I’m genuinely not much of a burger fan, but this last year I’ve found a way to enjoy them more. The secret seems to be – ditch the meat! Now, I do appreciate that may be controversial, but stick with me – I need to introduce you to V Stack.
V Stack is a street food business turned fast-food delivery business, run by a sister duo as a side hustle. The business, previously trading at Gloucester Green market, started delivering through lockdown and continues to deliver every Saturday in Oxford.
They are 100% plant-based, offering a short range of burgers, fries and sides. You order by 5pm on a Friday for delivery the next day.
On the menu…
…are two burgers – The Stack (£7) and The Jammer Stack (£7), both of which contain deep-fried cauliflower as the ‘patty’. For ‘The Jammer’, it’s then topped with lettuce, sriracha mayo, vegan cheeze, onion rings and homemade sweet chilli jam. For ‘The Stack’, the cauliflower is dipped in hot sauce then topped with lettuce, homemade slaw, gherkins, jalapenos, pickled onion and sweet chilli sauce.
Sides include fries (sea salt £3, cajun £3, or loaded £4.50), buffalo cauli wings (£4), and Mac ‘N’ Cheeze (£4). Extras of slaw, cheeze, guac or soft drinks complete the menu for £2/1/1/1 respectively.
For the purpose of thorough testing, we ordered one of each burger, Mac ‘N’ Cheese, loaded fries and Buffalo wings.
Deep-fried cauliflower dipped in hot sauce topped with: lettuce, homemade slaw, gherkins, jalapeños, pickled onions and sweet chilli sauce
Deep-fried cauliflower topped with: lettuce, sriracha mayo, vegan cheeze, onion rings and homemade sweet chilli jam
It took me a couple of bites to make my mind up with the burgers, but they were bloody good. The cauliflower, fried deep golden, with a flavoursome batter coating it and still had enough ‘bite’ within. The toppings all added value and my bun stayed intact; despite the overflowing fillings, some of which were very ready to escape.
The batter on ‘The Stack’ had softened from its hot sauce, but the thick-sliced cauliflower maintained good stability. The macaroni cheeze was much better than I expected, with good consistency and nicely cooked pasta. Crispy fried onions topped the pasta, adding a punch of flavour and texture, to marry well with the homemade cheeze.
Loaded fries came with more melted cheeze, jalapenos, chives and some very welcome pickled red onion.
Time for some close ups…
Buffalo wings were more of the deep fried, battered cauliflower, in more hot sauce – I’d definitely over-ordered on cauli. BUT… I packed the leftovers away for later, and we hoovered them up the following day.
So, back to why I’m preferring vegan burgers.
Firstly, I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, I eat a large variety of foods, including meat, dairy and fish. Where I do find good alternatives to animal products, I switch them out. Meat burgers have always left me feeling pretty nasty after eating them – I just don’t find that with vegan burgers. Or even vegetarian cheeseburgers. I prefer the fake meat varieties like Moving Mountains and Beyond Meat – maybe because I’m not vegetarian (? discuss) – but this cauliflower steak-style burger is equally impressive.
If you haven’t yet tried V Stack yet, do. You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy it, and you’ll get those dirty burger feels almost entirely from veg! The sisters aren’t currently trading at markets, but follow their Instagram for delivery details and updates: @vstackburger
V Stack
vstack.co.uk
We received the delivery as a gift, all views remain our own.
I too came in contact with V Stack during lockdown. The burgers are super impressive and the wings are lush. Next time I’m in Oxford I’m trying the loaded fries!!!