Currywurst: Berlin's Contribution to Fast Food Culture

What is Berliner Currywurst? And why won't it leave me alone? You can buy it everywhere over here and it's greasy and unhealthy and has way too many calories and I love it and I think I'm developing a new eating disorder. I can eat four or five of these things and I know that I shouldn't but just can't stop, you see. Do you feel my guilt, yet? Let me explain.

Berlin is famous for a lot of things in Germany, but fine cuisine certainly isn't one of them. If anything, the rest of Germany holds Berliners to be cultureless, pushy, loud-mouthed, big-city brutes. And they don't understand anything about eating, either. Let me set the record straight. All of this is all true.

Well, sort of. Because despite all of these drawbacks, one of them somehow managed to create a fast food that's rounding success shows no sign of slowing down: the Currywurst. It was invented in Berlin in 1949 by a certain Herta Heuwer and keeps chugging along, being reinvented daily, over 55 years later. But "was ist Currywurst", you ask? What is the secret of its success? Beats me. Just look at this ridiculous recipe:

Take 2 tablespoons of ketchup and mix it up with ½ teaspoon of curry powder. Serve it over one cooked hot dog cut into sections (on wax paper), sprinkled with curry powder and paprika. Add a portion of French fries and a Brötchen (roll). And a Bier. No, make that two Bier(s), please.

Huh? That's it? Well, no, not really. Every curry tastes different and every Currywurst aficionado experiments with their own particular curry mixes and additional secret sauce and spicing combinations. But the secret will remain unfathomable to you unless you actually go out there and try an original. So why don't you follow my recommendation and jump in a plane, fly over here and taste test a few of the very best? Here's my fabulous four list of favorites:

Krasselt's, Steglitzer Damm 22, Berlin Steglitz. Krasselt's claims to serve the best Currywurst in town. It's been in business for over forty-five years and its secret recipe using, among other things, sweet red peppers, Worcester sauce and homemade ketchup really is something to rave about. There's always a line here. They usually stay open until midnight.

Konnopke's, Schönhauser Allee 44a, Berlin Prenzlauer Berg. Certainly one of Berlin's most famous Currywurst stands, Konnopke's guests enjoy their specialties under a giant umbrella, usually speaking loudly and gesticulating wildly as the U-Bahn trains rattle closely by overhead. They're open en well into the morning hours.

Kudamm 195, Kurfürstendamm 195, Berlin Charlottenburg. They like to serve their excellent Currywurst along with champagne ("Sekt") here. This place has a touch of the "old" West-Berlin flair. I'm not sure if they ever close.

Curry 36, Mahringdamm 36, Berlin Tempelhof. Everybody is in a good mood here, which isn't always understood in Berlin. If you're not careful they might even break out into song (what's in that secret sauce, anyway?). Try one of their specials and you'll understand why.