Not the wurst that could happen

A week after a Metrolink/Gold Line jaunt to try out Good Girl Dinette in Highland Park, Sunday saw me repeating the experiment, this time at Wurstkuche in downtown L.A.

I got off the Gold Line Extension at its first stop, at Alameda and 1st, and walked about four blocks to Wurstkuche, a well-regarded Belgian beer and housemade hot dog place in the Arts District. (Like Good Girl Dinette, it's on LA Weekly's LA 99 list.)

There was a line to get in, but that was fine, and an employee handed out copies of the menu. I had the sundried tomato and mozzarella dog of smoked chicken and turkey with caramelized onions and sweet peppers, plus Belgian fries with curry ketchup, a Manhattan Special cream soda and, for dessert, a toasted apple pie ice cream sandwich between oatmeal raisin cookies. Total: $19.48.

The bar/dining room, in exposed brick, features communal tables covered in butcher block paper. A nice ambience. As for the food, it was fine stuff. The dog had a good snap and it was cradled by a dense, crisped bun. The fries were disappointing, but maybe I'm not a Belgian fry guy. I like 'em better at Back Abbey in Claremont.

I got through another couple of chapters of "Roughing It" before heading for home. Another satisfying outing to a new-to-me part of L.A.