Is It Worth a 30-Minute (or Longer) Line to Eat Fast Food at Slutty Vegan in Deep Ellum?

Little in fast food has brought crowds of folks to stand in line in Deep Ellum like Slutty Vegan, which opened the doors to its new location in May. Slutty Vegan Dallas offers hamburgers, hot dogs, other sandwiches, and fries in a walk-up spot, where customers have been lining up and waiting upwards of 30 minutes per order and more at peak hours.

And our question is: Is it worth it? It is just vegan fast food, even if the New Yorker wrote about it.

Eater Dallas grabbed a vegetarian friend who loves a good Impossible or Beyond burger and tried a handful of the bites. Of note: Dallas has an abbreviated menu, and some items aren’t available here, including the Heaux Boy (and seemingly every item with vegan shrimp), so a top item on the list of things to try was not an option.

Courtney E. Smith

First up were two burgers, the Fussy Hussy ($15), a pretty straightforward burger, and the Super Slut ($15), a burger loaded with guacamole and jalapenos. Though Slutty Vegan advertises that its burgers are made using a choice of Impossible or Beyond patties, what we had is a question mark; the option to choose wasn’t offered. My vegetarian friend proclaimed it a perfectly normal, decent burger.

The Super Slut was wetter than a burger probably should be, simply because the combination of melted vegan cheese, guacamole, and Slut Sauce (which is a delicious, spicy, orange take on mayo with a secret acid element added in) added up to a lot of wet ingredients. As a meat eater and burger lover, whatever the patty was, it was the least satisfying part of the burger. The main problem is the texture — it feels like it was pre-formed and frozen, a problem most, but certainly not all, meat-based fast food burgers have moved beyond.

Each item came with a side of Slutty Fries, and the Slutty Dust on them was made of pure magic. Also, we ended up with an entire brown bag full of fries that were still delicious the next day. The thickness of that crinkle cut helps keep them.

Courtney E. Smith

Next came the Hollywood Hooker ($18), Slutty Vegan’s take on the Philly cheesesteak. It was the best sandwich and is special enough to inspire thoughts of a return visit. It’s made with vegan chopped Philly meat, vegan Provolone, jalapenos, bell peppers, caramelized onions, and vegan mayo, and all served on a hoagie. The excellence of this sandwich somehow lies in the chopped ingredients — plant-based meat is transformed when it becomes an approximation of loose meat.

Courtney E. Smith

Then came a Sneaky Link ($15), a plant-based hot dog covered with Hawt Toddy Chili and served in a pretzel bun. This hot dog had one flavor note: beans. The bratwurst inside was good but seemed to be made with legumes, which is a tasty idea but falls short when the chili on it is also heavily bean-forward. The texture of the chili was too dense, and overall the dawg was disappointing because of it. The bratwurst was nice enough that it would be worth trying the Big Dawg, which skips the chili and goes with sauerkraut and Slut Sauce.

Courtney E. Smith

Finally, Hooker Fries ($10.99) — a new menu item added at the beginning of June. These loaded fries are supposed to come with everything on the Hollywood Hooker. The photos on the website and the press release about this item showed much more meat on top than the reality, which was heavy on melted vegan cheese. They tasted great, however, although the caramelized onions were nowhere to be found. They would be better without the shredded lettuce, which didn’t hold well under all that yummy cheese.

The OG Lemonade ($4.99) and Farmer’s Punch ($4.99) were refreshing, well-mixed drinks that go nicely with the sandwiches and burgers. Extra sides of Slut Sauce ($1.50) and ranch ($1.50) were ordered but were not in the bag. It can be like that at any fast food place when it’s busy, which Slutty Vegan always is, so double-check your order.

From entering the line to getting the food was close to 40 minutes — and that was at non-peak hours, around 3 p.m., over a holiday weekend.