Postcard from Berlin: The Best of the Wurst
by Katharine Schub


Frying sausage under the neon lights. Photo: Katharine Schub

        From the moment I landed in Berlin, I was obsessed with finding the currywurst Berliners rave about, the currywurst that would change my mind about this grizzly fried pork sausage, casually hacked into pieces and doused with ersatz ketchup and curry powder. Having tasted it once in New York, stone cold sober, I had little hope for this local icon, hawked everywhere in street stands, in snack shops near the train stations, even piled on large platters in restaurants. Everyone including Berliner vegetarians  have an opinion about the best place to eat it.

        My travel partner  -- an unfailingly good sport about my currywurst twitch – and I stumbled into Bier's 195, underneath the Friedrichstrasse S-Bahn stop. The shop – by far the most glamorous sausageria I’d seen -- was pretty empty, with good techno on the radio and an East German version of Dolly Parton frying and hacking sausages under the neon Bier's 195 sign.

Currywurst served with a crusty roll. Photo: Katharine Schub

        How luxurious can it get? For one thing, Bier's 195 sells 190 euro bottles of Dom Pergion to go with their 3 euro currywurst as well as other Imbiss (snack shop) standbys, like boulettes (burgers) and schnitzel-like cutlets.  The currywurst comes on kitschy, gold rimmed plates lined with tissue paper. The sausage is smoky and moist and I loved the crispy fried casing.  On my first visit I ordered the currywurst mit brot, (with bread) but got it with French fries on returning. Get the fries, which are crispy, salty and super greasy topped with a cool, mound of mayonnaise.

 If you want to eat it like a real Berliner drag your French fries and bread through the sweet, tangy, curry flecked sauce just like the briefcase toting men in suits, paint-dabbed artists, and construction workers in overalls who line up in hoards for this currywurst.