More than sausage and sauerkraut: Andrew Coppolino's take on German fare

The keg has been tapped, and the festhallen are ready to roll for the 50th anniversary of Oktoberfest in Waterloo Region.

The traditional venues like Concordia Club and the Schwaben Club serve hearty Oktoberfest fare, and you can experience some several restaurants participating in the official Oktoberfest "Oktoberlicious" food event.

However, many other restaurants serve German-style food during the Oktoberfest week, so you can get your fill of schnitzel and pig tails just about anywhere. Here's a sampling from selected restaurants.  

In Cambridge, upscale casual Blackshop! Restaurant and Wine Bar restaurant prepares continental cuisine, and for October they've created a special menu with such hearty dishes as sausage, potato and cabbage soup, Bavarian cheese and beer dip, and sauerbraten.

At the other end of the spectrum, Little Louie's Burger Joint and Soupery in Cambridge will feature a special burger on a pretzel bun with sauerkraut, bratwurst and cheese spaetzle. To that, owner Steve Allen will add a spread of sour cream, grainy mustard and diced pork hock (schweinshaxe).

Burgers may not be immediately thought of as lending themselves to German-style food, but then again neither is pizza— except at the new Graffiti Market  where Brian McCourt will be serving a smoked sausage pizza with pulled ham hock, fermented onions, spicy mustard, crispy sauerkraut, caraway aioli and house-made quark cheese, a fresh, creamy cheese traditional in German cooking.

Food truck lovers will be able to find some Oktoberfest- and Thanksgiving-inspired fare. Fo'Cheezy will be visiting Strom's Farm and Bakery in Guelph and dishing out a Thanksgiving grilled cheese of turkey, cranberry and sweet potato. Also at Strom's will be Schmuck Truck with schnitzel on a bun, a turkey burger and the Schmuck'n turducken burger. 

"That's turkey, duck and chicken topped with smoked Gouda cheese, lettuce, onion tangles and rosemary garlic mayo on a brioche bun," according to owner Brad Schmuck.

Known for wings and pre-Rangers' game parties, Moose Winooski's will have a Oktoberfest menu beginning October 4. That includes schnitzel and garlic mashed potatoes, sausage rolls in puff pastry, and Bavarian poutine with fries topped with Oktoberfest sausage, sauerkraut, caramelized onions and a grainy-mustard gravy.

In New Hamburg, Janet Duncan and Klaus Ristanovic, the couple who own and cook at Jake and Humphreys' Bistro say they always have to have red cabbage on the menu because their customers demand it. But this season, they are doing a bit of fusion.

"Klaus was thinking on a pork and shrimp burger with kimchee (we make a Madhur Jaffrey version) for a lunch twist on pork and sauerkraut," according to Duncan.

For take-away meals, Derek Hines of Dinner by Derek is offering what he calls the "Oktoberfest hits" — schnitzel, braised red cabbage and spaeztle.

"There will likely be white sausages too," Hines said.

Snacks are great when they are rich and hearty. Beertown Public House has created a sourdough pretzel and pork schnitzel sandwich with dill pickles, hot peppers and roasted garlic aioli—and of course potato salad. There's also a bratwurst sausage, sauerkraut and potato nachos with Cheddar, mozzarella, pickled peppers, caraway seeds, paprika, mustard and sour cream. I imagine either would go well with a stein of German style beer too.

Kitchener's The Bent Elbow is haven for beer aficionados. Starting the first week of October, the kitchen will tweak its regular menu and add sauerbraten it this poutine and serve currywurst sausages. Owner Harold Kroeker says that you'll find a limited one-night only schweinshaxe (roasted pork hock).

"We make our own Oktoberfest sausages, too, and will have seven German beers on tap," Kroeker says.

Proof Kitchen and Lounge in Waterloo is running tender, wonderfully marbled Quebec heritage-breed Nagano pork in schnitzel form with rotkohl (red cabbage) and grainy mustard. It's a rare type of pork in this area.

A few blocks from Proof is Red House Uptown. On the October menu is pork schnitzel, which owner Dan McCowan says is an annual feature. It's panko- and herb-breaded and served with spaeztle, beer-braised cabbage and a spiced apple and vanilla chutney.

"We're also going to be serving a pumpkin ale too," McCowan says.

At downtown Kitchener's The Rich Uncle Tavern, chef Ben Lillico says the restaurant will have daily dishes that reflect the German heritage of the city.

"We also offer schnitzel from our regular menu and will also see a couple German style beers come through the draft rotation," Lillico says.

Eric Neaves at Fork and Cork Grill jokes about a cholesterol medicine chaser after their Smoketoberfest platter of two home-made sausages, caramelized sauerkraut, mustard cheese sauce, pickles, pork rinds and pretzel bun with a schnitzel add-on. German fare is hearty, to say the least!

Yet amidst the meaty onslaught, there is a vegetarian and vegan choice: The Berliner that comes to you courtesy of Café Pyrus. The burger patty is Henry's tempeh (a local company), sauerkraut and sweet relish on a pretzel bun. The beverage pairing?

"A kombucha for when you for when you've rolled out the barrel a little too much the night before," says Pyrus owner Tyzun James.