Smith and Deli is possibly the most exciting thing to happen to the Melb vegan scene in, well, ever. This visit actually happened over a week ago, but I've been in Adelaide (plenty of eats, will blog) since so haven't had time. Smith and Deli is just off Brunswick St in a nondescript looking building. The main feature when we went was the piles of people waiting out the door - passersby kept wandering past, stopping and staring at the commotion. Hilarious. The Eat Vegan cross is standing proud over the door:
Inside is adorable, with an old-school deli feel. There's plenty of pics around - and it was far too busy for me to snap any - so here's one quick counter shot. I love the pastel balloons and hand-written menus - it's obvious the whole place is well-thought out and the overall effect is cheery and welcoming. The deli cabinets are full of homemade cheeses and meats, as well as some premade (biocheese and Daiya), as well as an array of baked goods. Away from the counter, there's a wall of Mexican dry goods, one of fresh bread, organic veg and a fridge with more house products - vegan cream cheese and caramel sauce, just to name a few. There's also a wall of coolers with some commercial vegan products (some things I hadn't seen before - well played!), S&D house pizzas (margherita and pepperoni) and premade meals like lasagna, as well as drinks.
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Our wait took - oh god, probably 45 minutes at least at 12 pm Saturday (we kind of deserved that). When we got our food, it was sealed with adorable Smith and Deli custom stickers:
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Our wait took - oh god, probably 45 minutes at least at 12 pm Saturday (we kind of deserved that). When we got our food, it was sealed with adorable Smith and Deli custom stickers:
Finally. Onto the food! My better half went for the Parmageddon ($14), chicken parma, napoli sauce, pesto and housemade mozzarella on a roll:
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This was an incredible sandwich. The napoli, pesto and cheese worked perfectly together. The house mozzarella is pretty tasty, up there with the better vegan cheeses - I'd love to see them selling this outright so I could experiment with it myself. This is one of the simpler sarnies on the menu, but it's utterly genius.
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This was an incredible sandwich. The napoli, pesto and cheese worked perfectly together. The house mozzarella is pretty tasty, up there with the better vegan cheeses - I'd love to see them selling this outright so I could experiment with it myself. This is one of the simpler sarnies on the menu, but it's utterly genius.
After scoffing a LOTF big brekky burger, I wasn't as hungry as I should have been and just got a pie - the pepper steak pie, $7:
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It was a good pie. The pastry was flaky and the pie held together well. The filling was quite mild and I wasn't the hugest fan of the mock meat - it tasted like the mutton from Vincent's which I don't love. But that said, better half loved this pie. I did like the mild flavour of it, and had it been filled with something like lentils, I would have been proclaiming my everlasting love.
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It was a good pie. The pastry was flaky and the pie held together well. The filling was quite mild and I wasn't the hugest fan of the mock meat - it tasted like the mutton from Vincent's which I don't love. But that said, better half loved this pie. I did like the mild flavour of it, and had it been filled with something like lentils, I would have been proclaiming my everlasting love.
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We couldn't leave without sweets! There were so, so many options. Brownies, popcorn-topped donuts, challah sticky buns.. enough to almost be thankful for the wait time so we could deliberate. Better half chose a vanilla slice ($5), where I went for the apricot danish (didn't catch the price):
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We couldn't leave without sweets! There were so, so many options. Brownies, popcorn-topped donuts, challah sticky buns.. enough to almost be thankful for the wait time so we could deliberate. Better half chose a vanilla slice ($5), where I went for the apricot danish (didn't catch the price):
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Both were perfect bakery renditions of the non-vegan originals. I'm not really a fan of vanilla slices - probably because I never ate them in childhood. But this one was legit, with the proper custard wobble and sweet icing. But the danish! Holy crap, this was good danish. Sweet and flaky with a lovely thick custard and tart apricot half. Divine. It was enough to make me wonder where vegan danishes have been all this time and why haven't they been in my stomach? It's going to be really hard to try something new next time, but I think I can make that sacrifice.
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Both were perfect bakery renditions of the non-vegan originals. I'm not really a fan of vanilla slices - probably because I never ate them in childhood. But this one was legit, with the proper custard wobble and sweet icing. But the danish! Holy crap, this was good danish. Sweet and flaky with a lovely thick custard and tart apricot half. Divine. It was enough to make me wonder where vegan danishes have been all this time and why haven't they been in my stomach? It's going to be really hard to try something new next time, but I think I can make that sacrifice.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
To nobody's great surprise, Smith and Deli are doing amazing things. Their attention to detail is impressive and every single item on the shelves is intriguing. Its popularity is entirely justified, and it's fantastic to be able to pick up a few groceries and an amazing meal at the same time. I know I'm heading back very soon for a shop and another crack at the menu. And another. And another.
Clik here to view.
To nobody's great surprise, Smith and Deli are doing amazing things. Their attention to detail is impressive and every single item on the shelves is intriguing. Its popularity is entirely justified, and it's fantastic to be able to pick up a few groceries and an amazing meal at the same time. I know I'm heading back very soon for a shop and another crack at the menu. And another. And another.