No Bratwurst In Munich?
 

I was talking to our travel agent yesterday about things to do and eat in Munich and she told me that real fresh bratwurst ( like from Johnsonville ) will be hard to find in a restaurant or street vendor, is that true? She said bratwurst is like a food for farmers not city dwellers and in southern germany it may even offend locals to ask for then. Is she right?

you will find all kinda of wurst in munich... biergartens would be your best bet..

>She said bratwurst is like a food for farmers not city dwellers and in southern germany it may even offend locals to ask for then. Is she right?

She has no idea and no idea about the fact that she has no idea.
Bratwurst is the normal "street food" in most German and Swiss cities. The receipes differ though very much, also from city to city. A Bratwurst in Munich will be something completely different from that in Cologne, and this again from the bratwurst in Zürich.
Ask her how often she was in Germany.
And: while in Munich, don't ask for a Weisswurst after 11 am :-)

Claro, she and most TAs are clueless.
M

I didn't think that sounded right but when she told me she sounded like, she knew what she was talking about. We are so looking forward to beer and brats in a real German biergarden. Thanks for the info.

No Brats in Munich -- Did she also tell you there was no beer in Munich? ((b))

I don't know what you mean by bratwurst "from Johnsonville" as I've never been there, but I have been all over Germany. Sausages in Germany come under all sorts of names, denoting their size, content, origin, etc, but there are two basic types: bratwurst is a fried sausage and bockwurst is poached. Bratwurst, of whatever sort, is available everywhere and is a staple of the German diet. I cannot imagine that is likely to change. If you're going to Germany (or any other country), be prepared to eat what the locals eat, but don't worry about what they eat in Johnsonville.

I suggest you stop asking your very ignorant travel agent any questions about Germany. Clearly she doesn't have a clue.
Next she'll be telling you that the Rhine is actually in Spain or that Germany is a vast desert area.

I want my wurst and I want my beer.

And don't you people from Johnsonville or whateverville dare trying to take that away from me!!! Period.

Jonhsonville is a very popular brand of bratwurst and other sausages where we live. They even have the world largest cooker on wheels that can cook something like 5,000 links at a time! It was just here at the Bikes Blues and BBQ event in Fayetteville,Ar. Sorry I should have made that clearer in my first post.

Whatever you do, when that supposedly ignorant TA gets you over and back to Munich for less than people whining here these days are paying try to forgive the mis-information about the pig guts.

I will not need to forgive her for anything sir everything pam has done so far for us has been great! I've never called anyone ignorant in my life! What do you mean by pig guts? are you saying bratwurst is made of guts.

In a way, your TA is right. If you expect to find "Johnsonville" brats with the same coarse grind and the same spice blend, you probably won't be able to.

The grinds and flavors vary from region to region and meat vendor to meat vendor. The closest grind will probably be the curried brats street vendors sell. The closest flavor to J-brats will probably look like a very pale, very plump hot dog.

The closest to a Johnsonville brat (outside of Sheboygan) i've come across was in the Germantown area of Cleveland.

I'm so glad I no longer have to haul coolers of brats across country for my friends. J-ville was up the road from my ol' homestead.

Johnsonville is really the only brats we have had except for when we were in California and my brother got some from a German deli in Anaheim but they tasted about the same, maybe they were Jonhsonville? lol. I am glad someone else here knew the brand name.

Johnsonville is sold in California but an old California-based company that makes the best bockwurst and bratwurst is Saags. www.saags.com I read they were sold to Hormel last week -- hope they don't change their recipes or products.

I'm sorry if calling this person ignorant offended you. But ignorant merely means she is unaware of the facts. It is not the same as "stupid" by any stretch of the imagination. If she truly told that asking for bratwurst in Munich would "offend them", then she is indeed ignorant. Sorry, there's simply no other way to put it.

Asking for Bratwurst in Munich is not offensive. Asking for Bratwurst "like from Johnsonville" would be offensive.

Hi MD,

Before you eat another Johnsonville brat, read the contents list.

((I))

Hey,

Parts is parts...

As thekyria said, bratwurst in Germany will taste differently depending upon what area you are in. They in no way resemble the flavor of a Johnsonville Brat; so, if that's what you are expecting you will either be pleasantly surprised or very disappointed. If someone doesn't like beer, a dry white wine is very nice with them, and don't forget the potato salad. ;)

All I was asking was will we be able to find fresh bratwurst in Munich NOT Johnsonville brand! I meant the same style. Where I live there are many styles of brats, some look like big hot dogs or small dense meat ones and Others are milky white pre-cooked things that we don't have a taste for! We like the one's that you can see the uncooked meat through the skin/case. Also she didn't say it WOULD offend the locals she said it MAY offend them! I haven't asked her yet to explain that to me but I am sure she didn't just dream it up to make our trip less enjoyable? I will ask her why she said it and get back to you. Thanks.

...just an aside here... when in Nurenberg, my DH (German fellow) insisted that we have Nurenberg Sausages with potato salad.
I thought they tasted just like "Parks Brown & Serve Sausages".
He didn't think I was funny...

anyway, if you want to try them and you don't have a German neighborhood close buy, try "germandeli.com"

Susie - I made a similar comment to my husband about those Nurnberger sausages. He was not amused - LOL. He loves them. I like them for about a sausage and a half, then I've had my fill.

And, Wiener wurst taste a lot like hot dogs to DH and me. I don't think the Austrians would appreciate that comment, either. ;)

In the USA you will find vendors selling hotdogs, well in Germany they are selling bratwurst.

That is correct. No bratwurst in downtown Munich; selling it violates a city ordinance. Also there is very little beer unless you have a purchase permit from the government.

Also you can find no Italian restaurants and the sale of gelato is prohibited by law.

If you believe this nonsense, then I have a bridge for sale.

Beer and sausage are deeply entrenched in the German culture, more deeply than just on a menu.

There is an imaginary dividing line between Southern Germany (much of it really means Bavaria) and the rest (some will say "the real") Germany. It is the Weisswurstgrenze (white sausage border) and nobody want to admit to just exactly where it lies on the map. It's just one of those funny things with which you can either amuse or rile up the locals. The name game.

Like the thin sausages (ideal for slim hot dogs) that, in Switzerland, are called Wienerli (little Viennese), in Vienna (I think) they are called Frankfurter, and in Frankfurt they are called Berliner. Or the other way around. Nobody wants to own up...

But yes, no shortage of sausages of all descriptions in Munich. The sausage is a big part of everyday language, like saying Das ist mir Wurscht (meaning I don't care, I don't give a proverbial). Or "wursteln" (to bumble, to goof, to do something very incompetently).

Just as the mind-numbing qualities of too much beer are well reflected in the German expression Bieridee (a beer idea, meaning an idea that is so stupid it won't fly).

So your TA came up with a Bieridee, and now that you know, es ist Dir wurscht...