5 Talavera Road, Macquarie Park, New South Wales
www.cafeparco.com.au

I was at work one morning, when fellow reviewer AC mentioned to me that the cafe downstairs had sausage rolls this morning. I almost never go to this cafe, but from the special attention AC gave to informing me of this event, I must assume that this is a rare offering. So naturally I had to dash downstairs and check it out. AC warned that the rolls he had seen may just have been breakfast items, and might be gone.

As it turned out, there were still 3 rolls sitting forlornly in the otherwise empty warming display area where the roasts, pastas, and rice dishes would soon be for the lunch rush. I asked how much, and was told $3.50. I requested one of them, but had to hurriedly reverse my request when I discovered I had no cash in my wallet! I trudged back upstairs to share the news, and a co-worker kindly offered to lend me a $5 note. So I walked back down, bought a roll, and took it out to the al fresco tables to examine it.

Well, it looks roughly like a sausage roll, but the pastry is incredibly thick, and looks like someone has made a double thickness of pre-prepared frozen puff pastry and rolled it around the filling. With some trepidation, I take a bite.

It’s a kransky wrapped in premade puff pastry. This literal sausage is sliced lengthwise in quarters, with three of the quarters wrapped in the pastry. I guess using a whole kransky was too much too ask, but that may be a good thing. It is spicy and greasy and riddled with gristly bits. The pastry is flaky but thick and mouth-grippingly dry. It probably didn’t help that it was likely sitting in the warming tray for three hours since the breakfast rush. Truly, truly awful. This is saved from our first zero score only by the fact that I was actually able to finish it without being physically sick and tossing most of it in a bin. If you see this item on offer at Cafe Parco, run away.

I walked back upstairs and said to the guy who had lent me the money: “I take back the thanks I gave you for lending me that $5.”

Sausage roll: 1/10