Gourmet sausage sandwiches in Hillcrest

Duck Duck Pig at Salt and Cleaver in San Diego.

Not just a place for big fans of sodium/ Jerry Mathers (though they're welcome, too), Salt and Cleaver is offering locally sourced and house-made gourmet sausages that can be tailored to anyone’s taste, with the exception of those on the “protected” menu, which are only served the way exec chef Carlos SanMartano designed them, like this Duck. Duck. Pig: duck and bacon sausage, duck confit, Baconnaise & orange marmalade

The space is a modern rustic ménage à trois of wood (!), metal, and brick, with barnwood tables and exposed beams surrounding the U-shaped bar that's pouring a rotating lineup of 20 draft brews

Another chef's choice is the smoked bratwurst topped with a carefully crafted combo of malted sauerkraut (sorry, milk balls), roasted peppers, and smoked brown ale mustard

If you like to do things your way but not necessarily at Burger King, take your pick from nearly 20 sausages (Chicken Florentine, Lamb Merguez), then add fixings and housemade sauces like spicy horseradish mustard or their S&C sauce ("like ketchup, but better"). Order it with one of their out-of-the-bun sides like tzatziki-sided "cucumber fries", and don’t forget to check the chalk board for the chef’s off-menu specials

Every sausage comes plated on an angled metal tray that was custom-designed and handmade just for them, while chain-link fencing, industrial hooks hanging from the ceiling, and an illuminated wrought iron wall on the patio add to the badassery... On second thought, Leave It to Beaver fans may want to head elsewhere.

Salt and Cleaver in Hillcrest.
Smoke Bratwurst at Salt and Cleaver in San Diego.
Chicken Florentine sausage at Salt and Cleaver in San Diego.
Salt and Cleaver in Hillcrest.