Hot Dogs & Beer at WVRST

WVRST is located in the Fashion District, along a particularly busy stretch of King West- steps away from numerous bars/restaurants.  It was a warm Friday evening and we were here to celebrate a friend's birthday!  When we arrived, the place was already jam-packed with diners and there was a line of people waiting to place their orders.

The restaurant is very casual and is definitely more like a bar than a restaurant.  The interior is very modern, with a large communal-style dining area.  WVRST is known for it's extremely large selection of sausage meats and craft beers and ciders.  Oh, and the duck fat fries- can't forget those!




Beer Flight ($12 for 6, 5oz servings)



As neither of us are big beer drinkers, Stanley and I shared a beer flight to get a little more variety.

Dirty Duck Fat Fries ($5.5/$8)
Belgian Style fries topped with peppers, jalapenos, onions and WVRST sauce



We opted for the small portion of the fries, which turned out to be quite hefty.  The fries were delicious and offered just the right amount of crunch.  While I prefer foods with a little kick, those jalapenos offered way more kick than I expected!  Overall, this was delicious- though I would have preferred this with some mozzarella cheese as well.

Mediterranean Sausage on a Toasted Fresh Bun ($7)
Chickpea, olive, feta, basil
Toppings: Sweet sauteed onions, sauteed jalapenos


I was in one of my moods so I opted for a vegetarian offering- don't ask, I can't explain this either.  Anyway, bad decision- the "sausage" was rather tasteless and dry.  Trust me, no amount of ketchup could fix this.  The mountain of jalapenos on top of the hot dog only made it worse as I also lost sensation of my taste buds.  I would only recommend this to those I hate most.

Kangaroo on a Toasted Fresh Bun ($9)
Fresh herb
Toppings: Sauerkraut, sweet sauteed onions


Stanley opted for something more gamey - namely, the Kangaroo. I suspect he regretted not having purchased some "kanga bangas" during his short stay in Sydney and this offered some kind of a restitution. It was being described as oddly beef-like in both texture and flavour. The sauerkraut was intended to offset the greasiness of a sausage but the kangaroo was definitely more on the lean side.

The meat selection was good and I can definitely see why people like this place but I was slightly disappointed- although this may be due to a poor "meat" selection on my part.  However, I may revisit on a quieter day to get another order of the Dirty Duck Fat Fries and to try another meat.