Nikki’s Not Dog Stand Serves Vegan Fast Food in Sag Harbor

As Nikki Glick was driving across America in 2018, the Manhattan-turned-Springs resident found there were almost no meatless, nondairy eateries to dine at.

She thought about that aspect of her trip for some time, and it led the now-Sag Harbor business owner to open Nikki’s Not Dog Stand, which serves vegan hot dogs and burgers with an entirely plant-based menu of accompaniments.

“I thought a lot about healthy, eco-friendly fast-food and how to make it for everyone,” Glick said. “So often I see vegan food tied to wellness and new-age movements, and that’s great, but I love a diner and a drive-thru, too. Nikki’s Not Dog Stand is about combining the old and new, essentially. There is a tendency to put down the past when trying to become healthier or greener. Instead, we wanted to update tradition, celebrate the innovations of yesterday while incorporating what we now know about the planet and our bodies. The goal is to have a delicious, healthy food place that is inclusive.”

And that new and old blend, which ties into her “where the past meets the future” slogan, is something seen from the moment you walk through the restaurant’s doors on Division Street. Your eyes jump from the 1950s-esque red-and-white-checkered floors to the Formica countertop, yellow-and-chrome swivel stools and framed baseball cards and posters hanging on the walls. At any point of day, you might hear Bo Diddley, Billie Holiday or Loretta Lynn coming through the speakers.

“My husband, Noah, and I wanted the place to be quintessentially American, with a vintage diner feel,” Glick said. “The place itself is built for kids — they come in and their eyes get very wide — it’s like a living museum.”

While the atmosphere can draw people in, it’s the food that keeps customers like Bonnie Klapper coming back.

“I eat there at least once a week,” said the attorney who works with Humane Long Island. “For a vegan like me, Nikki’s is a gift, as we have so few options out east. But her food is not just for those who want plant-based options. It’s delicious, whether you are vegan, vegetarian or eat meat. I’ve seen people go in, order, love the food and never know that what they are eating is plant-based.”

Glick said it goes back to wanting to create something for everyone.

“It’s not a rarefied, special thing — only for some people,” she said. “I’m not a strict vegan, or even vegetarian. I will sometimes eat fish. And I grew up on the Corner Bistro burgers and Gray’s Papaya hot dogs — we are not interested in shutting anyone out. Meat eaters come in and love the food. We aren’t here to judge.”

The idea for her menu also had this in mind. Going back to that road trip, she decided to add a geographic element to link back to where the idea originated. She boasts a Los Angeles dog with sautéed peppers and onions, pico de gallo, yellow mustard, ketchup and mayo for $12, and a Texas dog with salsa, Monterey jack and sliced jalapeño for $10. There’s also a Chicago dog with yellow mustard, electric green relish, chopped onions, tomato slices, sport peppers, celery salt and a pickle spear for $12. And, of course, an $11 New York dog, with sauerkraut, spicy brown mustard and a tomato onion sauce.

“Vegan food is often politicized, but this is just time-honored American food done in a way that doesn’t hurt any animals,” Glick said. “We have had people from Chicago and Detroit and Colorado come in and rave about the authenticity of their hometown dogs, which, of course, have to have that snap. That means a lot to us — getting the details right. Hopefully our menu is like a microcosm of the country.”

She grills the not dogs — which are Field Roast brand and made of soy, pea protein and potato starch — on a flat top with a secret seasoning blend that adds a umami flavor. All of the toppings are fresh, and lightened up when possible, like with the use of agave instead of corn syrup in her red onion sauce.

“The tomato sauce with onions is Nikki’s own creation, and it’s wonderful,” Klapper said. “Her malteds are also amazing — I get the black-and-white so often. When I walk in, they start making it without me saying a word.”

Glick’s menu items were her own creations, but perfected with the help of culinary expert Katsuji Tanabe, known for his time competing on Bravo’s “Top Chef.” He’s even made appearances on the Food Network’s “Chopped” and Travel Channel’s “Chow Masters.”

“Nikki came with a fully formed menu, which made my job easier,” Tanabe said. “I just helped bring an umami depth to some of her recipes, like her chili, and gave her others, like my hot sauce and salsa.”

The primary seasoning mix that’s the base for all of the meat-substitute items also came from the now-Raleigh-based chef, who met Glick in Los Angeles 20 years ago while he was the cooking at the reinvented Schwab’s Pharmacy and Glick was scooping ice cream at CC Brown’s.

“With vegan food, it’s always about finding ways to keep the food as delicious as it would be with dairy and meat,” Tanabe said. “It’s a matter of testing out various substitutes and seeing how they come together. It’s a trial-and-error process.”

While some items required more time and attention, others, like the fries, were considered “happy accidents.”

“We mistakenly grabbed a white sweet potato at the market and loved the result,” Tanabe said. “The menu is still evolving, like the addition of the burgers, which are excellent, but because Nikki is from New York, there is also an interesting deli element mixing in with the Americana fast food. Her potato salad — which I had nothing to do with — is probably our biggest hit.”

“I can’t say enough about that potato salad,” said Sag Harbor Cinema Manager Thierry Bahiluta, who with his staff tried Nikki’s Not Dog Stand when it first opened and has been ordering from there weekly ever since. “I’ve personally tried all the dogs with my first few trips, but the Chicago Dog and potato salad have been the go-to since. It is also a favorite of the floor staff here at the cinema.”

After playing around with burgers designed to look and taste — and even bleed — like real meat, Glick said she realized she needed to go in a slightly different direction, landing on something like a garden burger.

“We are not trying to totally recreate the experience of eating meat. We just want to make yummy food that is what it is,” Glick said. “And so overall, when you taste our dogs they are probably pretty familiar, but with a slight twist. It’s a wholesome option for kids, too, who are still eating what they want to eat. Everyone wins.”

For the owner herself, she said it’s hard to choose a favorite, but gravitates toward the New York dog.

“The toppings taste like my childhood,” Glick said. “The New Mexico Burger, with our homemade green chili sauce, is also great, but I only recommend that if you like spicy food — it packs a punch. We can thank our chef partner, Katsuju Tanabe, for that.”

“I have tasted the burgers, and they are delicious, too — I am just partial to the hot dogs,” Klapper said. “Nikki is so lovely, hardworking and passionate about serving delicious food, which just happens to be plant-based.”

Bahiluta said he also loves Nikki’s Not Dog Stand for the hot dogs.

“I have been highly allergic to red meat and pork from birth, so I’ve only had hot dogs once since coming to the U.S. and that did not end well,” he said. “Now, I get to enjoy them safely. It has been a breath of fresh air to have Nikki’s in a place where most food is Italian or too much for your wallet. I love hot dogs even more now that I get to enjoy them all the time.”

Tanabe said Sag Harbor has been a wonderful spot for the business.

“Sag Harbor is a great foodie town,” the chef said. “You can learn a lot about what you’re serving, because the people there have such good palates. But the concept is not specific to any one place. The hope is that eventually it is not so much thought of as vegan but just delicious fast food. I don’t see anyone doing quite what Nikki is doing. It’s like a health food store meets an elevated Johnny Rockets.”

Nikki’s Not Dog Stand boasts other diner-meets-fast food sides like coleslaw, soup du jour and sweet potato chips ranging from $5 to $10. There’s also oat-based shakes other than the malteds, and floats, all for $10. Desserts include Greystone Bakery’s fudge brownie and birthday cake and cinnamon roll blondies, which all cost $7.

The eatery, open Tuesday through Thursday from noon to 6:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 7:30 p.m., also offers a special after-school promo, “The Kids Lunch Box,” which includes the kid dog, small fries and a Poppi or Olipop soda for $15. Delivery is available, and orders can be placed by visiting nikkisnotdogstand.com.

The goal, Glick said, is to eventually donate 10 percent of all profits to local food banks.

“It’s not easy to serve affordable food in Sag Harbor and make significant money, but food justice is part of the plan,” Glick said. “A foodie destination spot, which is what we hope to become, has some unintended consequences, like gentrification. The rents are so high that many businesses have been forced out. Poverty is usually right down the road from the latest cool takeout joint. Street food gets swanky, which drives up prices and contributes to some people going hungry. But we are here to feed everyone. So that means keeping the menu prices down as much as we can and then working with food banks when we have profits.”