Snag Stand Revisited

Cnr Latrobe & Swanston St, Melbourne 3000
Date visited: 8th July 2013

It was over a year ago when I made my first visit to Snag Stand.  MerlinFan and I had initially planned to go out for brunch, however MerlinFan was stuck at home nursing a mysterious sore foot.  Well, since MerlinFan had never been to Snag Stand, I went out to get us some snags for takeaway.

It wasn't too busy when I arrived - thank goodness - the hordes came after I made my order.  

They had a few new additions to the menu since last year and new buzzers as pictured below.

Attention grabbing red

Again, I had my snags as takeaway - I even brought my own plastic bag, remembering I had to carry my chips and hotdog box in hand all the way home last year.  Today, I was pleasantly surprised when they handed me my order in a nicely printed big paper bag. 

Our stash

 I loved the packaging especially those super sturdy hotdog and chip boxes.

Chips $3.90

They chips were as fantastic as I remembered.  Crispy outside, soft melty insides and covered with sea salt flakes.  The only thing stopping me from buying them more often is the minuscule portion for the price.

Now for the snags.

Das Bratwurst (left), Chillidog (right)

I had the Das Bratwurst.  The bratwurst was served on a rustic roll with sauteed onions and German mustard with sauerkraut.  I added cheddar cheese for a dollar (yes, a bit steep for a sprinkling of shredded cheese but what to do, I love cheese and at least they were generous with it).  The roll was nicely firm with a pillowy centre, thankfully not tough and chewy as the one at the Bratwurst Shop & Co.  The toppings provided a nice tanginess to the dog, however as I've mentioned on my review of the American Classic I had on my first visit, I felt the the toppings outshone the actual snag, which flavour-wise, seemed almost to be lost amongst all the intense flavours.

Das Bratwurst $8.90, add cheddar cheese $1

MerlinFan had the Chillidog, which was an all natural frankfurter with chilli beef sauce, onions, cheddar cheese and roasted chilli peppers on a toasted brioche roll.

Chillidog $8.90

I actually liked the Chillidog a lot more than my bratwurst.  MerlinFan said inhaling the fumes from the dog, she picked up on a nicotine smell, like that of a smoker.  LOL, WTF.  The uncanny scent wasn't in the actual snag though; I suspect it may have been the roasted chilli peppers.  MerlinFan really liked the soft, fluffy brioche roll.  The combination of flavours from all the toppings ticked all the right boxes and the chilli beef sauce really left your lips flaming, however we agreed this outshone the actual frankfurter, which seemed to pale in comparison.  We felt it could have been saltier, or stronger in flavour to compete with the strong 'personalities' of the toppings.

Overall, at first glance, the snags at Snag Stand may seem pricey, however the portion sizes of the actual hotdogs are pretty good, so you do get what you pay for.  Taste-wise, the snags are not quite the star as they as at Bratwurst Shop & Co, however we definitely like the buns over here better.  

Oh well.  Can't win 'em all.