SAUSAGE REVOLUTION
Unit 1, Atlantic Trading Estate, Barry. 01446 739525 / www.thesausagerevolution.com
Food **** Atmosphere *****
Listen. Any Cuban-themed restaurant with Che Guevara on the walls is going to get an instant thumbs-up from this die-hard Yugoslav, Titoist, and paid-up member of the non-aligned movement, even in today’s era of pseudo-communist kitsch (bound to have Karl Marx rolling in his grave, like a hot dog). Situated off to the outskirts of Barry on an industrial estate (strangely enough, near the Barry dump – perhaps that’s where the capitalism goes!), Sausage Revolution might take a bit of effort to get to, with our party having to take a car, aka the primary mode of transport for the bourgeoisie, though I imagine cycling is an option as we saw plenty of cyclists make a point of stopping here.
But the effort is absolutely worth it, so don’t let the location put you off. For starters, it’s ridiculously cheap – a group of three of us found ourselves well-fed for a grand total of about £12 between us. The method behind Sausage Revolution is simple; it’s a choose-your-own deal, going from type of sausage (standard, bratwurst, spicy, falafel etc.), to the sausage’s receptacle (bun, mashed potato, panini-style) and onto fillings, sauces and so on. There’s pizza versions of most of the meals too, so with a few relatively simple ingredients all based around the humble sausage, there’s a large amount of variety.
In my instance, I had spicy diablo with mashed potatoes, and the result was beautiful. I’ve always been so-so on mashed potatoes – too many know how to make average mash, few know how to make great mash – but this was superb in consistency and flavour, and the sausage was surprisingly spicy without it overtaking the quality and succulence of the meat itself.
If there was a drawback, my partner’s falafel choice was not nearly as tasty, so perhaps there’s still a bit of work to do on the vegetarian-friendly side of things. But for these prices and the variety on offer, it’s hard to complain. It’s cheaper, for example, than a foot-long Subway, but just as filling, with all the ingredients and sauces locally sourced. Socialism with a sausage face!
words Fedor Tot