December 3, 2011
Melbourne Central's Swanston St side has been under much inconvenient construction in the past few months. Tram stops have been shifted, shops shut, pathways narrowed, and access for cyclists pretty much denied. At last it's all been resolved with a new more accessible tram stop and heaps of room for pedestrians. Bike lanes are well marked, though cyclists will no doubt be dodging and/or abusing wandering shoppers for a while yet. And Snag Stand has opened up on the corner.
I like me a vege dawg, but I didn't dare hope for more than a second that this grill-in-the-wall would sell me one. Oh, how wrong I was! Among Snag Stand's 'haute dogs' (a pun I mightily approve of) is a meatless sausage of potato, smoked apple and sage, served on a brioche roll with sautéed onions, rosemary mushrooms and truffle aioli ($9.90). While the brioche and truffle are affectations more than real contributing components, this was darn good! A hearty snag, neither rubbery nor crumbly, with a lovely savoury flavour.
Michael took the build-your-own route, ordering his vege sausage wrapped in a 'rustic roll' and topped with sautéed onions and bbq sauce ($8.90); he would've liked more onions but was otherwise satisfied. We couldn't fit in chips, but they looked pretty good.
Snag Stand is happily extending dude food to the bleeding-heart veg*ns and gluten wusses of Melbourne. The sausages are vegan, gluten filler-free* and cooked on a separate grill to their fleshy counterparts; there's a coeliac option on the bread too. Lord of the Fries offers more diverse veg*n fast food round the corner, but Snag Stand will probably tempt us away on occasion.
*After further enquiry from Mandee, it turns out that the veg sausages aren't actually gluten-free. The gluten-free buns are vegan, but there's a lack of gluten-free stuff to put in them. The operations manager mentioned plans for new vegetarian sausages, so fingers crossed they're coeliac-friendly!
*After further enquiry from Mandee, it turns out that the veg sausages aren't actually gluten-free. The gluten-free buns are vegan, but there's a lack of gluten-free stuff to put in them. The operations manager mentioned plans for new vegetarian sausages, so fingers crossed they're coeliac-friendly!
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new international students weren't wowed by the Snag Stand freebies they scored when it first opened. The bloggers at We Dare Food and Muddy Thrills are much bigger fans.
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Snag Stand
corner Latrobe and Swanston Sts
vegetarian hot dogs $6.90-9.90
http://snagstand.com.au/
Accessibility: Snag Stand opens directly onto the Swanston St footpath, which is reasonably flat and without too many obstructions. Ordering and pick-up occurs at a low-ish counter. The few tables available are high set.
Vegan AND gluten free sausages - now I really have to return to Melbourne!
ReplyDeleteI love the look of the mushroomy haute dog. So many new sausage stands popping up lately, and they all use puns! (be still, my heart) I might have to organise a sausage crawl around town for myself in order to sample them all (including Massive Wieners on Greville Street. Yes, I am twelve).
ReplyDeletethanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteThe sausages and bread are wonderful, but unfortunately there is not so much in the way of sides that is vegan friendly - most everything is cooked in butter and the saurkraut contains bacon! Gah!!
ReplyDeleteHow frustrating! Thanks for stopping by and letting us know, Buttons. Even more frustrating - I only just discovered your comment sitting in our spam box today (?!). Since your comment Louise has had some useful (if disappointing) clarification from the owners regarding vegan options.
DeleteThis sounds great although I am bit tentative when it comes to veg sausages. I blame that on the store bought ones!
ReplyDeleteOh I must go there - I so often pass the hot dog place at the queen vic market and wish they did veg sausages - interesting ones - so this is a must for me - shame I didn't know about it on our city outing last week - now I need another trip to the city
ReplyDeleteNice to see your opinion on this place. I baulked at the price, but might reconsider.
ReplyDeleteAaah.. hot dogs on high! That sounds fantastic. They look great - I wish we had something similar. Yum!
ReplyDeleteMandee - I'm sorry to have gotten your hopes up with the gluten-free part. Thanks for enquiring further and updating us.
ReplyDeleteHayley, I am still guffawing at Massive Weiners. Do you know yet whether they have a veg option? I am scared of what might happen if I ask google.
katy_em - you're welcome. :-)
Mel - I noticed that they cut the hot dogs neatly in half so you could always try sharing with a friend first.
Johanna - I did think of you as I visited this place, I remember you blogging about the Queen Vic Market stand. These might suit you!
Duncan - I agree, they're not cheap. Thankfully they're reasonably hefty, and actually quite competitive with the current prices at Lord of the Fries around the corner.
Mattheworbit - maybe we need to reverse-engineer their sausage recipe. I think Mandee has the ingredients list!
i did not know about this... i must go...
ReplyDeleteCindy, apparently Massive Weiners (I will never stop laughing at this EVER) is actually run by two vegos, and I have been told that vegie options are plentiful!
ReplyDelete