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Currywurst, Germany's Popular Street Food, Arrives in Silver Lake

By Richie Duchon
March 2, 2011
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Put away your buns, and keep the mustard and beer in the fridge.

The proprietors of the week-old Berlin Currywurst in Silver Lake want to expose Angelenos to Germany's most popular street food, which they say is not the beer hall fare you might be expecting. Instead they want you to know currywurst is a low-key food for on the go.

Husband and wife Hardeep and Lena Manak and Haike Buentemeyer moved to L.A. from Berlin just 3 months ago to open the small spot at Sunset Junction.

"People have it in their mind that [beer and sausage] go together," said Lena Manak.

She said they have had some explaining to do. But Manak wants you to know there are only a few currywurst basics: you choose your meat from an assortment of all-natural pork, veal, beef, chicken, or tofu; select your heat level on a 1-4 scale; and your sausage will come cut into pieces with some bread on the side.

The owners of the one week-old Berlin Currywyurst in Silver Lake say they have to do some educating about the German street food they serve. (Owners left to right: Hardeep Manak, Lena Manak, Haike Buentemeyer)

The Germans say they have tried to step up the quality level from some of the corner stands in their home country and have added a few extra flavors for the SoCal premier of currywurst. While they're extremely tight-lipped about their special sauces, Lena says you can try your hand at a version of the tomato based currywurst sauce with a few simple ingredients:

Currywurst Sauce

Ketchup
Curry powder
Honey or other sweetener
Hot pepper flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper

And Lena Manak would have you know that currywurst is so popular in Germany the hugely successful musician Herbert Gronemeyer wrote what is by all appearances a hugely popular (and fun) song about the food.

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