Many years ago, I went with Tom to an Eat Club at The Deutsches Haus. It was especially meaningful to me as someone with German blood coursing through my veins. The original place was very cool. I imagined my ancestors passing through there at some point. And the food was surprisingly good.
It was upsetting to me to hear that the old house was to be torn down. That was over ten years ago, and what emerged from the event is a beautiful place on Bayou St. John. I had never been in all that time, though we have the folks from there on the Food Show each time Octoberfest rolls around.
Finally, with family in town, we all arranged to meet over the weekend at The Octoberfest. The food described in our interview two weeks ago sounded so appealing I had to try it. There were plenty of us, so I knew whatever we got would be consumed.
To those afraid of the crowds, let me say that it is not alarming at all. The line to get in moves very quickly. I expected one that would grow with each passing hour, but the line we were in for the 1pm opening was the worst I saw. After about 2pm there was no line at all.
There is a large tent with tables and chairs crammed inside, offering respite from the sun. Two lines for plates of food moved quickly as well. We got a schnitzel plate with German potato salad and sauerkraut, as well as a knackwurst.
Another plate had German meatloaf with Jaeger Sauce, red cabbage, and more German potato salad. A bratwurst accompanied this plate. We could have gotten mashed potatoes but the German potato salad looked so much more interesting. There was also a cucumber salad for $5 which looked just like mine.
Each of these plates came with a slice of either Pumpernickel or Caraway Rye Bread.
I absolutely loved the meatloaf, which didn’t seem distinctly German at all. The Jaeger Sauce was thick and brown with sliced mushrooms in it. Red cabbage always feels so trite and cliche to me that I usually avoid it. But it seemed appropriate to get it here and I’m so glad we did. It was the best version I have ever had of that. This German potato salad sounded intriguing in the radio interview. It was delicious! I hope to run across something like that somewhere again before a year passes. If not, I can’t wait to have some again at Octoberfest.
I was not as enamored of the Schnitzel plate. There was nothing actually wrong with it, except that it needed slicing, but the plates were so thin they cracked. I wound up pulling it apart with my hands. Otherwise, it was fine. More delicious German potato salad, and a sauerkraut that my sister raved about. I think our mom’s was better, but this was very good.
In the sausage department, the brat was really very good. These come from a Wisconsin company called Usinger's Meats, and Dorignac's carries the whole line. I was surprised to learn that I can indeed like bratwurst. The knackwurst I got was also good. It was exactly as the server explained. She described it as a large hot dog, which it was. I don’t like sausages with too wide a circumference, but it had a great flavor.
Even these two breads were very good. I loved this plate of German food, and look forward to having it again next year. But there was more I needed to try, based on the radio conversation I had. Sauerkraut balls? Indeed! Also, a Flammekueche sounded interesting. And I had to have a Bitburger beer, which I thought was the oldest beer in the world. Turns out it is the second oldest, arriving on the scene only 7 years after the original Oktoberfest.
The beer choices were daunting. There seemed to be 20 or more on tap, and a few other booths serving more. The only choice to be made was: a souvenir container or not? I didn’t do a plastic mug for $22, settling for a nice emblazoned plastic one for $15. The guys pouring told me the glass inside was very pricy and very heavy.
Arriving back at the table with the Flammekueche, pretzel, and beer cheese sauce, I was enthusiastically welcomed. All of it disappeared pretty fast, along with the beer that we divided into little tasting cups. You can taste beers before buying, which I think is good. The Bitburger was light and it worked for me. And all of us.
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I loved the pretzel, which was softer than usual and much easier to eat. The cheese and beer sauce was also nice, pretty thick with an undertone of sweetness.
Sometimes I feel that everything has an undertone of sweetness to me, and that makes me feel like something is awry with my tastebuds. But it was verified by all at the table that not only was there an undertone of sweetness to the cheese sauce, but the Flammekueche had a hint of it too.
This “German pizza” was made with frozen pizza crust (it was a festival after all) and the ground meat, onions, and medley of cheeses was tasty. This Alsatian savory pie is made with white cheeses and usually pork. Here it was ground meat and the requisite onion. We went through all of this with shots of the Bitburger beer.
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And then I remembered the last thing our radio chat made me have to try. The sauerkraut balls came from the same window as the Flammekueche. They came as a set of three with an intense coarse mustard sauce. Sauerkraut balls…what would that be like? Turns out they were tasty too, with a thick coating of Panko breadcrumbs and deep fried.
Since we were determined to sample everything, I went to the dessert stall and found cakes from bakeries. The usual suspects, Black Forest cake, etc. were whole, so maybe they were sliced for you? I didn’t stay to find out.
We left after this hearty lunch, but in other circumstances, I could see joining the many others on the back lawn of the beautiful Haus listening to the oom-pah music and admiring the surprising amount of real leather lederhosen sported about.
Family fun on a beautiful day.
