Had lunch today from Gaby’s food van in Barton.
This is parked behind the new PM&C building and almost-open new AG’s building, next to the oak plantation just off Kings Avenue.
Apparently it has been here for 20 years; certainly the last decade I can warrant. But for some reason I’ve never had an actual meal from it. What a shame as I discovered today!
I got a “super hot dog”, which must have weighed at least a kilo and contained a bun, frankfurt (invisible beneath the following), fried onions, cheese I think, mushy peas, mashed potato, bacon, fried egg, bbq sauce, mustard, and (of all things) “Argentinian mayonnaise” (I think Gaby hails from Argentina). Sounds a bit revolting I know, but it was actually delicious, good quality, incredibly messy, and meant I didn’t need any dinner (and no it hasn’t come back up yet).
The best bit – it cost just six dollars!
Gaby’s has loads of stuff like this. Regular hotdogs start at $3; burgers are cheap and ramp up to a similarly-adorned super hamburger. This is the sort of stuff the Central Cafe used to think it could do, but failed at because it all tasted crap. I think the van’s open early (6 or 7am) up to 3pm. Friendly service, a TV to watch, and there are even tables and chairs under the nice old oak trees.
It’s good to know places like this exist in Canberra, especially in the otherwise sterile Parliamentary Triangle. Try it out but make sure you’re really hungry before you order anything with “super” in front of its name.
8.5/10.