Who cares how the sausage gets made? We’re back in Austin this week, and Man Bites Dog’s beef franks, brats, and sausages are so scrumptious that you’ll soon find yourself shoveling them in as if you’re part of a one-man hot dog eating contest.

The front-runner was My Big Fat Greek Dog, a zesty Merguez lamb sausage, surprisingly boudin-like with its flecks of rice, loaded with fennel seed and garlic, without a hint of Windex in sight. Golden, light bun? Check. Creamy tzatziki sauce and decadent feta crumbles? You got it. Black olives, diced tomatoes and onions, and crunchy cucumber slices? Athens, I think we have a winner.

And the dogs don’t stop there. If the snooty eatery’s cuisine in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off had been anywhere as good as the Abe Froman entrée here, there’s no way the sausage king of Chicago would have been late for his reservation. A split, grilled Vienna beef frank, yellow mustard, onion and tomato dices, pickle relish, and celery salt on a fluffy, grilled bun, topped with a dill pickle spear, there are no surprises, only a Chicago dog done to perfection.

Frankly, the only slight disappointment was the special, a Live Oak beer brat with spicy brown mustard, tangy sauerkraut, and chopped onions on a pretzel bun. Delicious in theory, yes, but the pretzel bun proved too soppy, and the haphazardly squirted mustard overwhelmed the other flavors. But at the end of the day, it’s still a brat, which is pretty hard to dislike.

If you’d rather scarf your sausages in the comfort of four walls, you’re in luck. Man Bites Dog is opening another location in the spring, this one a brick-and-mortar restaurant with the best brat accompaniment you can think of. No, not accordions. Beer! If you’re a trailer purist like me, though, don’t wait in line at Torchy’s on South First with all those other fools; instead, eat like a sausage king in half the time at the Man Bites Dog trailer next door. After all, you only have four months to train to beat Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut at this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

1311 South First (512-445-5591). Mon–Thur 11–8. Fri & Sat 11–10. Sun 11–8.

Posted by Megan Giller

Tagged: bratwurst, hot dogs, Man Bites Dog, Trailer Thursday

All right, you dirty-minded folks. I’m ashamed of you. Yes, there’s a new sausage trailer in town. Yes, it’s headed up by the drummer of Oliver Future, a band whose members are all dudes. So, yes, you might even call it a sausage fest. Well, unlike all you heathens, I’m not going to make those cheap jokes. I’m taking the high road. 

Photo by Amelia Giller

In this case, strangely enough, that road leads back to Old School BBQ and Grill. Revisit with me, if you will, the decadent brisket, juicy steak burger, and crisp hand-cut fries. Pretty hard to beat. I hinted a few weeks ago that co-owner Dan Parrott used to work as a conceptual consultant in L.A., but what I didn’t tell you is that his creativity there, in the form of gourmet brat eatery Wurstküche, inspired the owners of Wurst Tex here.

The trailer features specialty brats (nine of ‘em—that’s five more than the timeless Best Wurst stand offers), four kinds of mustard, and the addicting sweet-spicy curry ketchup. My favorite was the Buckwurst, a classic venison and pork with a new twist: peppers and cheddar. The smoky meat met its match in the melty cheese and the lightly grilled, ambrosial hoagie roll. I topped mine with a fine mild sauerkraut, but between the three add-ons, kraut, crisp grilled onions, and bell and jalapeño peppers, the grilled peppers popped the most.

But nothing pops more than the hiss and jangle of a rattlesnake’s tail (except maybe your pulse when you hear that signature rattling). Wurst Tex has a brat for that. Better than surf and turf, it’s the Predator and Prey—rattlesnake and rabbit with jalapeño. Lean but still juicy, this one resembled a chicken sausage at its finest.

If you’re not into all that meat (see above regarding inappropriate jokes I will not make here), never fear. There are two vegan sausages with your name on them. The 04 Delight, with Yukon potatoes, apples, and sage, tasted surprisingly beefy, if a little bland. The Delight promised ginger, but none was to be found. Paired with the grilled hoagie roll, whole-grain Dijon, and curry ketchup, it was a treat nonetheless.

Let’s see. Distinctive fire-engine-red trailer. Trendy SoCo location. And grilled sausages that beat the pants off anything you’ve ever had. I’m predicting a future blog post here, saying simply: All roads lead back to Wurst Tex.

Posted by Megan Giller

Tagged: bratwurst, Old School BBQ and Grill, sausages, Trailer Thursday, Wurst Tex