SAUSAGE KING

It first drew lines at Spokane’s Pig Out in the Park. Now, Sonnenberg’s New York-Style Italian Sausage has drawn the attention of one of the country’s foremost foodies – David Rosengarten.

Rosengarten, who is perhaps best known for his Food Network shows, writes a monthly newsletter on food and wines called The Rosengarten Report. In it, Rosengarten writes about the world’s finest gourmet foods from foie gras to Kobe beef and truffle oil. He also dishes on burgers, pork rinds and this month admitted his secret fondness for Doritos.

Under “The Products I’m Loving Right Now” in his September dispatch, Rosengarten gushes about Sonnenberg’s sausage, saying he was surprised by its appearance but loved the comforting texture.

“Then there’s the taste – a little salty, a little spicy, with a kind of sweet meatiness that would be hard to attain in a home-made sausage. I love it! … Just because it doesn’t taste like the island of Capri or even Staten Island – doesn’t mean it isn’t yummy.”

Rosengarten was turned onto Sonnenberg’s offering by Heidi Acuff, of Heidi’s Pancake Mix in Coeur d’Alene, according to the report. After Heidi’s pancake mixes were honored by Rosengarten as one of the 25 best products he’s ever recommended, she sent him the sausage saying it was one of her favorite products. Rosengarten has written about food, wine and travel for Gourmet, The New York Times, Food & Wine, The Wine Spectator, Bon Appetit and many other publications.

Clyde Sonnenberg said the response to Rosengarten’s mention has been “tremendous.”

“He’s got quite a readership,” Sonnenberg said, adding they’ve received phone calls from across the country. “You name a state and we’ve shipped product there already.”

Sonnenberg first made the sausage about 10 years ago after a customer brought in a recipe for a sausage he couldn’t find anywhere. Sonnenberg said he considered trying to recreate it, but it had a list of ingredients some 29 items long. So he scrapped it and started experimenting on his own.

The sausage he created has just five ingredients, including pork, powdered milk and spices. The sausage is pre-cooked and needs only to be browned and heated through. Sonnenberg said many people grill it with fried onions and peppers and Roma tomatoes. Others slice it and stir it into pasta sauces and other dishes. It’s probably grilled and slapped on a bun for a New York-Style Sausage sandwich a la Pig Out in the Park most often, he said. The sausage sells for $2.99 a pound.

It’s one of the store’s best sellers. “We sell well over a ton a week,” Sonnenberg said.

Sonnenberg’s Market and Deli opened 21 years ago, but location has housed a grocery ever since it first opened in 1891, making it Spokane’s oldest meat market.

Sonnenberg’s is located at the corner of Sprague and Helena. The phone number is 535-4932.