Barbecue season is upon us, so we went on a quest for L.A.’s best house-made sausages for summer grilling. Herewith our favorites, in rough geographic order, from east to west:

Roma Italian Deli, 918 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, 626.797.7748. Owner Rosario has an opinion on everything, and in his opinion, his is the greatest Italian sausage for miles around, and we are not about to argue with him. Roma makes the usual sweet and spicy varieties, and both are perfectly seasoned and cook up juicy on the grill at a lower heat (they can dry out if overcooked).

Schreiner’s Fine Sausages, 3417 Ocean View Blvd., Montrose, 818.244.4735, schreinersfinesausages.com. You haven’t lived until you’ve delved into the bounty behind the glass cases at Schreiner’s, where women in silly Bavarian get-ups measure out links, bulk sausage, smoked and cured meats (including Black Forest-style ham) and fresh butcher meats. Our favorites from the fresh case are the pale, fat weisswurst (mildly seasoned veal sausages), which get fatter and split open when grilled; the absolutely delicious fresh bratwurst; and the dark, smoky Hungarian sausage, which is cooked and cured and needs only a warm-up on the grill. From the freezer case, try the excellent chicken brats. Extras include fresh coleslaw and Swiss chocolates — so all your basic food-group needs can be met.

Mario’s Italian Deli & Market, 740 E. Broadway, Glendale, 818.242.4114, mariosdeli.com. Thanks to our pal Jennie Cook for turning us on to this great Italian market, where crowds pack in at lunchtime to order the generous and fresh sub sandwiches. Mario’s makes its own Italian sausages (sweet and hot), and they’re both good and inexpensive. It also makes an excellent and bargain-priced fresh marinara sauce, sold in pint or quart size; the pesto isn’t nearly as impressive.

Wurstkuche, 800 E. 3rd St., Downtown, 213.687.4444, wurstkuchrestaurant.com. This is really a sausage restaurant and beer hall, not a shop, but they’ll happily sell you any of their many varieties, from the classic (brats, kielbasa) to the adventurous (sausages made with rattlesnake or alligator) to the vegetarian (not very good). They’re expensive as hell compared to buying from a butcher, but the selection of exotic varieties can’t be beat, and it’s fun for downtown workers to check out before heading home.

The Huntington Meats & Sausage. Los Angeles Farmers Market, 6333 W. 3rd St., Fairfax District, 323.938.5383,  huntingtonmeats.com. This is the global one-stop sausage stop in L.A. You’ll find English bangers, German brats, spicy Italian, Spanish chorizo, smoked Polish, Hungarian and Cajun-style sausages, and some great brunch-worthy California hybrids like chicken apple with a hint of cinnamon. You can also special-order such sausages as lamb and chicken-mango, but with so many lined up in neat rows in the 1950s-era butcher case it’s hardly necessary — unless it’s 4th of July weekend. Prices are great, which means sausages go fast, particularly around this red-white-and-blue time of year, so don’t expect to saunter in on Friday afternoon and have your pick of the bunch.

European Deluxe Sausage Kitchen, 9109 W. Olympic Blvd., Beverly Hills, 310.276.1331. Owner Gary Troub may have his meisterbrief (a rigorous seven-year certificate program required of butchers in Germany), but it’s the boerewors (South African–style beef farmers’ sausages seasoned with cider vinegar, coriander and cloves) that draws a loyal following from South African ex-pats. He also makes a host of great German-style brats and summer sausages; the best in our book is his creamy veal bockwurst. Gary’s wife, Andrea, loves to talk pickles and has the best selection this side of the Rhine in the tiny retail corner up front. If you ask her which pickles she prefers, she’ll likely dodge the question and hit you back with a barrage of questions to figure out exactly the right pickle for you.

Vicente Foods, 12027 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, 310.472.4227, vicentefoods.com. Even if you can’t afford the Kobe beef, prime steaks and organic poultry at the famously top-quality butcher counter at Vicente, you can make out with some equally fresh ground sausage at reasonable prices (all that leftover high-end poultry and meat has to go somewhere). The chicken with fresh cilantro sausages are chubby, bright green guys that look way too healthy to taste good, but they’re fantastic. The chicken-garlic version is so juicy it requires multiple napkins when slicing into it; the turkey sausage, however, was Thanksgiving dry and disappointingly flavorless. Unfortunately, Vicente is no longer making the veal sausages that longtime customers raved so much about. The butcher who broke the news sounded just as disappointed as we were, but added that he hoped veal prices would drop so they could offer them again soon.

Bob’s Market, 1650 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica, 310.452.2493, bobsmkt.com. This small mom-and-pop grocery has weathered the storm of chain supermarkets and survived. Toss friendly and knowledgeable longtime butcher Richard Schwartzberg into the mix, and this place is about as apple pie as you can get for sausage. You’ll find about a dozen well-priced varieties, including the usual suspects – Italian, andouille, several breakfast varieties – but also some unusual flavors like pork and pecorino. And if your Kitchen Aid sausage attachment, like ours, has never left its box, you can hand Richard that 4th of July secret family sausage recipe. He’ll grind it up and stuff it into casings for you as long as you promise to buy at least five pounds. For another $10, he’ll also have it delivered to your door.

— Colleen Dunn Bates & Jenn Garbee