast food joint. I'll pay more because I'm a sucker for convenience and concepts, but close to $5 for a veggie brat (even with all the fixings) is higher priced than the take out options Rad Dog will be battling.
Tawd Bell, the proprietor of Rad Dog, is a friendly guy with enough tattoos and body mods to make him stand out in a crowd. Hopefully his street cart fare will stand out as boldly as the ink and piercings.
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| Rad Dog |
3 comments:
Thank you TONS for visiting the cart!!! We've found the vegetarians in Columbus to be fiercely loyal, and word of mouth seems to bring a few more people each day. Your blog post is deeply appreciated.
As far as prices, I wish we could charge less, but honestly our product costs are considerably more than most other cart vendors. I guarantee my family is not doing this to get rich, but simply to work hard at something we can whole-heartedly support and feel good about.
Thanks again!
Sharon (wife of Rad Dog!)
Sometimes you have to charge more. You get what you pay for after all. I really enjoyed it--I just figured I'd mention that sometimes people want to spend next to nothing for lunch. Luckily I'm not one of those people. I'll definitely be back!
Tawd and Sharon - all the best! I run hot dog carts in St. Louis and teach others how to get started at www.HotDogProfits.com. There is a lot of free info on that site so check it out. I'd be happy to answer any questions.
-Steve
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