Sausage District

I’ve been passing by a place on Cahuenga and Selma for months called District 13. Their sign boats beer and sausages – how intriguing. On Tuesday my roommate had a hankering for some sausage, so I suggested we give it a shot. The restaurant is tucked into a hip corner strip mall that has a Big Wangs and a little froyo place called Frog. This whole stretch of Cahuenga  has some really fantastic little restaurants. You recall my post about Kitchen 24, yes? There is one right up the street, not to mention a slew of other little eateries and such that make it a really happening area. And only a short walk up from the Arclight cinema.

When we entered the place we immediately fell in love with the atmosphere. Totally open, lots of floor space, plenty of room to bring a big group of friends and mingle. The wide open windows and doors give ample opportunity to sit outside and flirt with the men from Big Wangs out smoking their cigarettes. Never a bad feature. It has kind of a sports bar meets gastropub meets lots of beer. And I do mean lots of beer. 50 bottled beers from around the world and 22 craft beers from California on tap. And I suppose that’s a good thing since their website bills themselves as a “punky gastropub” – obviously they are right. We were greeted by an incredibly friendly and lovely Australian lady (I didn’t get her name – shameful) who was both the bar tender and our waitress. Very nice.

Neither of us were in a place to be drinking beer, so we went right for sausages. We both ended up getting the smoked bratwurst, which comes on a brioche bun with your choice of two dipping sauces and two toppings. As you can see, I opted for the grilled mushrooms and onions. The brat was good…. my life was not changed, but it was good. I think the bun tripped me up a bit. Maybe if it were toasted or grilled it would have come off better. Or maybe brioche in general is just too much? I don’t know. But, it hit the spot nonetheless. I was pleased to see they have a full menu, including salads, burgers (which looked really good), apps, and even some vegan sausage options. Clearly they know they’re in SoCal.

We are very excited to return here on a Saturday night with a group of friends and see what this place can really get up to. But for now, I’m happy to recommend it as a quick and casual stop in for a weeknight dinner that is definitely starving artist friendly.

District 13
1566 N. Cahuenga Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
www.d13la.com