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| - Der Braumeister is a Cleveland gem. Located in Cleveland's West Park neighborhood, this place is one part German restaurant/beer hall and one part deli and market. Did I mention they also have a killer patio (never mind the loud Lorain Avenue traffic; after a few German brews you won't even notice)?
After moving back home to Cleveland after a four-year absence I was looking forward to tapping (no pun intended) back into the bar/restaurant scene. What a way to start things off. This place sated my inner beer geek with a beer list that's heavy on the Deutschland brews - as it should be and a large rotating selection of taps. On the eve of our visit I sampled two selections from La Chouffe (La Chouffe Blonde and Houblon Chouffe), a lovely De Koninck Belgian amber and a few others I can't seem to remember right now. For some reason, it's all a bit fuzzy. The bottom line with Der Braumeister's beer selection is that it's undeniably German and it's good. If you can't pronounce it that's all the more reason to try it. Be not afraid, der bier ist gud.
Now for the food. We started our meal with the Landjager platter. This is essentially a German take on charcuterie. Give me some cured smoked meat, cheese, mustard and horseradish and I'm one happy guy.
Since I'm from good German stock (sometime way back when anyway) I've always had a soft spot for schnitzel and potato salad. But one thing I'd been craving for years has been chicken paprikash. The problem? It's pretty damn hard to find any restaurant that even knows what it is let alone how to make it right. Well slap my leiderhosen-laden ass and call me Hans, Der Braumeister nails it. They make one of the best chicken paprikash dishes I've ever tasted (sorry grandma) and the this includes the spaetzel. Tender, juicy, hearty and full of love, it didn't matter that it was nearly 90 degrees outside, I downed the entire thing.
My wife went with the Bavarian pretzel sandwich - warm Bavarian ham, slightly sweet and salty, Swiss cheese, pungent and nutty, a schmear of seedy German mustard, and fresh lettuce and tomato. The only downside of this dish was a logistical one. Whereas most would assume this was served on a pretzel bun, most would be wrong. The Der Braumeister version is served on an actual pretzel. This makes it a tad difficult to eat as things keep wanting to slip out of the big holes. A challenge, but one well worth undertaking.
As if all that weren't enough, we actually had room for dessert. We opted for the apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. Sure, they had some other things on the menu like tiramisu cheesecake and some kind of torte, but if you're doing the German thing you've gotta go strudel. The pastry was warm, flaky and cooked a gleaming golden brown and the apples inside were soft and sweet. A perfect ending to our meal, wunderbar!
I can't wait to get myself back to Der Braumeister to try some fried sauerkraut balls and a potato pancake reuben sandwich. With friendly service that respects your wont to take your time and German food that's as good as any you'll find outside of Dusseldorf, it's no wonder Der Braumeister was named one of the Top 20 Beer Bars in the US by Men's Health magazine. So the next time you're craving some kummelweck or you've got a hankerin' for some Hungarian goulash, head over to Der Braumeister..knee slapping and oompah optional.
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