The Wurst Nox in the food court

When last I saw the Currywurst Frankfurt food truck, it was doing its thing: serving finely minced pork and veal bratwurst smothered in ketchup and curry powder. The Berlin street food favorite is a natural fit with brewery tasting rooms, which is probably why I’ve bumped into it a few times over the years.

I’ll get this namesake currywurst on occasion, and though it’s made with that bratwurst by default, the truck keeps a variety of sausages on hand. These are usually served with red cabbage and/or sauerkraut on a plate or a bun, and either way with a healthy slathering of mustard, but I decided to experiment with a polish sausage currywurst, which made an equally natural companion to beer.

There’s no beer in the UTC food court, though I did spot a Panda Express and an ice skating rink, for nostalgia’s sake. Nevertheless, there was Wurst Nox, the fixed location representation of the Currywurst truck, offering virtually the same menu.

I suppose ketchup drenched anything is food court appropriate, so I don’t know why it tickles me to see currywurst, the kitschy late night snack food of a drunk Berliner, show up in a mall food court. Probably because I know it’s a local business, rather than the boring old franchises we’ve seen in malls forever (I’m looking at you, Sbarro).

For the record, I still think everyone is better off getting their bratwurst, andouille, and kielbasa on a bun, without the ketchup. Here again, the choices truly start with the bratwurst, but I know a lot of people won’t eat veal for ethical reasons. So I’ll just mention one more tow finely ground this sausage is; we’re talking almost weisswurst-level tenderness. Sausage currywurst, plates, and sandwiches cost between 9 and 11 bucks each, though I figured out you can add an extra sausage for $4, so I bonused an a la carte brat onto my sandwich order.

With the bun I went ahead with the Nox Wurst, a.k.a. knockwurst — because since when can you order knockwurst in a mall food court? In La Jolla? As the knockwurst bypasses the veal issue, it’s red to bratwurst’s white, and has a thicker skin with a bit more pop. I could have ordered nonalcoholic beer to go with my mini sausage feast, but I’ll hold out. As the menu notes, Wurst Nox plans to start pouring German beers soon. Which cinches it: this is way better than Hot Dog On A Stick.