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Wurstküche: it’s a name that was chosen for both the definition (“sausage kitchen”) and because it sounds cool. Restaurant owners Joseph Pitruzzelli and Tyler Wilson sifted through translation dictionaries and consulted German friends before settling on the name that fits their product and personality.

“The name needed to work at a place where we’re serving beer and sausages,” Tyler told us. Although tough to pronounce, it works perfectly. The over four-year old business with locations in the Arts District and in Venice is as busy as ever.

Joseph and Tyler, who are also cousins, grew up eating sausages. It’s a food they were familiar with and didn’t find intimidating, and found that it was noticeably absent in the Los Angeles culinary scene. “It was a niche that just had to be done,” Tyler explained,”and it was about how it was presented and packaged to be perceived with value. It had to be something unique and different.”

To the cousins, sausages are a type of food that are enjoyed by people from all walks of life. They’re generally associated with a fun lifestyle and connected to memories of family, friends, barbecues and good meals. With that in mind, they knew they had to exceed diners’ expectations—visitors would be holding them to their old memories.

To please the masses, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to the sausages. A few of Tyler’s top choices are the Mango Jalapeño and Rattlesnake and Rabbit. They have a handful of equally flavorful vegetarian options too for the non-meat eaters.

Along with the assumption that people love sausages, they also assumed (and assumed correctly) that people love french fries. Their Belgian double-dipped fries have been named some of the best in the city, and are served along with a variety of dipping sauces that originated in Tyler’s own kitchen.

The Arts District location itself creates the feeling of an outdoor picnic. The high ceilings and numerous windows allow light to flood in and illuminate the rustic wooden tables.

It’s industrial yet inviting, with a bar off to the side that is well-suited for solo dining or getting a refill of one of the many European beers on the menu.

Tyler is wearing the Edgeworth in Striped Sassafras, both optical and sun.

Photos by Collin Hughes

 

Tags: class trip, Collin Hughes, food, Profile, restaurant