$13 Worth of Sausages Is Not for the Weak

A new series about eating for 13 bills.

Some ideas are great when you have them and not so great when put into use.It’s a Thursday night, just after 10, and I’m hungry. From the corner of First and Washington, I see and smell Polish sausages being grilled on a cart. The sign on the cart says “Cream cheese bagels & sausages.”Bingo.“I’ll have three, please,” I say. I’m not a huge fan of cream cheese, but since the sign advertises it, I take one of three with it on. The nearly foot-long sausages are split in half and placed on the grill, along with the accompanying buns. When the first one comes off, I’m still worried about the cream cheese but cover it up with onions, ketchup, and relish. The next two get the onions (because I like onions), mayo, and barbecue sauce.I don’t see anything indicating a drink selection, and honestly, it doesn’t cross my mind. The last dollar goes into the tip jar, and I look for a place to eat.I go for the cream cheese dog first, to get it out of the way. It’s not bad. The cream cheese adds a unique texture, halfway between mayo and butter, and combines well with the other condiments. By the time I finish, it is 10:27. I went through three napkins eating just that one, so it’s a good thing I have a stack of them.The first of the BBQ dogs starts off fine, but one-third of the way through it, I remember that I don’t have anything to drink. I can’t go buy anything because that’s against the rules. I soon locate a drinking fountain and have a few (free) tepid sips of water. Back to the dog.You know how movie theaters try to sell you the giant tub of popcorn for 75 cents more than the medium and they use the “free refill” offer to reel you in? By the time you are ready for a refill, you’ve eaten so much popcorn that having more, even if it’s free, turns your stomach. I feel like this after finishing the second of my three Polish sausages. So I find the hungriest-looking homeless guy in Pioneer Square, who also happens to be the only one who didn’t ask me for change, and give it to him.Two hours later, the cream cheese taste rises back into my mouth, like a kernel of popcorn stuck in your teeth. It isn’t pleasant.