Breakfast in Bavaria has beer, pretzel and sausage – 04/23/2023 – Food

It’s a Saturday morning, but it feels like Friday night at the Gaststätte Großmarkthalle bar and restaurant in southern Munich, Germany. Its wooden halls are full of people, waitresses in typical clothes carry trays full of drinks and the clientele increases slowly.

The place attracts a crowd looking for a classic Bavarian breakfast: the Weißwurstfrühstück — literally, “breakfast with white sausage.” The meal consists of the white sausage that gave it its name, accompanied by soft pretzels and sweet mustard — all washed down with wheat beer.

Many places around the world maintain morning traditions of their own.

In Lyon, France, people eat giblets with wine at nine o’clock in the morning. In Van, Turkey, the typical breakfast is nine courses. In Trang, Thailand, it is not uncommon to go to a restaurant in search of traditional dim sum before sunrise.

And in Bavaria, the southern German state known for its traditional costumes and Oktoberfest revelry, this culinary custom reflects the local joie de vivre.

“The Weißwurstfrühstück is more than just a meal; it’s an excuse for an informal get-together when it’s too late for coffee and too early for lunch,” says Frauke Rothschuh of the Munich Tourist Office. According to her, people tend to enjoy the atmosphere and, of course, the beer.

The typical breakfast can be found all over Munich, but the Gaststätte Großmarkthalle consistently ranks among the region’s top-rated places. Two brothers, Ludwig Wallner and Gabi Walter, have been running the restaurant since they took over their father’s business in 1999.

“Not much has changed in the 55 years [em que minha família está] in administration,” says Wallner.

Decor is simple and functional. Cast-iron light fixtures hang from the vaulted ceiling, and beer coasters replace the tablecloths. My laptop doesn’t seem to fit in with the surroundings.

Wallner is the only restaurateur in town still working as a butcher. He wakes up early every morning and makes the sausages by hand using a secret family recipe, just as he learned as a child. The ingredients come from the local slaughterhouse and the large wholesale market (Großmarkthalle) next door.

During the week, the restaurant welcomes hungry merchants and market customers. At the weekend, the large tables are occupied by families and friends or shared by smaller groups of strangers who greet each other affectionately by saying, in German, Servus! (“health!”).

All ages are welcome. You’ll find parents scraping salt off pretzels to give to their kids and regulars grabbing an extra beer without having to ask.

“Some of our busiest days are during Oktoberfest or Carnival,” explains Wallner, “or on match days for the Munich football teams.”

The ‘White Sausage Equator’

It is not known for sure what the origin of Weißwürste is — boiled white sausages, made with veal, bacon, onion, parsley and spices. But the most popular story says that they were invented by chance.

In 1857, the young Sepp Moser, a restaurant owner in Munich, ran out of mutton casings for his sausages and replaced them with pork casings. Afraid that they might break apart during frying, Moser decided to cook them in water.

The bet paid off. Today, boiled sausages are one of the best-known Bavarian dishes and one of the first things locals recommend to visitors. Breakfast is eaten throughout the German state, especially in Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern).

“It’s a dish I associate with my family in the countryside,” says Theresa Portenlänger, who runs the trendy Xaver’s bar in Munich with her brothers. “We always have a Weißwurstfrühstück together on Christmas Eve.”

I ask her about the idea of ​​having a beer in the morning and she replies, “I think a lot of people don’t actually consider it an alcoholic beverage. It’s more of a common food, like bread!”

This meal gets harder to find when you cross the so-called Weißwurstäquator line —the “white sausage equator”. The line does not have an exact definition; the Main and Danube rivers are indicated as possible borders.

But this division reflects cultural, as well as culinary, differences in each part of the country. You don’t find many people wearing Lederhosen — the typical Bavarian pants — in northern Germany, for example.

Traditionally, sausages are supposed to be eaten before the church bell strikes at noon. The tradition comes from a time before refrigeration and different preparation techniques.

Today, this concern is unnecessary, but many places and locals still obey it. Others, like Wallner and Portenlänger, now serve the sausages after that time, but it still sounds odd to order the dish later in the afternoon.

Served in a bowl of hot water, white sausages can be eaten in a variety of ways, but you first need to remove the skin.

The technique I was taught is to make a cut along the length of the sausage and peel it. Munich locals are practiced at simply sucking their guts out — in German, zuzeln.

But wherever you go, it’s best to watch and learn.

“Most people are very loyal to their neighborhood restaurant,” says Rothschuh. “When I have visitors from out of town, I usually take them to the Turmstüberl in the Karl Valentin Museum and combine the Weißwurstfrühstück with a sightseeing tour.”

In addition to the museum dedicated to the Munich-born comedian, other hot spots include the Ayinger am Platzl and Donisl restaurants near Marienplatz, or the Schneider Brauhaus, which has an extensive wheat beer collection.

The famous Hofbräuhaus is another option, but be careful: it’s known as a place to see first-timers eating sausage skins or, worse, asking for ketchup.

vegan sausages

Munich has a strong reputation in Germany for being a place steeped in tradition, but that too is changing as its younger population looks to the future.

Today, in the vicinity of the Gaststätte Großmarkthalle, you can find everything from tacos to vegan pizza. A few blocks away, for example, the cafe Om Nom Nom, recently opened in a former butcher shop, serves dishes with vegan cheese.

And while there’s no denying that Weißwurstfrühstück sends shivers down the spines of nutritionists and vegetarian advocates, even this ancient Bavarian tradition is evolving.

In 2022, Munich-based startup Greenforce (one of the fastest growing in Germany) launched vegan white sausages at Oktoberfest.

“This would have seemed very unlikely just five years ago,” says company founder and CEO Thomas Isermann, “but the positive reception to our products demonstrates how mindful nutrition also applies to events like Oktoberfest, as traditional as it may be.

The company will be the main vegan supplier for Oktoberfest in 2023, supplying several restaurants in Munich, such as Herrschaftszeiten in the city center and Max Emanuel Brauerei in the student district of Maxvorstadt.

Produced in Germany with pea protein, the vegan sausages have 76% less fat and 62% fewer calories. Both restaurants recommend three sausages as the standard serving.

“For me, the meatless option doesn’t change the meaning or the social importance of breakfast,” says Isermann. “The fact is, it allows more people to participate.”

I decided to see what Wallner thought of vegan sausages. He had been talking to me calmly up until then, but he quickly became agitated. “Now you’ve got me!” he laughed, banging his fist on the table.

Looking to give a balanced response, he said he knows it’s a change he can’t ignore. But he can’t bring the words “sausage” and “vegan” together in one sentence.

Would he try one? “Yes, of course! It’s good to know the competition.”

This text was originally published here.