Comments (0) BEST JERKY - 2009
European Deluxe
The thick strips of jerky hanging on the wall in this German sausage market hardly look like the truck-stop version, but don't let that result in a bratwurst-only visit. These South African biltong (foot-long strips of coriander and cider vinegar–cured beef jerky) and droëwors (similarly cured thin dried beef sausages) are distant cousins of their American counterparts. European Deluxe has been making air-dried jerkies since the pre–Internet-era when South African Consulate General's office called 30 years ago with a special request for locally available versions. Both are more heavily spiced and chewier than American jerkies, so they require a more focused molar mastication. That means they are particularly adept at displacing road rage, as well as stretching your dollar. The price of $17 a pound for the biltong and droëwors may sound steep, but a pounds-worth will last through at least a dozen traffic jams on the 405. Maybe a half dozen. 9109 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills. (310) 276-1331.
—Jenn Garbee
