Berlin Currywurst is the latest opening at the Grand Central market
Do not go to the new Berlin Currywurst at the Grand Central Market if you are afraid of making choices. In Germany a currywurst is a kind of grab-and-go operation, not unlike a hot dog stand, but at this local chain, you have options. Lots of options.
You can choose from seven sausages, including such traditional favorites as bratwurst and paprikawurst and also, because this is Los Angeles, experimental riffs such as a chicken and cilantro, and tofu. You can opt to have it served simply on a bun, but because that is not a currywurst, you will decline in favor of the full treatment. That means choosing a sauce flavor (garlic, orange-ginger or original), and a heat level (ranging from plain to ghost chile). And then you’ll be asked whether you want sauerkraut and onions on the side and, of course, you do.
What comes out is a well-cooked, snappy sausage, cut up like your mom did for beanie-weenies. It is served in a red ketchup-y sauce (to which those flavor accents are added) and doused with curry powder and a spice powder of the appropriate heat level. And yes, it comes with a cute little wooden currywurst fork.
There are sides as well. The sauerkraut salad sounds too bizarre to be believed, but I’d term it more “weird but good.” The kraut is well-rinsed, flecked with finely grated raw carrot and studded with chunks of orange. It’s curiously refreshing. If you prefer, you could go with beet salad (yes, just what you’re thinking: greens, beets, goat cheese, walnuts … more Chez Panisse than Charlottenburg).
And there is breakfast, which is served all day, in case you get a craving for bauernpfanne (sausage hash with fried egg) at lunch.
This downtown Currywurst, which opened Saturday, is the third for the chain. Believe it or not, it’s a slightly stripped-down version of the main restaurant and beer garden, which is on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood and the original Currywurst, which is on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake. There you have even more choices.
Berlin Currywurst, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 680-8708.
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