Imbiss (Saarbrücken, Germany)

Berliner Promenade, 66111 Saarbrücken, Germany

 

This Imbiss does not seem to have a name and is not indicated on Google maps, but it is in the center of Saarbrücken and is one of the few places that serves food after 2 PM on a Sunday (don’t get me started). It serves various sausages, some other meats, and rolls or fries.

 

I get a Currywurst (€3.40), where you choose your type of sausage (red or white). The sauce is liquidy and warm but very original and tasty. The sausage is a bit overcooked.

 

VERDICT: 88/100

Very good Currywurst

Wurstteufel (Weißenburg in Bayern, Germany)

Eichstätterstrasse, 91781 Weißenburg in Bayern, Germany

 

 

Wurstteufel is a chain of sausage stands across Germany. I visit one at the parking lot of a small mall, outside the center of the small town of Weißenburg in Bayern. It has fries, sausages, meat balls (though not today), and somewhat surprisingly burgers. Interestingly, for the first time in my life, the people working in the stand ask me to take a picture without them in it.

 

I get a Currywurst with Fries and Mayo (€6.10) and get a choice of different levels of spice (I choose 2 out of 3, mainly because 3 is habanero, and I don’t like that flavor much. The sausage is overcooked (has been laying there for too long), the curry sauce has small pieces of bell peppers in them, and the powder has a serious kick. The fries are small but crispy. All in all, quite good.

 

VERDICT: 87/100

Original Currywurst with a kick

Würstelstand Mochael Moser (Salzburg, Austria)

Universitätsplatz, 5020 Salzburg, Austria

 

Würstelstand (Sausage Stand) Mochael Moser is one of many sausage stands at the market of the Universitätsplatz in downtown Salzburg that sells a host of different sausages to locals and tourists alike. I get the Pustakrainer (€4.30), two relatively thin sausages that have a serious kick. It comes with a “spicy” mustard and a roll. Pretty good but also very fat

 

VERDICT: 85/100

Good selection of sausages but also quite expensive.

 

Auingler Würstelstand (Linz, Austria)

Taubenmarkt, 4020 Linz, Austria

 

This is one of two sausage stands that are next to each other in the big shopping street of Linz. It is quite busy on this early evening, mostly with people drinking. They serve a broad range of sausages as well as fries and other snacks. The typical Austrian hot dog seems to be the “Bosna,” which comes in many different versions (mostly a difference of condiments).

 

I get the Original Bosna (€3.40), which is two thin sausages in a very crispy (pressed) sandwich, with mustard and onion as well as some powder that usually goes on Currywurst. The sausages are mostly very salty, not very tasty.

 

VERDICT: 72/100

Neither particularly tasty, nor particularly cheap.

Ketch'up (Berlin, Germany)

Gradestrasse 35, 12347 Berlin

Ketch’up 35 is an institution in Berlin, which claims to have “the best curry since 1961.” Quite a claim in the city of currywurst! So, on my way out of Berlin, I take a detour to go there, a small wooden stand with a large outside area. It mainly has sausages, boulettes (meat balls), and fries. What makes them special is their own homemade curry sauce.

I get a Currywurst, a Boulette, and a Soda (€8.80). The curry sauce is very thick and sweet, tasting much more like tomato ketchup than curry. No kick. The sausage is crispy on the outside, for the rest average. The boulette has a nice consistency.

 

VERDICT: 82/100

Original but not really (my type of) Currywurst.

Currywurst House (Berlin, Germany)

Food Court of Mall of Berlin

 

Currywurst House is a small stand in the food court of the Mall of Berlin, which serves, you guessed it, Currywurst! It really does little else, except for bratwurst, fries, and chicken nuggets. I get a Currywurst (€3,60) and a Hot Dog Berlin (€4,90). The Currywurst is fine. The sausage itself is pretty tasty, but not really the kind of sausage I associate with a Currywurst. The sauce has a nice flavor but it doesn’t have a kick. The Hot Dog Berlin is a true pig out sandwich! Big sausage on a fresh roll with mayo, mustard, curry sauce, roasted onions, and cabbage. I really enjoyed that

 

VERDICT: 86/100

If you go here, get the Hot Dog Berlin. It’s a calory bomb but with a lot of flavor.

BÖCKELS Beste (Erkelenz, Germany)

Aachener Strasse 115, 41812 Erkelenz, Germany

 

BÖCKELS Beste is a regional chain of over 30 currywurst places in Germany, mostly in North Rhine-Westphalia. This particular one is in an OBI, a big German home improvement retailer, situated just next to the entrance. It serves only currywurst and fries but this location also has a cafe with coffee and two types of cakes. 

 

What makes them particularly interesting is that they have a choice of six levels of spicy (all powders).

 

I get a Currywurst (€ 2.79 or ~$3.15) with level 6 (Es Drauf Ankomen Lassen). The sausage is good, the sauce too (not too sweet and good temperature), and the heat is quite brutal. It is really HOT but does not fully kill all taste. Shame it doesn’t come with a roll. T had a Medium Fries (€ 2.59 or ~$3) with curry sauce, also level 6, which was also brutally hot, but the fries were very good for Germany.

 

VERDICT: 89/100

Very good currywurst. Und Mega-Scharf!

Torggrillen (Stockholm, Sweden)

Hötorget 2-4, 11157 Stockholm, Sweden

Torggrillen seems to be a chain of kiosks that mainly serve various types of hotdogs and some burgers. Most are microwaved! I get a basic Bratwurst (SEK 35 or $4.10), which is microwaved and put in the tiniest of buns. The sausage isn’t too bad, but the bun is dry.

 

VERDICT: 70/100

Expensive and mediocre

Curry One (Berlin, Germany)

Oranienburger Str. 50A, 10117 Berlin, Germany

 

Pretty open small Currywurst place in the hipster Mitte area, serving almost exclusively Currywurst and fries (though also vegan and beef options)

 

I get the Berlin Meal: Currywurst, fries, and a soda (€6) but add spicy onions (0.60). The fries were mediocre, prefab and uneventful, the Currywurst decent but made much better by the really spicy onions.

 

VERDICT: 84/100

Not bad, despite the location.

Imbiss 17. Juni (Berlin, Germany)

Straße des 17. Juni, (Höhe S-Bhf Tiergarten), 10557 Berlin, Germany

 

I had seen this Imbiss (snackbar) from the train several times last year and really wanted to try it. It looked old school and it is – I’m actually somewhat disappointed it has a website.. It’s run by a really nice old man, who seems perfectly happy to run his little stand. It serves sausages, fries, hamburgers, and sodas.

 

I get a Currywurst with fries and mayo, the standard fare in Berlin. It costs €3.80, which is very good, but the quality of the sausage is very poor and the reasonably thin fries are seriously undercooked.

  

VERDICT: 55/100

I really wanted to like this place, but it was one of the worst snack experiences in Germany.

Brendels Bratwurst Grill (Bamberg, Germany)

Maximiliansplatz, Bamberg, Germany

This is a big food cart that stands at a central square in the historic downtown of Bamberg, together with few other "market" carts. It sells only two items, sausage and something I've never heard off, Spanferkel, which translates as “suckling pig”. I get the Riesenbratwurst (Giant Sausage) with bread (€2.50), which definitely oversells. The sausage is not that big, quite thin, and very dry, as is the roll.

VERDICT: 65/100

Pretty poor and not even that cheap.

Lecker Wurst (Duisburg, Germany)

Mercatorstrasse, 47508 Duisburg, Germany

 

Lecker Wurst, which literally translates as Tasty Sausage, is a small fast food stall in the tunnel of the main railway station. It sells frikadellen (kind of meatballs), fries, and sausages. The meat comes from local butchers. I get a Currywurst mit Pommes Weiss (i.e. curry sausage with fries and mayo) for  €5.00. The sausage is underwhelming, as is the sauce (there is no spicy powder on top of it), but the fries and mayo are as good as you get in Germany.

  

VERDICT: 80/100

Not bad, not good.

Enders Wurst Spezialitäten (Duisburg, Germany)

Mercatorstrasse 23, 47501 Duisburg, Germany

 

Enders Wurst Spezialitäten is a small sausage stand at the entrance of the main railway station of Duisburg. It only sells fries, sausages and drinks. I get a Currywurst (€3.00), which comes with a fresh roll. The sausage is quite good, but the warm quite thick curry sauce is what lifts it well above average.

  

VERDICT: 84/100

Pricey but good.