Two weeks ago, work was shooting in the East Village, so I could finally try currywurst! I'd seen Best of the Wurst, a film about the curry and ketchup covered sausage in Berlin, but I forgot about it until I saw this article in the Village Voice alerting me to the deliciousness of Weschsler's Currywurst and Bratwurst (1st Ave. & E.7th St between the deli and the International Bar.) There must be some kind of powered drug in the curry that's shaken onto the homemade tomato sauce because I can't stop thinking about currywurst.
We shot at the same location last week, so I got to go back for lunch. I sat in the front of the bar near the beer taps and chatted with the owner (his name starts with B, but I can't remember it). We talked about the neighborhood and how other small restaurants are popping up on East 7th St. The prices of these artisan foods had to be on the high side because the ingredients are the best quality and the rents are definately expensive. The currywurst I ordered is the smaller snack sized version for $6. Maybe it's pricey, but for some reason because the dish is two components, it doesn't seem too steep to me. The fries are shoestring type, so they are crunchy and light—perfect for dipping in the savory tomato sauce.
The curry powder adds a nice spice but the sausage has it's own spiciness. Made of veal and pork, the sausage is juicy and snappy. The second time I went to Weschlers, I ordered the pretzel which is from a famous bakery, but the kinks still need to be worked out on this item. I'm sure the next time I go the pretzel will be better. But the real discovery was the sip of the apple wine that B let me sample. It is only 3percent alcohol and he mixed it with a bit of seltzer which lightened and brighten the flavors of the apple cider. It wasn't sweet like the usual hard cider and it wasn't musky like Spanish cider, rather, it was just smooth and mellow. There's other stuff to eat at Weschlers, but I'm so taken with the currywurst, I have yet to try the kale, potato salad or any of the other sausages.
