Sausage’s rise in South L.A.
Mariah TaugerLos Angeles Times / ißllustration By Vivian Shih For The TimesTHURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2019
F
Shortly after the griddle is flipped
on at Mama’s Chicken in Hyde Park, the day’s parade of cus-
tomers starts to trickle in. Pickup orders are called out from a
worn formica counter in back: biscuit sandwiches, hot cakes,
wings, cheeseburgers, tacos, red beans and rice. ¶ But no
self-respecting regular strolls out of Mama’s with just break-
fast (or lunch) in hand. An esteemed institution in South Los
Angeles, the 55-year-old market’s claim to fame, and perpetu-
al bestseller, is its chicken sausage links, sold in 2- and 5-pound
boxes, each emblazoned with the bold claim: “The Best in the
World.” On holiday weekends, when the store might go
through a few hundred pounds of sausage a day, lines can
stretch into the parking lot. ¶ “The sausage was the thing
that put us on the map,” says Karen “Mama” Whitman, 64, the
market’s longtime owner and proprietor. ¶ Mama’s
Chicken might be the city’s best-known
BYGARRETTSNYDER>>>
[See usage,Sa F4]