In a clear trend of awesome, Brats Brothers is one of the newest gourmet/exotic sausage/bratwurst places to hit LA (okay, they’ve been around since 2007, but just moved to a new location). Within 48 hours of learning of its existence, I made my way out to Sherman Oaks for lunch to see how it stacked up against its brethren. Made up to look all German-like and with a hostess/waitress that was also decidedly German (accent and all), Brats Brothers seemed a little more authentic than hipster-loving joints like Wurstkuche.

The menu had your regular run-of-the-mill bratwurst like Italian, Polish, cheese-filled and whatnot. They even had good old American hot dogs, which I assumed were for the children that could potentially show up. But, as usual, I was in the mood for something exotic. Their exotics ranged from gator to wild boar to kangaroo. While the ‘roo would have been my first choice, they were sold out and I went with the bratwurst named for the native land of the kangaroo. It was called The Aussie and was made with ostrich and pistachios. I was hoping the bratwurst was called The Aussie because it sounded like the O-S at the beginning of ostrich and not because they thought ostriches live in Australia (as we all know, ostriches are from Africa, emus are from Australia and their bastard cousin, the rhea lives in South America). Look, you came to a food blog and learned about animal geography, you deserve at least 12 gold stars.

But I digress, back to the bratwurst. Each one could be upgraded to a meal, which included two sided and a soft drink. This sounded great, so I ordered Beef Chili and Bavarian Tater Tots as my sides, then prepared to get meaty.

The meal took a while to arrive, and frankly everything took a while. It should be noted that I don’t totally blame the restaurant for this as our waitress/hostess was pulling double duty while her regular waitress stayed home to do homework. Why the manager approved this, I don’t know, but I can only assume the normal waitress is his daughter and doing this homework meant she would not fail school/die in a fiery crash.

Anyway, bratwurst. Delicious. Not only was it a healthy size, but it was glistening like meaty gold. The bun was a little bit squishy, in a good way, but a bit big for the bratwurst. Yet, once I loaded it with curry sauce, my side of beef chili and hot sauce, everything fit just perfectly. Don’t worry, though, I tried the ostrich before loading it up and it was certainly tasty. The ostrich had a unique poultry flavor that was a little tough, and the pistachios added some interesting texture, if not a ton of flavor. One of my favorite parts of the brat was the casing. It was thick, but had an awesome snap when bit into. The only downside was that it was a little bit dry. I’ve experienced this before with ostrich, which is why the curry sauce was perfect on it, as it enhanced the flavor while keeping it moist.

The sides were not huge, but they were quite delicious. For the tater tots, I had kind of expected regular tots with some sort of Bavarian spice dusted on. Fortunately, this was not the case and I was delivered three fried, cheesy potato balls. They were awesome. The beef chili was good, too, but not as good as the tots. It had some unique spice to it and consisted of a majority of beef, with some beans inside for additional texture. I loaded it up on the brat, but it was certainly fine to eat solo.

Despite the service, my Brats Brothers experience was decidedly positive. I loved the bratwurst variety and the total lack of a vegetarian brats (just eat your kale and quit whining). I also saw that they have themselves a bit of an eating contest. This is one huge version of their Santa Fe Fire brat (beef, pork, jalapenos, habaneros, onions and cilantro), but a huge platter of fries. If you can eat it all in 30 minutes, it’s free. If not, it’s only $16.95. Next time I go, I may take them up on the challenge and even be willing to eat onions if it means winning a challenge. We shall see, but challenge or not, I know where I will be heading next time I need some bratwurst in the valley.

In this wonderful planet that we live in, there are few greater meccas of meat than Northern Wisconsin. After all, you’re not going to survive that winter on lettuce and kale. Yet, while shrines to meat are all over this mecca, the true Kaaba of Northern Wisconsin is Superior Meats. Located in the heart of Superior, Wisconsin, on Tower Street, the place is not in the most ideal location for someone like me looking to grill at Amnicon Falls, but like any meat pilgrimage, the journey to Superior Meats is well-worth it.

In the world of Michigan that I hail from, you grill hot dogs and hamburgers. In the Southwest, you might throw a little carne asada in the mix. And in Wisconsin, it’s all about the bratwurst. Superior Meats is the holy grail of brats. The flavors range from the simply named Beer, to the descriptive Wild Rice Cranberry Turkey, to the curious Sheboygan. But it doesn’t stop there. They also pack in crazy burgers with similar ingredients to the brats, amazing beef sticks, multiple varieties of jerky and cheese. Since we were a huge crew of guys with a couple girls sprinkled in, we loaded up on a feast of meats for grilling. Of all we ordered, here is what I remember:

Brats:

Breakfast

Beer

Three Cheese

Packer

Hunter

Philly Cheese Beef

Bacon and Blue Cheese

Burgers:

Philly Cheese

Bacon Cheddar

French Onion

Pepper Jack

The grand total, including all our fixin’s came to a measly 7 bucks per person. When we got to Amnicon Falls to grill, we opened up our spread of meat and witnessed something beautiful. But there was barely time to admire before the grill was fired up and we got to cooking. While the cooking job may not have been the greatest (due to lack of tongs), there was no question that these brats and burgers were some of the best the world had to offer, if not the best. My favorite was the bacon and blue. These tubes were oozing with flavors, snap and an unbeatable touch smoky goodness. After these, I don’t know if I can ever eat grocery store bratwurst again. And the burgers, too, were out of this world. Juicy, cheesy and unquestionably delicious, they managed to squeeze awesomeness into every ounce. A lot of places try to pull off the loaded burger patty, but Superior Meats has perfected it.

Now the only trouble is figuring out how to live my life without Superior Meats. Southern California is a far cry from Northern Wisconsin and I do my best to live a good unvegan life here, but now that I am back, I am concerned about what to do about grilling. Grocery store-bought burgers and bratwurst simply cannot compare to the glory of Superior Meats and perhaps it is better that way. Such a place would likely go unappreciated in the health-conscious enigma of LA, yet I can’t help but think that meats like those of Superior could convince a vegan to slaughter a pig on the spot.

So do yourself a favor…if you are ever within driving distance of Superior Meats, go. You and your stomach will thank me for it for the rest of your life.

Oh and if you know of a greater meat mecca than Northern Wisconsin, please let me know, because when I find myself eating up there it feels as though I’ve died and gone to meat heaven.