Currywurst - the hotdog of Berlin

Take a German brat, cut it in slices, pour a load of a ketchup-like sauce on top, spice it up with curry powder and you have the most popular snack of Berlin: Currywurst.
This description of the preparation of the particular German sausage is somewhat simplified and doesn't live up to its long history of 80 years (which I won't get into at this point), but it pretty much sums up what to expect when ordering a Currywurst. To make the whole issue complacated though, there are several rivaling snack stands (=Imbisse) spread throughout Berlin that all claim to have THE best Currywurst in town.
So, when my far-traveled friend Akio from Japan came to see me we decided to go on a Currywurst mission in order to find out which place really does have the best-tasting sausage.

We started our tasting test at Kudamm 195 on Kurfuerstendamm (Charlottenburg) where a vast number of autographs of famous people testify for its high popularity. The Currywurst (with gut) at a price of 2,20 Euro (plus 20 cents for the roll) had a fine texture and the sauce was medium-spiced. To make a remark on the preparation, the curry spice was powdered over the sausage before the sauce was poured over the sausage.



At Curry 36 on Mehringdamm (Kreuzberg) we found a much more elaborate sausage menu, and to our surprise the Currywurst was 60 cents cheaper. This sausage convinced with a crispier and more flavored sausage, and the sauce was better spiced, though the roll (also 20 cents) tasted better at Kudamm 195.

Last but not least we paid a visit to Konnopke on Schönhauser Allee (Prenzlauer Berg), maybe the most traditional store with its 80 years of existence. At Konnopkes we found the longest line, but as the service was just as quick as at the other places, so we soon held our third Currywurst of the day at 1,70 Euros (but 30 cents for the roll) in our hands. Unfortunately, Konnopkes only had Currywurst without gut, so it might not be completely comparable with the previous two sausages. However, we found the sausage itself rather bland while the sauce was spicier than at the other two places and the curry powder was put on last.


Overall, we didn't like the third Currywurst as much as the others but it may have been due to the fact that we got more critical as we tasted along. In conclusion, we have NOT become Currywurst experts throughout our Currywurst report, and I think it requires a lot more tasting to get there. But for now we need a serious portion of vitamins and fibers....