Scaling back your meat consumption (or giving it up completely) can be quite a frightening concept indeed. And if you’re anything like yours truly, devouring a greasy burger on a Sunday afternoon in aid of reducing the repercussions of a previous night’s boozathon is simply a necessary evil. But thanks to a forward-thinking little business in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD, this can still remain a favourite pastime, whilst being ethically minded at the same time.
Lord of The Fries is possibly the funkiest take-away burger joint in town, and has 2 outlets within a block of each other – one snug on the corner of Elizabeth Street & Flinders Street, the other right out front of Flinders Street station. The ‘meat’ patties of their delicious home-style burgers are made from our dear friend TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein – and in all honesty, you’d have to be Matt Preston to know that it wasn’t the ‘real McCoy’ if you weren’t in on the secret.
Lord of the Fries has a lot more going for it though than merely the lack of a cooked cow’s clacker slapped inside a bread bun (although they are definitely proud of their 100% vegetarianism). The burgers in fact, were initially some what of an after thought. As its name suggests, the business has built its reputation on serving up some of the best hot chips in town, drenched if you choose, in any one of their tasty and original sauces including: ‘Indian’ – a spicy mango chutney with sour cream; ‘Asian’ – euro-mayo, peanut sauce and chopped onions; ‘French-Canadian’ – cheese melted by hot brown gravy; and (naturally) ‘American’ – southern bbq sauce, just to name a few. For those keen on avoiding dairy products, they also have non-dairy cheese and mayonnaise choices too.
With humble beginnings as a mobile hot chips van working the music festival route, LotF has come along way, baby. And I’m very pleased to learn that it will also soon be more widely accessible, with plans of opening a new store in Preston (northern suburbs of Melbourne), and additional franchising opportunities becoming available too.
So my friends, if you can now get your dirty paws on a mouth-wateringly good burger, that’s ethical, and comes with the best fries you ever did taste, why might I ask, would you wanna pour any more greasy cash into some of those more, let’s say, ‘less concerned’ burger corporations that have had a monopoly on the industry for far too long?
Full menus and further info. can be found at the official site http://www.lordofthefries.com.au.
And ‘FYI’, Ethical Avenues has no affiliation with this business (including financial or other interests). E.A. endorses this business because we genuinely believe that it’s doing something unique and worthwhile for the world of fast food.
