Sausage King

We have been going there for a couple decades at least. Went by yesterday to pick up some Wurst, and the place is blacked out and for rent. So very sad to hear the owner passed. We loved him and his wife and are so sorry to not be able to say Gruezi any more. NO sausages taste like theirs, and the Wurst Salat, Cervelat and more were JUST like I used to eat in Zurich when I was a kid. We are going to try Siesels to see if they have anything so tasty. They ought to buy the recipes and sell them as artifacts of a great piece of SD history. Have tried everything from that place up in Carlsbad to Vons prepackaged, to the wieners in the jar to that expensive place in LJV2, but nothing else ever came close.
Bye bye old friends.

I miss him so much :(

So sad to hear the news of the owner’s passing! I didn’t check Unilocal before I went there so I saw the for sales signs etc. The guy in the liquor store on the corner told me what happened. The owner died and the wife tried to carry on but was unable to do so, so they are closed. There is no where else in the USA that has their unique style of landjager! I am tore up!

Oh NO!
Please say it isn’t true!
:(

This place closed!!!
F*****CK!!!

RIP Sausage King. You’ll be missed.

Walking in, you feel like you’ve been transported to the ‘50s. Then, a homely German grandmother figure greets you and even humors you as you butcher her native tongue (hey, at least you tried). She explains that everything is handmade, the same way it has been since they came to San Diego. Then, you proceed to order pretty much everything and book it back home and devour your booty. You are not disappointed, and everything is exactly as it should be, exactly as tradition demands.
Give this place a try. It won’t be around forever (sadly) — when the couple that runs this place is gone I’m not sure who would be there to pick up the banner and carry on. Go now, you won’t be disappointed.

My whole life this has been a staple of Mission Hills living. Go by get some fresh cured meats on bun… sooooo goooood.

Because I went there thinking it was a German restaurant… Please be aware it’s not. It’s a deli/​food store with a variety of meats «they make themselves in the back.» It’s all raw and has to be taken home and cooked.
The place was old and kind of dark, but the prices looked really good. We’re planning to go back the next time we’re in the mood for brats. They also have a bunch of German food that you can take home and make for yourself.

I went to pick up polish sausage for a friends birthday party. When I walked in I smelt the smell other Unilocalers have talked about. The beautiful sent of spice/​herbs! Two older German women where behind the counter, so sweet and helpful. The prices were amazing and I’ve never had such handmade quality sausages! I also picked up a pound of bacon just for kicks and it was awesome! Almost all meat and not too salty. The kicker: it was only 1.99 a pound, and sliced per my request! I’m in love. I will never buy sausages any where again!

Quite little spot run by a nice guy in his ~70’s. Great selection of sausage, cured meats and all the accouterments… I’d recommend the lingucia sausage and spicy pickles.
Ok selection of other meat.

The first time I went here was to get a bunch of sausages for an Oktoberfest party. I ordered 72 brats, 24 hot dogs, and 80 rolls. I also picked up a half pound of bacon and some mustards. The staff was very friendly and had everything ready for me at the pickup time. The prices were amazing, I could not have gotten a better deal for such high quality sausage. The wife and I have been back numerous times for bacon, it is such a good price and sooo delicious.
I am thinking of making the Oktoberfest party an anual thing and I will continue to go to sausage king for the brats.

Yes its retro and its is pretty darned funky inside but they make their products without fillers. The sausages are great but try some of the more unusual items. The head cheese and liverwurst are really good. I don’t even care for liver but the liverwurst is tasty– I prefer the rustic over the smooth type. One day I left the sliced head cheese on my counter for about 30 minutes. It got so soft, it was like meat butter. I spread it on toast and it was great!
Their smoked pork chops are a fantastic addition to beans or soups.
They sell every thing by the pound so buy as much or little as you need.

When I was little (oh soooooo long ago) I used to come to the Sausage King every week with my Dad to get great sausages, meats and German food. It was the only time I heard him speak German, although that is his first language. The people who work there make the sausages on site and they are so delicious!
They still have the same cash register they had way back then and the food cases and shelves all look like a movie set from a store in the 40’s.
This is a must see for good food and a fascinating step back in time.

The friendliest service you could ask for: The little lady who runs the joint knows each and every one of her customers, and therefore, notices all the newbies right off the bat, too! She greeted us as we walked through the door and proceeded to give us the run down of how stuff works at Sausage King.
Lots of interesting meats.
The only bacon I would request to eat again.
Specialty, European grocery items.
Meat, meat, and more meat.

Okay so this place is a blast form the past and can be very intimidating.
It is straight from Germany and serious about processed meat.
It’s fun to go into and just see it. I’ve bought german candies, franks, and other misc. pork products.
If anything go just to have a new experience.

Let me first say, I am a vegetarian. Let me also say, Ich bin ein Berliner!
Fancying myself a bit of a designophile and fontophile, I have always been drawn to Sausage King.
The sign over the door depicts an early sixties cartoon stylized sausage with a happy face and eyes lit up with excitement. Why? Well, he is enrobed in a royal mink mantle while a pointy crown levitates above his head. The font above reads SAUSAGE KiNG in this modified almost varsity jersey sew-​on based font except the i is lower-​cased and the dot is replaced with a pointy crown. Wowee Zowee! When Jimmy Carter’s was next door, I used to wait for my table by lurking outside the adult bookstoresque exterior of SAUSAGE KiNG and staring at this nostalgic sign, hearing that mid-​century retro «ding» sound as a four-​long-​pointed shine star appeared on that royal sausage’s crown. I even had a radio jingle that I composed in my head.
Just this morning, I took my good friend and neighbor, Alex, who happens to hail from Berlin, and who also happens to be throwing a BBQ tonight to SAUSAGE KiNG. Wowee Zowee!
I never knew that this place was an authentic Deutsche Fleischerei. It smelled aromaticly awesome from the various smoked salamis hanging on the walls. There were mustards, chocolates, cheeses, breads, and cookies to boot (boot meaning boot nicht boat).
The woman behind the counter heard Alex’s accent and struck up a long and enthusiastic conversation ins Deutsch with him. I listened trying to pick up on odds and ends of the dialouge as it flew over head in the high-​ceilinged Fleisherei while I my eyes salivated at some of the finest packaging design, fonts, and advertising I have seen. I mean this place has sausage characters dressed up in costumes on the walls. Drool!
Alex bought some Weiswurst und Hackfleisch (note: we should use this German word for ground meat in this country because it is so much better. I mean es ist sehr besser). He even found some impossible until now to find ingredients in the king. A pickled jarred celery, Brunch! spread (which is similar to a whipped cream cheese with chives), and Vegeta (which is a Slovenian soup mix and seasoning kinda thing).
The kind woman rang up Das Fleishfest on the old register, the internal cams swung true with a mechanical clank as the metal bells clinked – the numbers 19.57 (another wonderful font printed on aging cream) darted up into the register’s glass-​vizzy apt precision. As I tangentaly thought that our trip to the KiNG was like hitting the culinary jackpot. Upon leaving, Alex informed me that when we opened the door and the smell hit him he thought, oh yes, this is very authentic.
Wowee Zowee!
SAUSAGE KiNG über Alles.
SchuSS!

Sausage King, the King of Sausages.
A well deserved name.
While Bud claims the KING OF BEERS, this place really is awesome (Bud is not).
Specializing in German sausage, the knockwurst and bratwurst are truly astonishing in quality.
The place is sooooo inexpensive too!
They also have various german goodies (chocolates, cookies, etc).
They are kinda German too … so expect a sorta gruff ‘tough-​love’, and bring the proper change. they do not like to make change.
Ever.
Sausage King, more than just a clever name … the KING of sausage.
;-)

Went here for the first time last week. I was impressed at the selection and the lady with the German accent was very helpful in explaining the different sausages and recommendations. The sausage was a hit at the party.
Picked up some sauerkraut that was very tasty.
Cash only
I’ll definitely be back — and if you are a sausage fan you should be there too!

«Sausage King — park in rear»
Anyone in Mission Hills has gotten a chuckle out of that sign. But the food is no joke.
My parents developed a taste for German food while studying abroad in the sixties. When I was a kid in the 80’s, they would take me to the sausage king to get makings for a dinner or picnic. In the past few years I’ve been going back there every once in a while. The place has not changed one single bit since my memories of it from 1983. And I’m sure it hadn’t changed since long before then too. They even use an old time «cha-​ching» register. Cash only.
This place is like a vegan’s worst nightmare. Meat, cheese, meat, cheese and meat. And it smells fantastic. I usually go there to get sliced lunch meats, mustard, cheese and bread rolls to have a picnic with my girlfriend. I always get a few pairs of Landjaeger dry smoked sausage to chew on in the car, because by the time I leave the place I’m too hungry to wait.