The curried sausage: Berlin’s version of the hot dog. It is a cheap, incredibly fat sausage doused in thick tomato sauce and sprinkled with curry powder. Germans prefer to eat it with French fries and a beer. All in all, clearly the fast food par excellence of the German capital. It’s available just about anywhere on the streets of Berlin

The dish, which has its origin in the lean years after World War II, is so popular that a sausage salesman who has been plying his trade for decades from a shed under a metro bridge dominated the local news for weeks. So what happened? The Berlin city council had decided to renovate the bridge and the legendary sausage joint Konnopke was told to move to a spot several dozen meters away. An unheard of measure as the snack bar draws customers from all over Berlin. The city council eventually gave in and Konnopke has been granted permission to return to his old spot after the renovation.

The curried sausage also has a downside, which is why the government agency for food safety says people should restrain themselves. To help consumers learn about the health risks associated with the curried sausage, officials have created a maze of all the plants used in the preparation of the sausage, the sauce and the French fries. Inside the maze, which is shaped like a smiling sausage lying on a bed of French fries, visitors can see what ingredients are used and how the dish is made. The maze will remain open until early October.

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