Though now popular among all age groups, sausages were originally discovered by schoolchildren who sneakily stored them in pencil cases for emergency snacks during flame-throwing class. Snatch smoky goodness with today’s Groupon: for $8, you get $16 worth of fine sausages and more at Werner’s Specialty Foods in downtown Mission.

Utilizing the best cuts of meats and the finest spices, Werner's hand-twists preservative-free sausages in natural casings that pop when bitten and giggle when tickled. The bockwurst floods taste receptors with rich veal and chives ($6.69 per pound), and the smoked cheddar-bier brat induces salivation with coarse ground pork, beer buds, and cheddar ($4.79 per pound). Passed down through generations in a baton-shaped cookbook, the recipe for swedish potato sausage blends one third pork, one third beef, and one third potato to please spud devotees ($4.99 per pound).

In addition to sausages, Werner's tempts teeth with house-smoked pork chops ($5.99 per pound), hand-rubbed and hickory-smoked bacon ($4.99 per pound), tasty deli sandwiches, and an array of imported accouterments from Germany. Made fresh to order and possessing the two slices of bread needed to keep innards from floating into space, the reuben delights diners with house corned beef, sauerkraut, and signature spicy mustard ($4.19). Werner’s signature schnitzel sandwich similarly sates with a butterfly pork chop that is breaded and fried after a thorough tenderization ($4.59) through a good-cop bad-cop routine.

Reviews

Fourteen Yelpers give Werner’s Specialty Foods a four-star average rating:

• This place is the real deal. Friendly, genuine staff. – Brandon M., Yelp, 2/4/11
• Werner's is a tremendous jewel in a city crowned with the great history of meat! – Clark S., Yelp, 5/1/10