Sausage Rolls Are Ugly
Bourke St Bakery
I don't like hype. I don't like queues. It's a bakery. Don't line up for baked goods. There's plenty more where that came from.
I don't like hype. I don't like queues. It's a bakery. Don't line up for baked goods. There's plenty more where that came from.
Except there isn't plenty more where that came from. Good bakeries here are a destination. And I'd just about had enough of hearing all the raves and had enough of two years driving past and seeing a congo line of trendies snaking around it's famous little corner and never a parking spot in sight.
But there comes a point where curiosity starts driving you mad and you happen to give it one last go and it's an hour before quittin' time and there are no queues and a park right outside.
They were out of their infamous harissa lamb sausage rolls so it was pork and fennel. Oh and a strawberry and vanilla bean brulee tart. "Anything else?" Well I'd like to have ordered one of everything, it all looked so rustic delicious. But no, I needed to test them first. Hype means nothin'.But it's more than good. It's incredible. The scent of fennel hits me as I break through the flakey shell and stays with me with each bite. The pork is chunky, it's real. Its pork and a little carrot and whole fennel seeds. Pastry is the real test though, and it soars, buttery and flakey and golden. Oh. Oh yea.
Fratelli Fresh
Next it's on to my favourite food stop in this town, Fratelli Fresh. Boxes of love bite tomatoes all cute and red welcome me, and I scoop them up. Blood oranges. I'll think of something to do with them. Russet potatoes for gnocchi or more rosti. Perfect bananas, which give me such satisfaction to never buy from the supermarkets. Italian spaghetti and flour. A wedge of pecorino and bags of herbs.
It's open till 6 and is so close, so why don't I do all my grocery shopping there. OK, I will, and maybe stop for a sausage roll on the way...
One more local stop. Hudson Meats has just opened and when I first saw the logo I got a bit excited. A good logo with a good font goes a long way. I thought it would be bigger, and the deli section is limited, but there is goodness there. Mainly in the meat. Most of the meat is free range, what I have been looking for for a long time. And it looks good. I can't wait to buy myself a big fat ruby red steak and tuck into it like a caveman. There are also cookbooks for the serious foodie and a small providore section arranged extremely stylishly - bravo. I bought Australian-grown French puy lentiles and Spanish dulce de leche wafers. The staff are friendly and the hours are good. They have my support.
After my dinner I turned to my brulee tart. My expectations weren't high, just a sugar hit. But again I was beyond impressed. The pastry was thin and crispy like the brulee top. It would be too easy to lump it with a thick, hard brulee; the thin shell is delicate and perfect. Inside, a creamy vanilla bean custard spread with strawberry jam. It's as innocent a delight as a neenish tart, but it has all the markings of a serious patissier, and that's why Bourke St Bakery deserves it's hype, and sadly for me now, it's queues.
When I win Lotto I will move to the beach, but until that happens, I will always stay in Surry Hills.
posted by Julia at 11:41 AM
4 Comments:
am not sure if i wrote abuot this but some time last year i had an absolutely overwhleming craving for a good meat pie...one with wonderful flakey pastry and more meat than gravy.
The eastern suburbs used to have half a dozen good european style bakeries which did magical meat pies.
I drove around for HOURS trying to find a decent meat pie only to find that most of those bakeries are now inhabited by chinese/vietnamese 'bakers' and the meat pies of the past have been replaced by horrible factory made ones in sealed plastic bags slowly drying out in a nasty pie warmer.
there's just no respect.
I don't know either. We are both Patchett's girls - might be worth popping into their Mascot outlet and see where they're at now?
I go to Drummoyne Bakery (Lyons Rd) for delicious boeuf bourguignon pies, while Bowan Island Bakery do ok pies (quite thin but nice pastry).
And then there's La Renaissance at The Rocks whose sausage rolls are insanely rich, buttery, herby and delicious. The French sausage roll. I'll always remember waiting to go into a show at fashion week last year, not being able to resist grabbing one of these sausage rolls beforehand, and all the stick insects staring at me like I was an alien. I would've had more calories and fat in that snack than they had had all year - and I wouldn't have it any other way!
Mmm, the posh sausage roll bit had my mouth watering :)
I love your food reviews - have you ever thought of doing it for a newspaper/magazine? Any excuse to eat delicious food, I say. xx
jinx! mmm sausage roll...
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