Recently Seattle has started to get on the street food band wagon. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of vegan options available. While many hot dog stands might have a veggie dog, rare is the vegan hot dog bun (most typical buns contain milk or animal derived dough conditioners). So I was supprised and excited to find some excellent vegan offerings at what seemed a verry unlikely place: a BBQ catering truck shaped like a giant metal pig. Unfortunately the pig has gone into hibernation for the winter and won’t be back on the street until April.

Maximus/Minimus is built on the idea of two flavor profiles: maximus (spicy and savory), and minimus (sweet and tangy). While the specialty of Maximus/Minimus is pulled pork, they also offer a surprising veggie sandwich. The sandwich, which is listed on the menu as 100% vegan including bun (pretty sure they use Rudy’s Organics), is composed on barley with grilled fennel and onions with your choice of sauce (which you are limited to maximus as minimus does contain honey), which makes a very good, and original, sloppy joe/pulled pork kind of sandwich. For the sides they offer two slaws, both of which are vinaigrette based and dairy free (although the minimus does again contain honey), and house made vegetable chips. The chips are one of the highlights, composed of potato, carrot, beet, and green beans spiced with a little jalapeno.

When active, Maximus/Minimus spends most of the day at 2nd and Pike in downtown, as well as at events around the area. While a bit of a line can form durring the luch rush, they are good at handling it. They usually have someone out front taking orders and payment and things move along quickly. There is no seating, only a few folding tables you can hunch over if you don’t want to take your food back to the office. A veggie sandwich, slaw, and chips will run you $9. Check them out at www.maximus-minimus.com