If you've ever had a hankering to eat rattlesnake-and-rabbit sausage off a coffin-shaped table in a warehouse-chic space, then wash it down with dandelion soda, you're in luck. Located in the heart of downtown's Arts District, Wurstküche is a fairly simple concept: sausages, ordered at a counter up front and cooked on the hot grill right before your eyes; a choice of four toppings (hot or sweet peppers, sauerkraut, grilled onions) plus copious mustard choices; a ton of good beer on tap; and a dining hall in back with a long bar thrown in for good measure. The more complex part comes in the types of sausages — there are the aforementioned rattlesnake-and-rabbit, which is better in theory than actuality; a couple of other “exotics”; and the better classics (the bratwurst, the hot Italian and a soft, juicy veal-and-pork bockwurst are all snappy and satisfying). The restaurant also excels in the sausage-for-all ethos, offering some vegetarian sausages that are actually completely edible. 800 E. Third St., dwntwn.; (213) 687-4444, wurstkuche.com. Daily, 11 a.m.-mid.; bar open until 2 a.m. Sausages $6-$8. Beer.

 

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Cole's
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