Prost!

Two summers ago, my son lived in Munich, Germany doing sales and marketing for a luxury hotel chain. He really enjoyed his time there and was able to travel a little around Europe on the weekends and for a few weeks after his job ended. You might think that I received a lot of photos from him of famous cathedrals and other landmarks. The reality was that he just sent us a lot of pictures of food!

He became quite enamored with the cuisine, and one of these days, I will do a post with those pictures and my attempts at re-creating some of the dishes for him. For now, let's focus on the most popular spot in Munich: Hofbrauhaus.

I know at least a few of you have been there, but for the rest of you, here is what it looks like from the outside:

Last weekend, to celebrate my son's college graduation and his recent job offer, I asked him where he'd like to go. He decided on Cleveland's own Hofbrauhaus, a place that none of us had ever visited. It is the 5th Hofbrauhaus in the U.S.

Inside the Cleveland location. You are seated at long tables on benches. It seemed cavernous to us, but my son said the real one is at least six times bigger.

Menu and my beer. I love Hefe Weizen, which is a sweeter style wheat beer. This is the small size (a half liter). Most people seem to opt for the full liter! You can see our server in costume in the background. My husband, son, and son-in-law all tried different beers (Dunkel, Original Lager, and Marzen).

There is a lot of music and dancing. It seemed to be mostly polkas, but this is Cleveland! Many people were dancing on the floor in front or standing on their benches and swinging and clapping along. My 6 month old grandson was entertained! Sundays feature a buffet, which some at my table decided upon. The large pretzels with various mustards were a favorite in our group, along with the apple strudel and chocolate cake.

I have to say that I did not think that I would enjoy the food, thinking it would be heavy and bland. I'm happy to say that I was very wrong and ended up loving it! My son and I ordered two different entrees with sides and then split it up. This is the plate of everything that I tried: Schnitzel Weiner Art (breaded pork cutlet), Bavarian potato salad, Schweinebraten (pork roast in a dark beer gravy), sauerkraut, and potato and bread dumpling (only thing I didn't care for).

A good time was had by all, but I sure will miss my son when he moves away in a few weeks.