Snag Stand, Melbourne - gourmet hotdogs

I always have a bad habit of judging a book by its cover, whether it's people, food or something else. That's why I easily trust people, taking first impressions and appearances as everything and sometimes get hurt by it. I treat food the same way, it must look good before I'm even willing to take a bite.

I was at Melbourne Central a few days ago just before a wedding dance rehearsal and as we were all in a hurry, we decided to grab a quick meal at Snag Stand which is right on the corner of Swanston and Latrobe St. I'm guessing it mainly caters for busy commuters rushing to and from the station. Before that day, I would never have considered eating there purely because I believed it was a fast food joint that simply sold hotdogs. Why would it be any different to say Wendys or Mr Donut hotdogs? That was obviously before I read their menu and judged purely on the 'stand-and-eat' nature of the store.

Upon closer inspection of the menu, words jumped out at me. Words like 'wagyu', 'truffle aioli', 'Spanish goats cheese' and 'house-made sauerkraut' had my head spinning. Is this really a hotdog shop? Surely they are mistaken.

Snag Stand has 15 gourmet hotdog choices available but if you're especially adventurous, you can try making your own with the following options. the 15 choices was already too much for my brain to handle so no choosing my own ingredients this time.

Can you guess which flavour I got? It was the Wagyu Beef that was 'served up on a rustic roll with butter & garlic mash, herbed gravy & topped with sauteed onions', all for $9.90. I hear you gasping. $9.90 is not cheap for a hotdog by any means but when I thought about it, I'd pay over $10 for a Grill'd burger so why not a gourmet hotdog?

The hotdog was quite large. Cut into two portions for easier consumption, the box didn't help with the messiness of eating it at all as the generous serving of gravy and creamy mash were oozing all over the place. I can't imagine how I'd be able to eat this on the go. The hotdog was also topped with plenty of spring onions and fried shallots which gave the already wonderfully aromatic hotdog an extra booster. It didn't even matter whether it was a wagyu sausage or not, I'd be happy if it didn't even have a sausage. (With that said, the sausage was quite nice).

Even better, the bun was so soft and fluffy that it was perfect to soak up all the gravy and mash. I enjoyed every single bite of that hotdog until I could no longer move and my stomach was screaming in joyous pain - 'no more! I'm totally full!'.

Susan was eating her Chilli Dog ($8.90) right next to me and I could sense her mouth tensing. 'It's really hot!' she exclaims and frantically starts scraping all the chillies and what may be chillies off her hotdog. The Chilli Dog consisted of an 'all natural frankfurter with chilli beef sauce, onions, cheddar, cheese & roasted chilli peppers on a toasted brioche roll'. It didn't sound all that chilli but I too stuck my tongue out like a dog after trying one of the jalapeno-like roasted chilli peppers. In fact, I had 2 of them. It was suicide.

It was inevitable when Susan gave up her battle with the second half of the sausage and offloaded it to one of the boys. If you like your chillies by all means try this hotdog, but I did warn you.

In between mouthfuls of chilli and gravied up wagyu sausage, I was also stuffing my mouth full of the chips I ordered. For $3.90, I got a box of chips made from '100% Tasmanian russet potatoes with natural sea salt flakes' to top. Gourmet chips would not have been complete without a dipping sauce ($1). I got the Sriracha Mayo which was basically a fancy name for sweet chilli mayo. Frankly I wasn't as impressed with the chips and dip as I was with the hotdog. Yes it was fantastic chips that were perfectly crunchy, not too oily and the sea salt made it even more than perfect. However, the prices just didn't click as value-for-money.

For a similar price ($4.30) you can get a very large bag of lovingly made thick herbed chips at Grill'd and their sweet chilli mayo only costs $0.70. I think I know which ones I'd rather go for. Snag Stand's chips box was disappointingly small although I still couldn't eat it all…I didn't have Yuye to help me finish them that's why!

To wash it all down, I also ordered Daylesford and Hepburn Mineral Springs Co's Apple Sparkling Water ($3.90). It was very refreshing and sweet, even though it really just tasted like apple juice with soda water.

I can see why some people wouldn't like this place though. The hotdogs may taste fantastic and ingredients are gourmet, but I'm not sure if the prices are justified. After all, it's meant to be a grab and go sort of food which busy people might not have the time to thoroughly enjoy the flavours. Perhaps Snag Stand would be more embraced if they had a larger sit down area like Grill'd and can actually call itself a restaurant rather than purely a takeaway/fast food type joint even if they are gourmet.

With that said, I'd eat there again hands down, especially if I'm on the run and I happen to walk past Melbourne Central. :D

Snag Stand
Phone: (03) 9639 6544
Cnr Latrobe and Swanston St, Melbourne VIC 3000
http://www.snagstand.com.au

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