Wurstküche - Downtown Los Angeles, California

Address: 800 E 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Items Ordered:

• Bratwurst - fine cuts of pork, coriander and nutmeg
• Chicken Apple & Spices - apple and specks of cinnamon (pork free)
• Austin Blues - hot & spicy, tri-pepper, and hardwood smoked pork
• Louisiana Hot Link -beef and pork, onions and hot spices
• Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno Peppers
• Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeno Peppers
• Groot (L) fries w/ bleu cheese walnut & bacon, chipotle aioli, & curry ketchup dips
• Gouden Carolus Belgian beer

I have to admit it--I was really hungry last week so I ordered 6 sausages, 2 fries, and a beer for myself. I feel bad for my friends who had the misfortune of accompanying me to dinner, they must have been starving all night! So how did EVERYTHING taste? The flavor of the spicy sausages outshone the others so I would recommend the Austin Blues, hot link, and even rattlesnake & rabbit. Surprisingly, the rattlesnake and rabbit didn't taste very odd or gamey, and I actually enjoyed it. My least favorite sausage was probably the duck and bacon as I think it was too mild-tasting and needed a lot of mustard to spice it up. Last but not least, the hot and crispy french fries dipped in the above sauces might even be more enjoyable than the sausages themselves. Oh, and it might be a good idea to share some of this food with your friends to maximize the communal Wurstküche experience. Wurstküche is a good place to check out the "sharing is caring" theory, and I recommend you try it.

--y

Steingarten LA - West Los Angeles, California

Address: 10543 W Pico Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064 (West Los Angeles)

Items Ordered:

• Chicken & Italian Herbs Sausage
• Bratwurst (pork) Sausage (with caramelized onions)
• Duck & Bacon Sausage (with caramelized onions)
• Braised Short Ribs (served with plantains)
• Parmesan French Fries
• Cucumber Salad
• Spicy Shrimp (served with blood orange, mango, cilantro slaw)
• Dogfish Head Aprihop Beer 

I love it when new restaurants open up in my neighborhood! Latest addition to the West LA food family is Steingarten LA. The restaurant concept drew me in, but the coupon postcard we received in the mail sealed the deal! Let's start off with the sausages. My favorite was the duck & bacon sausage - great flavor (more on the bacon side). The Chicken & Italian Herbs and Bratwurst sausages were just as I've always had them. They were good, not great. Since we wanted to try everything on the menu, we also ordered a couple of tapas and sides. The tapas were enjoyable, but next time, I'd stick with the sausages and the sides - just didn't seem to fit in with the restaurant. Lastly, I am a huge fan of fries and I thought the Parmesan French Fries were REALLY good. They were just a perfect level of crispiness, and sprinkled with a good amount of  Parmesan. The sauces were an aioli as well as a tomato sauce. The aoili complemented the fries very well and I even used it to spread on my sliders. Oh, and we can't talk about Steingarten without referencing their extensive beer menu. Great selection of all kinds of mostly German and Belgian beers. I'll definitely be coming back to try some of the more adventurous sausages (alligator, rabbit, etc.) and to try more on their beer menu! ...I think I'll even sneak in an order of the Parmesan Fries with that too! :P

-v