Seoul Sausage Co., West Los Angeles

11313 Mississippi Ave · Los Angeles, CA 90005 · Neighborhood: West Los Angeles

I rarely find myself hanging out on Sawtelle on the Westside, if for no other reason, because I don’t want to get stuck in 405 traffic in the afternoon. So, when I DO find myself in the neighborhood, I try to linger and explore a bit while I am there, because I know it might be a while before I return again to ‘Little Osaka’.

Last week, I was in the neighborhood to attend a Sake tasting event presented by JETRO and after a couple hours of drinking sake in the afternoon (oh, the woes of being a food blogger!), I found myself in serious need of some grub. It was about 4 pm and I could either 1) hurry home to beat rush hour traffic or 2) be a responsible driver and stick around the neighborhood, sober up, and eat something nearby.

There was just one little problem… many of my go-to retsuarants were already done with lunch and thus closed to prep for dinner. Crap.

I walked up and down Sawtelle, thinking, pacing, Yelping, and then I remembered I heard of this one sausage place around the corner. Meaty sausage goodness to cure my cravings and absorb all that sake in my belly. Perfect. Seoul Sausage to the rescue!

A “passion project” started by two brothers Yong and Ted Kim, and chef Chris Oh about 3 years ago, this place is small but packs a big bite. They started off as a catering company thanks to their win on the Food Network show The Great Food Truck Race (Season 3), and they hope to be your “gateway drug” to other Korean foods.

Boy was I glad they were open! Inside was a simple 7 item menu hanging from above.

Although there were only a few things on the board, it was hard to choose… did I want “sausages,” or “balls?” Why not both!?

I ended up with a spicy pork sausage and a ‘lil osaka fried ball of delicious goodness. Yum. It’s a good thing I was hungry.

Out came a tasting of their Galbi Poutine just for me… umm… Wow. and Yum. (Thanks guys!) 8 hr. braised short ribs served on top of twice fried french fries with cheese, kim-chi pickled onions and avocado lime crema. Let’s just say I killed it. I killed it bad.

A fellow customer let me take a pic of his Korean Fried Chicken he had ordered. He licked his fingers clean… I’ll be getting this next time.

The distance to the shop is a mini trek from my West Hollywood neighborhood, but it’s definitely worth a stop over when I’m in the area. Also, they have a truck which makes the rounds all across LA. If you see them driving around, be sure to stop that sausage!

Tasty little fried balls — I shall see you again soon!