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Food Anarchy, Dundee (36/50)

By Kerry Moores

June 3 2017, 8:00am

Aged 22 I was a naive cliché. Maybe I still am. I thought I needed to find myself – do something daring or out of the ordinary – so I packed a rucksack, booked a ticket and set off to South America for six months solo. It was the best decision I ever made and I wouldn’t change a single minute of it.

I had been waitressing in an upmarket local restaurant to fund my nights out and university since I was 15 and had already learned a lot about food so I was incredibly excited about the journey my tastebuds and I were about to embark upon.

Surviving on a very, very meagre daily budget meant I often had to rely on tinned sweetcorn to keep me going in bedbug-infested hostels but mostly I ate the best food of all, street food.

The term still conjures up images of shabby stalls in blazing sunshine, serving the local speciality or daily catch prepared simply and cheaply but with authenticity and character. Budget restraints aside, I would almost always choose to be served by a street vendor rather than take a seat in a restaurant. In my head, I was blending in with the locals – although my money belt, blisters and permanent gaze of terrified wonderment probably told a different story.

I did, however, eat some of the best food of my life on the streets of South America. Dishes that seemed everyday and mundane for the locals were exciting and new to me. So when I heard about a street food cafe opening in Dundee a strong whiff of wistful nostalgia drew me straight to it.

Food Anarchy sits opposite the university on the Perth Road, making it the perfect location for a place like this. OK, it’s not a market stall, it’s a cafe but it draws in the young, hungry students with limited means and even from the outside it looks cool.

Inside, there are graffiti-covered walls to admire, including a large face by the counter which looks a lot like Frankie Boyle. The small space has room for a few tables and chairs and guests are provided with sketch books to doodle in while they wait for their food.

It’s a great idea and a quick flick through revealed Dundee diners have a gift for strong political opinions, juxtaposed with drawings of frogs wearing sunglasses. Despite serving food from around the world, the hard work all boils down to one small counter and one small kitchen and the guys working in both areas had an energy and flair that gave me a really good feeling about the place.

The menu was varied and included a selection of faithful burgers but why play it safe when there are delights like Brazilian marinaded chicken to choose from? I heard and then smelled mine being grilled with a satisfying sizzle before it arrived, served simply with fries and and salad. Hot and blackened around the edges, it was surprisingly moist in the middle – a simple dish but a satisfying one and a bargain at £6.50.

Next up was the falafel burger. Looking back, I’m not sure why I ordered it – I always find falafel to be dry and claggy so I don’t know why I expected this one to be any different. The patty was certainly home made, as was the hummus, and the sliced salad in the brioche bun helped with the dryness but the roof of my mouth was coated for some time nonetheless.

My final selection was the Pad Thai. I had high hopes for this, as a good one can really pack a punch with just the quickest of wok frying. And my first mouthful was fabulous. It had heat, it had tang, the vegetables were crunchy, the noodles weren’t stuck together. I was ready to get stuck in. About halfway though though, I came across a clump of condensed chalky paste – sesame I think – and it ruined the dish for me. Spread throughout, the flavour would have been fine but gathered in a clump it was very off putting.

I suppose the advantage of one street vendor having one dish to prepare is the constant turnover. Food Anarchy has many different dishes being made at the same time by just one chef so maybe you have to forgive a little haste.

Another clever quirk at Food Anarchy is the free soft drink with every meal, which makes the experience seem like even better value. When a Big Mac meal at McDonalds costs just under a fiver it’s refreshing to be able to pop in for a hearty meal for £6.

I so, so wanted to love this place. The concept is great, the location perfect and the value unbeatable. But the execution of the food just wasn’t quite there for me. Perhaps I chose badly. The calamari and whitebait sounded like a treat as did the Nasi goreng and Birmingham Chicken Tikka Balti so maybe those are options for the next visit. This time though, my dreams of being transported to another place left me up the Perth Road wishing I had ordered something else.