5dogs

TL;DR: You will know whether you are going to be in for this or not merely by the description of what they serve. Though it is not far removed from many a late-night greasy spoon, the quality is more than a tad better merely from getting freshly cooked. If you think more about it being a German-style imbiss stall, you will have a good time.

Long a staple at Brunswick Mall in Fortitude Valley, there is absolutely nothing that Five Dogs pretends to hide. Right from the get-go, you see what they have to offer in their name. I have gone to the Fortitude Valley outlet beforehand such a long time ago and enjoyed it. This one that is not too far from where I am, a couple of go-arounds on pure impulse, and it is just as good. Now though, I can distinguish just why this works so well.

Junk food, fast food, whatever you want to call it, gets too much of a bad rap. Health-wise, you just got take a chill pill - it ain't pretending otherwise. Yet for quality, if you stop to think about some of the great food experiences around the world, many of them are in this vein. You can put the term "street food" to have it more appealing, or any other glorification, but in the end, it boils down to the same kind of vibe.

Five Dogs is just this. A good comparison would be the German Imbiss stalls, where the food is done in short order, and constantly getting cooked fresh to order. They have their basic menu, and organically extend out where they can do. It is about as simple as you can get.

The Mount Gravatt branch is still fairly small, yet it has a bit of seating inside. With what kind of aesthetic they are going for if anything it reminds me somewhat of downtown. During the closed hours, they have the classical roller door that is painted with graffiti - purely through design, no vandalism here. While this time I could sit inside and get a feel for the atmosphere, I could get into it. Slightly dank, though relaxed, there is a charm to it that you full well know whether it is your scene or not.

When it comes to the service, you more or less get what you expect. Walk up to the counter - or punch the order into whatever delivery app you choose - and place the order. Before you know, it is hot and ready to be devoured.

As per the name, it started as simply that - five different kinds of hot dogs, shortlisting some well-known favourites from around the world. Before they knew it, there would be vegan versions of them. After that, they would be doing hot meat rolls, the odd burger here and there, and even chip butties (good on you, more places need that as a menu option). Speaking of the chips, they next got plenty of those plus some onion rings. Just go there, and you will see more and more bits and bobs get offered.

If all of that was not enough, the bits and pieces to make hotdogs can be ordered through UberEats; this extends to a range of El Yucateco hot sauces - those will clear out your cold. Through in the usual soda range from the fridge, and small portions of ice cream and you might have yourself a nice night in - or out.

After so long seeing it out of the corner of my eye during many trips to church, one night I was home late after doing volunteer work and was a little hungry. One thing I have found myself doing when it gets to that situation is go right onto UberEats and get something hot and greasy. Shaking it up a bit this time, I opted for Five Dogs and just wanted to get a hot dog. Nothing else but a German dog was going to do the trick, with its combination of fried onions and sauerkraut. If the memory serves me correctly, I got the German mustard on the sausage.

The second time around it was shortly after the recent international event started happening, and slim pickings occurred with getting a bite to eat at a moment's notice. My housemate and I were hungry, and there was not a whole lot in the house, plus grocery shopping was a couple of days away yet. This meant going for broke, and I brought up the listing for local takeaways. It was going to be down to the wire between here and Red Rooster, with the deciding factor being that Five Dogs being open meant Five Dogs was the choice. I'm reviewing it in saying that, so the answer is obvious.

In my housemate's order, he got a hot beef roll. Everything you needed to know is in the name. Something about hot roast meat, plus gravy and little else, in a soft roll, works so well. It should not be as good as it is, yet it is heavenly when the moment is right. The meat was juicy and tender, along with just a bit of charred crispiness. The gravy was thick and flavoursome, all within a soft, moreish bun. It didn't need to get much better than that - maybe some gravy to dip it in on the side, or maybe the option of adding cheese, yet it does just as well unadulterated.

My order was a chili dog, and poutine. I can't tell you how long I have been tempted to press a few buttons out of impulse, and have a bowl of the Canadian snack ushered right to my door. Heck, I was so close to doing the previous Canada Day as of writing this review.

I might not have noticed it the first time, but it was apparent this time around. The portion sizes are utmost generous. Even coming from someone who can put down a decent amount of food on a good day, this was a filling duo. They don't muck around on anything, that is something to be said.

You know you have stumbled upon a good hot dog place when the sausage is longer than the roll. This is such a case. It is made even better with a good quality sausage, where I reckon they would seek out the best sort of butchers. In the chili dog, the sausage of choice was a chili-infused bratwurst. The way that I think of this choice is getting the best of both worlds - respect to the Imbiss with a classical German sausage, but also that American-style kick. It was tasty. What made it better was with the chili topping, no skimping on that. The combination of beans, of mincemeat, plus tomatoes, and a range of spices always work well; this even damped the bread roll somewhat ensuring it was even more moreish. The melted cheese was the icing on the cake.

Additionally, the fries were delicious. This was essential in building satisfying poutine, where the cheese had melted sufficiently by the time we got home. As a bonus, the lady was nice enough to offer to put the gravy on the side.

Again, it proved to be tasty and more or less delivered what it promised. That is not faint praise either since it was decent quality food that was cooked fresh to order.

Since the advent of all these delivery services, hidden enclaves have popped up which are difficult to google; even if you can, you just end up with either an UberEats or Deliveroo page. Five Dogs have a few of these in their kitchen, namely Great Meatballs of Fire, and Bernard's StakD Burgers plus one or two others.

I will go out on a limb and give one mini-review to Great Meatballs of Fire. This was a spur of the moment decision. It essentially is in the name, with various varieties of meatball from around the world - though it doesn't quite do as well as the dog variation. These come on top of fries, in a bun, on a roll, or by themselves. I went with the Swedish meatballs and got a side of fries seasoned with chicken salt and some curry sauce to pour over.

The meatballs were made of beef, and possibly some pork as well. Afterward, they simmered in a combination of gravy and cranberry sauce, plus the cheese topping of choice - shredded regular for me. It was a generous amount they served, possibly a dozen or so. These were plump suckers as well. Each one popped with plenty of flavour, with that trio on top simply finishing them off very well. The fries again proved to be fantastic; they should have been, as I got them beer battered.

It is far from the most sophisticated or nuanced of cuisines, that is for sure. But when it is done right, it is done right. Those late nights can be a gamble, but this is one time when the tastebuds are noted being masked by anything. Strange as a location to place the second outlet, it can still prove to be a winner.