Wurstkuche - Los Angeles, Ca

I recently watched "Milk" and what I found most intriguing was that thirty years ago people had the decency to display their bigotry, homophobia, and hatred right out in the in the open instead of couching it in rhetoric about "preserving family" or "I love gays but..." Because let's be honest there are fewer bigots and homophobes now then in 1978, but the bigots and homophobes today are bigots and homophones for the exact same reasons as then: fear and ignorance.

Wurstkuche, in the downtown LA Arts District, is neither a bigot nor a homophobe, but it does have the decency to present itself in an honest way: we grill gourmet sausages, top them with a few things, and give you some french fries with dipping sauces. Simple, honest, elegant.

Had the pleasure of eating at Wurstkuche last week and it was freakin' great. As you walk through the windowless storefront of the converted warehouse and stand in line to order your sausage in the spare entry room you feel like you're back in east Berlin circa 1983. The friendly smiling staff and the somewhat bourgie prices are the only indicators that Stasi operatives probably aren't pouring your beers. Probably.

Wurstkuche sells a couple dozen varieties of sausages broken down into three price tiers including "classics" like brats and hot italians ($6), "gourmets" like mango jalapeno chicken and Filipino marharlica ($6.75), and Wurstkuche's big draw, the "exotics," featuring such originals as buffalo, beef, & pork with chipotle, alligator & hickory smoked pork, and rattlesnake & rabbit with jalapeno ($7.75).

All sausages come on a nice torpedo roll with your choice of two toppings (sweet peppers, hot peppers, caramelized onions, sauerkraut) and an array of mustards. My duck and bacon sausage with jalapeno (topped with onions and hot peppers) was stellar. Rich, flavorful, moist, and well-balanced. My only complaint was the ultra-thick casing that was a bit tough to bite through. Girlfriend Charlie's sun dried tomato & mozarella with smoked chicken & turkey sausage was also fabulous (with a similar complaint).

Your only other menu option are thick cut frites in two different sizes ($3.50 or $5.50), available with your choice of two dipping sauces from a menu of about a dozen (soon to be two dozen). Sauces include housemade ranch, walnut blue cheese, and chiptole ketchup, as well as white truffle oil for a $0.75 premium.

The fries were great, unlike any thick cut fry I've had. They were fully cooked yet still firm in the middle, crisp, and lightly caramelized on the outside.

Beverage wise you have a choice of a couple dozen German, Belgian, and domestic draughts, another dozen bottled beers, and a pretty freakin' cool selection of artisan soft drinks.

Sure two beers, two sausages, and a large frites will set you back about thirty bucks for two people, but you'll be a helluva happier doing that than dropping $80 on dinner for two at 95% of Los Angeles restaurants.

Wurstkuche's open 11AM-10PM every day, soon to stay open until 3AM on weekends.

Wurstkuche
800 E. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, Ca 90013
213-687-4444
www.wurstkucherestaurant.com