All of a sudden Melbourne's gone mad for hot dogs - Grandstand and Walkers have been around for a while, but Snag Stand, Le Sausage and Massive Wieners are all new additions, and Lord of the Fries have recently joined the party (Broadsheet have a fancy snag rundown with a few other places I've never heard of). And now there's Phat Brats, recently opened in the premises of the old Kebab Factory. They're shooting for a similar up-market vibe as Snag Stand - all organic ingredients and fancy fillings. It's a big menu - about a dozen different combos, plus fries and trimmings. There are a a couple of veggie dogs (although neither are vegan or gluten free) and they're happy for you to sub the veggie sausages into any of the other flavour combos. We decided to try one of each and split a serve of the veggie chilli fries between us.
The chilli fries ($7) came out first - a bowl of perfectly crispy spuds, slathered in beans, chilli sauce, jalapenos and sour cream. The chips themselves were amazing - some of the best I've had - but the toppings were a bit on the hot side. Cindy was completely overpowered by the sauce and, while I could eat it, I thought it detracted a bit from the delciousness of the fries. Be warned.
The first hot-dog was the pumpkin ricotta & tarragon veggie dog with mild mustard, shaved fennel, sour cream and spring onions ($8.50). This is no replication of a typical hot dog - the sausage itself was okay, but the whole package was a bit on the bland side.
The second dog made up for it though - a black bean, lentil & veggie dog with raw slaw, shredded beetroot, cheese sauce and green pickle relish ($8.50).
This was more like it - the dog was hearty and flavourful and the toppings were an excellent combination of junky and delicious. Still, I reckon next time we go there I'll use this sausage to make a classic hot-dog - sometimes you just want mustard, onions, and tomato sauce rather than fancy relishes and grated beetroot.
Phat Brats does the gourmet hot dog pretty well, but its lack of vegan options and our generally low-class tastes mean that we're probably more likely to find ourselves across the road at LotF having one of their unashamedly straightforward dogs.
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Two Munch, Elle Bambi Diaries and Peach Water (sponsored) were fans, while Gourmet Chick tried them out at The People's Market and was a bit unenthused.
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Phat Brats
320 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
9384 1303
veg snacks and dogs $5-8.50
http://phatbrats.com.au/ (coming soon apparently - at this stage it doesn't even have the address/phone number on it)
Accessibility: Phat Brats has a step-free entryway and is pretty spacious inside. You order and pay at a middling counter. The toilets are on the same level and not too cramped.
I agree about wanting a plain old topping combo but I really love trying different sausages and I would love to try the pumpkin one with some different toppings (couldn't cope with all that sour cream) and I usually have chips without sauce, esp if it is spicy - so maybe might get there some day
ReplyDeleteJohanna, they appear to be very flexible with the toppings so I'm sure you could try the pumpkin one to your preferred specifications. :-)
Deletei'm pretty new to the veggie dog scene, but i don't get it... unlike what you get at wieners, their dogs aren't really sausage-like enough for my liking. they're more of a veg patty squished up inside a hot dog bun. was pretty bummed with this, to be honest. wanted something more hot-doggy with the fake skin y'know? i guess that texture is a big part of the experience for me.
ReplyDeletethe chilli fries/cheesy fries were good, though. didn't find them overwhelming. being able to mix and match the toppings is great as the menu is fun.
Yeah, we thought the pumpkin one was particularly squishy and non-hot dog-like. If you like Sanitarium's hot dogs well enough then there are plenty of other options around, but we've not encountered anything really 'meaty' that's truly vegetarian.
Deleteits looks very gourmet. must try. do they have real sausages or are these vegan? a veganish sort of place that is in Melbourne Uni that you must try is Egg Sake Bistro. They are a japanese student bar with cheapo food
ReplyDeletePhat Brats have plenty of meat sausages as well. The ones we tried are vegetarian but not vegan.
DeleteI've visited Egg Sake Bistro many times! I like their sushi and teriyaki tofu.
i don't think you wrote a review on this. can you?
Deletei wanna try phat brats. how much are the sausages?
I'm unlikely to review Egg Sake Bistro anytime soon - I don't really have the time to blog my work lunches (Casa Ciuccio excepted!).
DeleteThe meat-based hot dogs at Phat Brats are about $9.
Oooh, I'm a chilli fiend so that spice in the chips sounds amazing. Woot!
ReplyDeleteThey're all yours, Hanna!. Next time I'll sheepishly order the cheesy fries. ;-)
DeleteBeen there twice already though yet to write about it. I love their chips!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, the chips are awesome! The ones at Gasometer are very similar.
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