The Best and the Wurst of Wurstkuche Venice – Venice

It was the best of times and it was the wurst of times when I first went to Wurstkuche. As an east coast girl lost in LA, I had seen better day, but that day I was finally meeting a couple of co-interns, us three white coat wearers thrown together by fate. We hailed from Baltimore, Raleigh, and Seattle and couldn’t be more different people, but it turns out fate knows what it’s doing because after meeting these guys, I knew that despite the tint of homesickness that colored my commute, I could have done much worse.

When I first walked into this slight sausagefest, I found it fitting that my sausagefest would commence with the wurst combination of Duck & Bacon with Jalapeno Peppers. It was a solid sausage, but the spiced ground duck lost its poultry flavor in the mix.

The duck and bacon may have been underwhelming, but the Pheasant with Herbs de Provence was the wurst-case scenario. This particular sausage was so overloaded with rosemary that the smoother, more delicate meat was stifled. Then again, I could do much worse than well-ground meat flavored with a fragrant herb.

A much better combination consisted of the Rattlesnake & Rabbit with Jalapeno Peppers. A heartier, gamier version of chewy chicken, this one was heavy enough to satisfy a sausagefest yet light enough to let you eat every bite.

You better believe I loved every bite of gamey German sausage, but I was craving something light when I started scarfing seconds. Think of the Mango Chicken at PF Chang’s, one of the lightest dishes they serve. Now imagine the Mango Chicken has real flavor added (unlike at PF Chang’s), ground up in a blender with real seasoning and a dash of fire and you have the Mango Jalapeno sausage. Believe me, it burns, but nothing washes down the burn like a Belgian sour beer. My Frili was a girly strawberry brew, but the best part about being the only girl at a sausagefest is that no one can judge you for ordering something pink.

If you’re trying to make the best of the wurst, add a side of crispy, chunky Belgian Fries. Even the small is great for sharing, and if the chipotle alioli is any indication, you can’t go wrong with the dips.

There are no cravings worse than the craving for a solid German sausage except the craving for friends. When I first waltzed into Wurstkuche, I was having both. And at the end of the meal, I realized that I’ve had better sausage, but I haven’t had better friends than these two guys. So no matter what I was craving, I imagine Wurstkuche would be far from the wurst way to satisfy it. And if one day I find my sausage craving at its wurst, I bet few places could satisfy my craving more.