When Camarillo-based sausage makers David Mohr and wife Carina Mohr introduced a special blend of pork, cloves,ginger and cinnamon two winters ago, they thought it was a just-for-Christmasthing.
Their customers had other plans. And those plans called for grillingHoliday Wurst – along with beechwood-smoked Turkey Knacks andother offerings from the Mohrs' family-owned business, YOUBITE – during backyard cookouts forthe Fourth of Julyand other celebrations throughout the year.
"We're still learning all the American traditions,"David said with a laugh. So the festive sausage, which is said to beespecially good with pineapple and sauerkraut,is now available whenever a major holiday rolls around.
The German-born Mohrs handle day-to-day operationsfor YOUBITE,which Carina's parents,Heinz and Carmen Hanssen, launched as a wholesale business in2014.
It has since grown to include direct sales to customers at nearly a dozen farmers markets and, as of late last year, from aretail shop in a business parklocated just off Highway 101 between the Springville Driveand Central Avenue exits.
The shop is at the front of the same unitwhere the Mohrsproduceabout 3,000 sausages each week from hormone-free pork andturkey.Grass-fed lamb from Australia and New Zealandappears in lamb bratwurst and inmerguez, a spicysausage rooted in North African cuisine.
"People like the convenience of a lamb sausage," said Carina. "If you have a lamb chop, you have to think of a recipe. With a sausage, you just cook it over low to medium heat and use it as you would a pork sausage."
Other cross-cultural selections include Irish bratwurst,created in response to a wholesale client'srequestfor bangers. As a gluten-free facility,YOUBITE skips the traditional breadcrumbs while upping the amount of sage, David said.
The company regularly produces 16 kinds of raw and fully cooked sausages andleberkaese, a baked bologna loaf. The latter is made with finely ground turkey instead of the typicalmix ofbeef, pork and bacon.
In part, that's because turkey sausage is howCarina'sfamily rolls. She grew up first on her parent's poultry farm on the outskirts of Cologne, Germany, and then on the turkey farm they started in India, where her mother was born.
After about six years of raising turkeys and making sausages for restaurants in India, the Hanssens sold thebusiness and eventually made their way to California. They now own Cam Expert, where Heinz, an engineer, makes custom-designed front panels for electronic, sound and aircraft equipment in the suite next door toYOUBITE.
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Carina, a former TV producer, and David, whose family owns a catering company just outside ofCologne, had been together for more than seven years when her parents asked if they'd come to California to help run what is now YOUBITE. (David proposed during their going-away party in Germany; the couple returned for their wedding in 2015.)
YOUBITE's typographywas inspired byYouTube, said David, who oversees the business' social media accounts when he's not making sausage. His posts share bitsof German trivia ("If you count above 20, Germans say the last digit and then the first")and announcements about seasonal specials and farmers market appearances.
Best sellersinclude the fully cooked Rheinlaender, a smoked pork sausage studded with mustard seeds, flavored with nutmeg and allspice, and named for the region whereDavid and Carina spent their childhoods.
"Usually our German customers will get two packages: One to take home and one to open right away for a snack," Carina said.
"Selling at the farmers market was not part of theoriginal business plan. But we realized it was a great idea when people who had tasted the sausages kept asking where they could buy them in person," said David.
Thatledto the opening of a storefront, which in recent weeks has seen a new face behind the counter: the Mohrs' first child, Jonas Stephan, born on May 15.
They plan to spend hisfirst Fourth of July with American friends at a party where themenu promises to include tacos made with red- and- blue-corn tortillas.
"We asked, 'What is something really American to do?' We want to have these traditionalexperiences," David said, laughing again.
The YOUBITE booth can be found at farmers markets in Brentwood (Sundays),Calabasas (Saturdays), Camarillo (Saturdays), Oxnard's Channel Islands Harbor (Sundays), Santa Clarita (Sundays), Thousand Oaks (most Thursdays; closed July 4),Ventura (Wednesdays and Saturdays) and Westlake Village (Sundays).
YOUBITE's retail shop is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturdays. Exceptions include the Fourth of July and other federal holidays (745 W. Ventura Blvd., Unit J, 805-308-3682, http://www.you-bite.com).
YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY
Twenty years is a long time, especially in the restaurant biz. So Danny's Deli & Grillin Venturahas good reason to celebrate the milestone with not one but two days of events.
On June 30 and July 1, owners Wendy Collings and son Alex Everhart will oversee hourly giveaways and the officialunveiling of an85-foot mural by longtime Ventura artist MB Hanrahanon the Dunning Street side of the building.
Also new as the restaurant enters its third decade of service are additional vegetarian options and the introduction of vegan specials like a Beyond Meat burger and a vegan "meatball" sub with vegan cheese.
But have no fear: Danny still serves its$7.49 breakfast special, along with pastrami-on-rye sandwiches, chicken kreplach, beef fajitasand shrimp scampi dinners. Every table has its own pickle jar with tongs.
Hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays(3263 Telegraph Road, 805-289-9200,https://www.dannysdeli.com).
BACKING THE BADGE
When you order from theBacking the Badge menu from July 1 through Aug. 31 at Mastro's Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks, a portion of your bill will go to a cause near and dear to the community's heart: the Ventura County Sheriff's Foundation and the creation of a new training center to honor Sgt. Ron Helus, who was killed during the Borderline shooting in November.
A July 2 kick-off party for the menu will include appearances by members of the sheriff's department command staff and theK-9 unit. The BearCat Armored Tactical Vehicle will be on display. The event starts at 4 p.m.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
The prix fixe meal includes a choice of two appetizers, a choice of salad and a choice of entrée: petite filet, New York strip, bone-in-ribeye, herb-roasted chicken, Ora King salmon or double-cut pork chop.
Diners also choose one side dish from an array of options that include garlic mashed potatoes with or without lobster.
Dessert selections include cheesecake, chocolate sin cake or a personal-size version of Mastro's warm butter cake.
For reservations, $140 per person, call 805-418-1811 or click on https://www.mastrosrestaurants.com/Locations/CA/Thousand-Oaks.
YES, CHEF
Ventura County-basedchef Alex Montoya has worked both the sweet and savory sides ofmenusduring his recent postas executive chef under chef/owner Aaron Duncanat Fluid State Beer Garden in downtown Ventura, and as executive chef at The Cave inside Ventura Wine Co.just before that.
But his brand-newgig as executive pastry chef at Calamigos Ranch in Malibugives hima chance to focus on the sweet stuff.
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Montoya said his initial duties include creatingdesserts for events at the resort and foritson-site restaurant,The Malibu Café(327 Latigo Canyon Road, 818-540-2400,https://www.themalibucafe.com).
Those menus will eventually feature some of the same frozen-custard creations that have helped Montoya win awards at the Fork It Over contest organized by Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast and theYummie Top Chef competition presented by the Casa Pacifica Angels Wine, Food & Brew Festival.
"As I grow my team we can branch out and do the desserts for the other restaurants that are part of the group," Montoya said. "It's a large project with lots of creativity and upside for growth. Ultimately, it puts me on a better path to accomplish my goal of my own restaurant."
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The Fluid State crew wishes Montoya well as he embarks on this new chapter,said Duncan, who is reassuming the roleof chef. Fluid State's menu includes charcuterie boards, salads, pizza fries and pizzas made with dough from Duncan's own sourdough starter(692 E. Main St., 805-628-3107, http://www.fluidstatebeer.com).
OPEN, SHUT AND IN BETWEEN
In case you missed it, the Open and Shut column published in the Business section of the June 22 edition of The Star contained information about The Mark, a mixed-used project that will feature a food hall and 23 apartments in Old Town Camarillo.
MORE:Food-hall tenants hope to make a 'Mark' in Old Town Camarillo
Also featured were the openings of ALDI in Simi Valley and Simones Coffee & Tea in Ventura, the closings of Mission Oaks Cafe in Camarillo, Outback Steakhouse in Thousand Oaks and SpireWorks in Westlake Village, and updates on the new Ventura locations of Denny's and Finney's Crafthouse & Kitchen(the latter has since opened). To read it, click onhttps://bit.ly/2LdGvTI.
Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. To contact her, send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
