Meal #47: Germany

The Hofbrauhaus (literally ‘Court Brewery’) in Muenchen was built by a stingy Duke who wanted to save money on his troops’ beer costs, and is probably the most famous beer hall in the world. Distinguishing features of the original Hofbrauhaus include beer served in one litre mass glasses, and drunken Australians, as demonstrated by Naomi, below.




Aiming for authenticity in its replication, Melbourne’s Hofbrauhaus also sports drunken Australians (including one inexplicably dressed in a chicken suit) and offers Hofbrau beer in mass, as well as in smaller, more civilised sizes. It also boasts traditional German entertainment and traditional German serving sizes (huge!). This week Caroline, Naomi, Sai, Flick, Dale and Rami waded their way through mountains of sauerkraut.

The Hofbrauhaus
Market Place (off Little Bourke St)
Chinatown, Melbourne

With decor consisting of long, crowded wooden benches, exposed dark wooden beams and warm lamplight, the crowd was certainly reminiscent of the mix of locals and tourists in a Muenchen brew hall. We crossed our fingers that the food would be similarly impressive.

Entrée

Taggensuppe- Soup of the day- Vegetable

Hauptspeisen- Mains

Goulash with bread dumplings and red cabbage
Braised shoulder of venison with polenta, vegetables and cranberry sauce
Rindsroulade- a beef dish with bacon, onion and mustard, served with vegetables, red cabbage and steamed potato
Krainerwurst- smoked pork and beef sausage, served with mashed potato and sauerkraut
Debrecinerwurst- spicy beef sausage, served with mashed potato and sauerkraut

Susspeisen- Dessert

Apfel strudel- Apple strudel
Schwarzwaelder kirschetorte- Black forest cake

Getranken- Drinks

Hofbrauhaus helles- pale Hofbrau beer
Hofbrauhaus dunkel- dark Hofbrau beer

Germany is well known for its sausage, so it was exciting to be offered a wide range of wurst. However, when the two sausage dishes arrived, they were difficult to tell apart, both visually and in taste. The allegedly spicy debreciner was very mild, causing Rami to fear he may not be eating beef sausage at all. While German sausage is often subtly flavoured, a trend continued in the deliciously smoky krainer, the taste is heightened with the addition of sharp Deutsche mustard.

While Dale was disappointed to be told that the restaurant had run out of their speciality (Muenchner Schweinshaxe, pork shank pickled then roasted), he was more than satisfied with the suggested replacement of rindsroulade, which he described as ‘amazing’. A roll of beef stuffed with mushroom, onion and bacon, this dish was slathered in a rich, meaty sauce and perfectly balanced by the side of sweet, red cabbage.

Paprika, the patron spice of Deutschland featured heavily in the rich goulash. With chunks of hearty, tender meat and the distinctive heat of paprika, this dish was eagerly devoured, leftover gravy sopped up by bread dumpling. Flick and Marty waxed lyrical about their meal, much to the despair of other diners who felt they had chosen less wisely.

Although they sounded tempting on the menu, the venison and the soup both turned out to be underwhelming dishes. The vegetable soup was unadorned by spices, herbs or anything much of interest. Caroline felt she could have made better soup herself; a bold call, as Caroline does not cook at all. Sai was saddened by the lack of gaminess in the venison, which turned out to have a weak flavour entirely lost in the sauce in which it was drowned. The rubbery polenta side did little to rescue this dish.

Those of us with a sweet tooth decided to sample traditional German desserts, eagerly anticipating rich, dark Black Forest Cake and light, warm Apple Strudel. Alas, the airy sponge arrived heavily layered with sweet cream, and the strudel was dense, cold and featured a distinctly gluggy filling.

The Hofbrauhaus seems to be somewhat of a novelty venue, and it comes at a standard novelty venue price. The duke may have saved a bit of cash at his own personal brewhouse, but mains at this Melbourne inn will set you back at least $20 each. While the bland flavours and lack of variety on the menu don’t appeal to more cosmopolitan tastes, the Hofbrauhaus is paramount in recreating the boisterous atmosphere of a German beer hall. It proudly offers the traditional Bavarian mass of Hofbrau, and regularly features an oompa band and yodelling; if you time your visit well, you may also have the opportunity to enjoy some authentic German slap dancing. Feel free to compare this montage with a similar display of Rami and Caroline’s dancing in our Austrian review a few weeks ago. Rumours that their dancefloor experience similarly ended in blows can not be confirmed...

Next Stop: Germany

German Cuisine varies greatly from region to region. The southern regions of Bavaria and Swabia share many dishes among them and with their neighbours to the south, Switzerland and Austria.

Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork being the most popular by a substantial amount. The average person in Germany will consume up to 67 pounds of meat in a year. Among poultry, chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also well enjoyed. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison are also widely available around the year. Lamb and goat are also available, but are not very popular.

Meat is usually pot-roasted; pan-fried dishes also exist, but these are usually imports from France. Throughout Germany, meat is very often eaten in sausage form. There is said to be more than 1500 different types of sausage in Germany. Certain families may also make their own sausage for personal consumption.

Trout is the most common freshwater fish on German menus, although pike, carp, and European perch are also frequently served. Seafood was traditionally restricted to the northern coastal areas — except for pickled herring.

Vegetables are often eaten in stews or vegetable soups, but can also be served as a side dish. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, and many types of cabbage are very common. Fried onions are a common addition to many meat dishes throughout the country. Potatoes, while a major part of the diet, are usually not counted among vegetables by Germans. Asparagus, especially white asparagus known as spargel, is particularly enjoyed in Germany as a side dish or as a main meal. Sometimes restaurants will even devote an entire menu to nothing but spargel, when it is the right season (late Spring). Spargel season is traditionally set to the month before St. John's Day.

Beer is very common throughout all parts of Germany, with many local and regional breweries producing a wide variety of beers. In most of the country Pils is predominant today, whereas people in the South (especially in Bavaria) seem to prefer Lager or wheat beer. A number of regions have a special kind of local beer, for example the dark Altbier around the lower Rhine, the Kölsch of the Cologne area, which is light but like Altbier uses a more traditional brewing process than Pils, and the very weak Berliner Weiße, often mixed with fruit syrups, in Berlin. Beer may also be mixed with other beverages; pils or lager and lemonade, known as Alsterwasser or Radler, is a popular example. Krefelder is an Altbier mixed with Cola (the pils+coke equivalent being Colabier), and Russ a wheat beer mixed with Cola.

For more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine