Wurstküche

800 E 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 687-4444

www.wurstkucherestaurant.com

I've always said if I open a restaurant that I would specialize. Do one or two dishes and perfect them, to the point that you crave it. That's exactly what Wurstküche has done specializing in sausages and serving them with the best fries in Los Angeles. Yes, you heard it here. Without a doubt, the best fries in LA.

Wurstküche [Wurst (weiner pronounced veiner) küche (kitchen)] already has quite the following with the help of nearby 'SC students. It has a small store front to order and leads back to what was aimed to resemble an indoor beer garten. They currently sell beer and wine with a full liquor license in the works.

$6.75 Austin Blues - hot and spicy, tri-pepper & hardwood smoked pork (7)
I like my sausage with just meat, bread, and whole grain mustard. The peppers looked pretty good, but please keep that sauerkrap away from me. This was a decent sausage, but I it could have been a more tender. It did have a good crisp bite to it.

$7.75 Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeño Peppers - buttery but mildly spicy (9)
The rattlesnake was more tender than the Austin Blues and coated my tongue with jut the right amount of lard. Besides the cost factor, I'm not sure why a place would serve hot dogs instead sausages, they're just worlds apart.

$5 Belgian Fries with White Truffle Oil Glaze served with Bleu Cheese Walnut and Bacon dipping sauce (10).
After trying the truffle fries at Cache, I'm convinced truffle oil is new standard for quality fries. Cache's are a bit too thick. Here, the glaze envelops the thinner fry so well and it has the ideal size for that perfect crunch. And blue cheese with bacon is a good sauce to choose, two of the world's greatest gifts blended together. This and the rattlesnake sausage would make a great last meal.

A lot of people don't know this, but french fries are actually a Belgian dish. They were attributed to the french by Ray Kroc, who thought they were so good they must be French. Really. Seriously, though. The other historic theory is they are cut in slivers or 'frenched' hence the name.

I'm not much of a beer drinker and passed on this visit. I can't quite overcome the fact that is looks and tastes like piss. However, given the great selection Wurstküche has on hand, I may have to try a one next visit and will be back.

Gray's Papaya

402 6th Avenue
New York, NY 10011

(212) 260-3532

www.grayspapaya.com

Who cares how good the hot dog is, The real question is, "Is it better than Pink's?"

I had a co-worker from New York claim Gray's was superior to Pinks. I've been outside a club at 2AM ordering a bacon wrapped hot dog overhearing a Yankee talk about how much he misses Grays. New Yorkers are better everything. They have better restaurants, education, and a subway system. We can't even figure out something as simple as pizza. Can we at least get hot dogs. It's not even real food. It's almost there, but it's still a closer relative to dog food in its appearance.

$2 Papaya Juice (6)
Refreshing, but nothing special. It's what you would expect from fast food.

$.50 Hot Dog (8)
50 cents? I thought I visited during an anniversary sale, but this was the regular price. Is it better than Pink's? No. The meat at Gray's is better, but that's about it. The dog is smaller, the bread is not as soft, the menu is inferior, and don't get me started with the marinated onion vomit they put on top. But this is the bigger issue I have with Gray's, when you go to LA, there is one Pink's (yes, they are expanding, but ignore that for now). Go to La Brea and Melrose and look for the line. In NYC, there are at last count 42,896 Gray's and variations thereof. There is Papaya King, Papaya Queen, Honeydew Jack, Red's Papaya, Green's Papaya, and Chelsea's home to Rainbow Papaya.