OP Wurst Division

Memorial Day is almost here! Bring on the summer sunshine and backyard (or balcony) bbqs of burgers and hot dogs and picnics please! In between bbqs, you can also get your fix on for fun American food at OP Wurst, which now has 3 locations. I’ve visited and enjoyed a couple times the haute hot dogs of OP Wurst at Pine Street Market, but given how that indoor gourmet food court is the home of several mini restaurants, there is always a lot of hustle and bustle and it doesn’t seem like a place to sit down for a long spell with sausages and drinks. Now I do have a place to do both though – OP Wurst Sausage Bar on Division has opened and with the larger kitchen, offers more options then the Pine Street location, has a big outdoor patio, plus offers a full bar. Here’s a look!

There is a lot more space and has a feel that is hip and clean. There is also a large patio area on one side, and some tables in the front, giving lots of options for seating. The interior feels very open as well, as they have since knocked down a wall that used to separate a small corridor, and added a little fireplace as well. It is good for groups and family friendly.

OP Wurst offers a dozen drafts pours (11 beers, 1 cider) including thoughtfully making sure several of the beers are German style beers, varying from my visit (the beers will rotate of course) from local breweries like an Oregon City Brewing Provisions Pilsner, Upright Brewing Saison Vert, Rosenstadt Kolsch, and Zoilhaus Dunkel to German beer like Ayiger Brauweisse. Another dozen or so beers available by the bottle or can round out the selection. If you are having a hard time choosing, consider ordering the Wurst and Beer Flight, three half sausages and three 5 ounce beer pairings that they have already put together for you. Or, ask for the Daily Wurst and Beer Pick, the daily dog on a bun deal with house choice beer pairing.

With a full bar, you can also get some incredible drinks on here besides beer. For instance, there is the stunning Portland Sour with Aria gin, Hammer & Tongs L’Afrique, lemon, lime, sugar, egg white, served up at OP Wurst Division. I’m also a big whiskey fan (and meat and whiskey go great), and you’ll find half a dozen whiskey cocktails especially crafted to go with the wurst here, including my favorite of the options the The Dirty Bird with Wild Turkey 101, stout brown sugar syrup, walnut bitters, smokey cherry, served neat

But now let’s talk about those gourmet hot dogs of OP Wurst on Division, which is the reason you are here right? They do have gluten free buns for an additional upcharge.

You have the Classic Frank with choice of pork or beef and Dijon, yellow mustard, ketchup, relish, onions, sauerkraut.  You can also get Italian Sausage, or Bratwurst. Meanwhile, they’ve upped it from just cheese sauce to make a cheese dog to here at OP Wurst a Mac and Cheese Dog with pork frankfurter, cauilflower cheese sauce, elbow macaroni.
 

Or, go for an upgraded version of the chili dog via their Frito Pie Dog with a pork frankfurter, chili, fritos, beer cheese sauce, sour cream.
 

I think what are the best ones are what at first, might sound like the weirdest ones. The Portland Dog with pork frankfurter, braised kale, pork belly, hazelnuts is a highlight of very Portland ingredients like pork belly, hazelnuts, and our farm to table scene with year round kale. The Pok Pok Dog with OP Pok Pok sausage, pickled green papaya salad, and red curry ketchup sounds spicy but is not too much as it is well balanced with acidity from the papaya salad.

It’s not just sausages in hot dog buns though at OP Wurst on Division. You can select your wurst a la carte or as part of an Alpine Platter along with sauerkraut, warm potato salad, and grain mustard. Options include choice of pecorino parsley, Italian, kasekrainer, kielbasa, bratwurst, pork frankfurter, beef frankfurter chicken and leek, French garlic, Pok Pok, or breakfast links.

You also have the option of some composed plates like here the Breakfast Sausage with sweet potato hash, fried quail egg; the Fresh Chorizo with roasted squash, piquillo peppers, aioli; or my favorite of the three the Parsley-Pecorino Sausage with white bean ragu, roasted fennel, parsley. Another hot dog alternative is a new The Wurst Burger with griddled beef patty, American cheese, red onion, shredded lettuce, house sauce, on a hot dog bun and served with a pickle. Or get the Olympia Provisions Charcuterie Board, with a selection of Olympia Provisions meats, pickled vegetables, baguette and mustard.

If you are vegetarian, besides the salad options at OP Wurst on Division you also have choices of the Seasonal Tartine, a puff pastry here filled with butternut squash, sweet potato, herbs, or order the Fried Pickles, rotating selection of seasonal pickled vegetables breaded and fried. A vegetarian platter gives you a mixed green salad, warm potato salad, pickled egg, handmade pretzel, cheese sauce, and mustard. Whether you are vegetarian or not don’t miss their homemade pretzel with warm beer cheese sauce and mustard.

Looking forward to June and July, look for some awesome offerings: they will be offering Free Classic Dog for dads on Father’s Day (June 18) at all three OP Wurst locations.

Then, in July, for National Hot Dog Month, they will have special edition haute dogs that are Chef Hot Dog Collaborations from local chefs like Carlo Lamagna from Clyde Common, Maya Lovelace from Mae, Gregory Gourdet from Departure, and Troy MacLarty from Bollywood Theater with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Oregon Humane Society!

• July 6-12 Carlo Lamagna, Clyde Common – Adobo Dog
• July 13th 19th Maya Lovelace, Mae – The Country Slammer
• July 20th – 26th Gregory Gourdet, Departure Restaurant – Frankfurter Tonkatsu
• July 27th – August 2nd Troy MacLarty, Bollywood Theater – Shell Bean Curry Dog

OP Wurst offers a happy hour that includes the Daily Wurst and Beer Pick, Classic Frank, Bratwurst, Italian Sausage, Weisswurst, Pickle Plate, Fries, House Salad, and daily draft, cocktail and wine pick everyday from 3-6PM. Now that I’ve shared most of the menu with you, what catches your eye of the options that you would be interested in trying?

Disclosure: I attended a media preview of OP Wurst Division, but I have been a customer of OP Wurst on Pine Street Market before and have come back here on my own and am a fan of all the meats of Olympia Provisions and have been for many years. I will always provide my honest opinion and assessment of all products and experiences I may experience. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are entirely my own.