German cuisine. Not exactly my goto, although I really truly did enjoy Zum Dürnbräu in Munich for legit German food (so much so that I went back twice, during my one week visit!).
But every year, in October, my work group (Chrome) celebrates Oktoberfest, but, dubbed, Chrometoberfest. Normally we get some kind of German cuisine provided by our internal catering (always including soft pretzels and sausages!), plenty of beer, custom made steins with our logo on it, and perhaps a German band to put us in the mood. Some years there are lederhosen. It is always a fun party, but, true German cuisine it is not.
This year we were a smaller group, celebrating in just our San Francisco office, only about 75 of us. It was a great excuse to bring in authentic German cuisine though, and picking a caterer was easy. If you think German in San Francisco, there is one classic: Schroeder's.
Schroeder's has been around since 1893, located right downtown, your classic after-work beer hall. Or so I hear.
I still haven't been to the restaurant in person, but once I saw they did catering, this was any easy choice.
This year we were a smaller group, celebrating in just our San Francisco office, only about 75 of us. It was a great excuse to bring in authentic German cuisine though, and picking a caterer was easy. If you think German in San Francisco, there is one classic: Schroeder's.
Schroeder's has been around since 1893, located right downtown, your classic after-work beer hall. Or so I hear.
I still haven't been to the restaurant in person, but once I saw they did catering, this was any easy choice.
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| "Chrometoberfest" Feast. |
Our menu was fairly simple, just a mid-day snack not a full meal, featuring soft pretzels, sausages, veggies, and of course, since I was organizing, dessert.
Schroeder's was easy to work with, communicated promptly over e-mail, and delivered everything on time (literally, on the dot!), hot and fresh. They made putting this party together a breeze. If you need German catering, I certainly endorse.
I didn't order veggies originally, but at the suggestion of my co-planner to at least "have something for the healthy eaters", I added this on, not even knowing, or caring, what the dip would be. I didn't think I'd touch this.
But ... I am glad I tried it! While all the food was good, this was honestly the highlight for me.
Ok, the celery, radishes, carrots, and cauliflower were all fairly standard (but fresh and crisp), but the cucumbers were crazy flavorful, and the tomatoes juicy and truly fantastic. I couldn't get over how delicious the cucumbers and tomatoes were.
And the dill ranch? I LOVED it. Really herby, in all the right ways.
Such a surprise, but, the tomatoes, cucumbers, and ranch were really my favorite bites.
Crudite and dip is not on the regular restaurant menu, only part of the catering menu, $55 for a tray with ranch side, which was entirely reasonable for the quality vegetables. They do have a salad on the menu with this dressing.
Next, signature pretzels.
These are huge, cut in half here, which still meant for quite large pretzels. Very generously coated in salt and sesame seeds. I heard some guests complaining it was too salty, but I did like all the salt.
The pretzels were ... fine. Good crust, soft enough interior. I didn't love them though, not when warm, not when toasted, not when room temp. They were fine, but didn't blow me away.
For catering these are normally served only with their bourbon mustard, but I asked to have the bier cheese included, even though I knew it wouldn't stay warm. I was warned that they don't normally do this, but I still opted for it.
The mustard was ... intense. I didn't taste bourbon, but it was really quite spicy mustard. I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but intense it certainly was.
And the beer cheese was good, a strange consistency really, but decent flavor. Some were concerned by "how yellow" it was.
Overall, these were just fine. Not remarkable.
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| Crudite & Dill Ranch. $55 (Catering only). |
But ... I am glad I tried it! While all the food was good, this was honestly the highlight for me.
Ok, the celery, radishes, carrots, and cauliflower were all fairly standard (but fresh and crisp), but the cucumbers were crazy flavorful, and the tomatoes juicy and truly fantastic. I couldn't get over how delicious the cucumbers and tomatoes were.
And the dill ranch? I LOVED it. Really herby, in all the right ways.
Such a surprise, but, the tomatoes, cucumbers, and ranch were really my favorite bites.
Crudite and dip is not on the regular restaurant menu, only part of the catering menu, $55 for a tray with ranch side, which was entirely reasonable for the quality vegetables. They do have a salad on the menu with this dressing.
 | |
| Bavarian Pretzels. Bourbon mustard / Bier Cheese. $12 (for 2, +$3 for bier cheese), $70 (Catering Platter, +$10 Bier Cheese). |
These are huge, cut in half here, which still meant for quite large pretzels. Very generously coated in salt and sesame seeds. I heard some guests complaining it was too salty, but I did like all the salt.
The pretzels were ... fine. Good crust, soft enough interior. I didn't love them though, not when warm, not when toasted, not when room temp. They were fine, but didn't blow me away.
For catering these are normally served only with their bourbon mustard, but I asked to have the bier cheese included, even though I knew it wouldn't stay warm. I was warned that they don't normally do this, but I still opted for it.
The mustard was ... intense. I didn't taste bourbon, but it was really quite spicy mustard. I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but intense it certainly was.
And the beer cheese was good, a strange consistency really, but decent flavor. Some were concerned by "how yellow" it was.
Overall, these were just fine. Not remarkable.
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| Sausage Platter. $45 (one of each), $100 (Catering Platter). |
And then ... sausages. ALL the sausages: Bratwurst, Knackwurst, Frankfurter, Weisswurst, Nurnberger, Kasekrainer, Chicken Calvados, Spicy Beerwurst .
At the restaurant, you can order just one type of sausage, served with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, braised cabbage, mustard, and pickles. Or you can order a platter with all. Which is exactly what I did, the catering version. I thought it was supposed to also come with the pickles, kraut, and mustard, but alas, it did not. It also came with no labels.
I like sausages, but I'm not necessarily the most well versed, and didn't really know which was which. And yes, I tried them all. They were all quite different, many proteins used, entirely different spicing. Some long and skinny, others short and plump, and everything in-between. I'm glad I tried them all, and side by side, as it allowed me to really see the real variety sausages can have!
I'm going to take my best guesses at which was which.
Bratwurst
"Pork, black pepper, garlic".
Bottom right? Not memorable. Lots of chunks inside. Seasoning ok. Casing a bit too thick.
Knackwurst
"Pork, beef, paprika, smoked."
Plump one, slightly redish, 4th sausage in on the bottom. I really liked this, it had a mild flavor, and the texture was nice, no bits or chunks, just smooth. The large girth made it super juicy. It was like ... a grown up hot dog. My favorite.
Frankfurter
"Pork, oregano, garlic, smoked."
Pretty sure these are the long thin ones on top left. Fairly classic higher end franks. Mild flavor and homogenous texture inside. My second favorite, because, um, I really like hot dogs! Great snap to the casing.
Weisswurst
"Pork, chicken, cream, cream, cinnamon ginger."
Pale plump ones, middle bottom. These were like breakfast sausages. I liked the flavors, but it felt like the wrong time of day to be eating it. There were lots of bits and pieces in here too that I didn't quite love. Third favorite, but the timing was wrong.
Nurnberger
"Pork, beef, all spice, cream, smoked."
Top right. Thin, long, spiced. These had bits I wasn't a huge fan of, but not as many as the spicy beerwurst. Decent enough. Middle of the road for me.
Kasekrainer
"Pork, emmentaler cheese, garlic."
I'm not sure which these were, I didn't find any that were cheesy ...
Chicken Calvados
"Chicken, apples, brandy."
Third from right, bottom. No memory of this one, but I know I tried them all ...
Spicy Beerwurst
"Pork, beef, amber ale, peppers, honey, mustard."
I think these are the ones on the bottom left. The texture of these really didn't do it for me. Too many chunks and bits. Nicely grilled, good snap on the casing, but, my least favorite, no question. I don't like the bits. I didn't like the flavor.
"Rum caramel, poached grapes, whipped cream fraiche."
And finally, dessert!
Schroeder's catering does not normally offer platters of strudel, but ... you know me, I need dessert, and I knew it was something they serve at the restaurant. A couple quick e-mails later, and platters were offered as an add-on to our menu. Yes!
I can't say that I've ever loved apple strudel though. Apple filling, in general, never my first choice. Not in a pie, not in a turnover, not ever. I tried the strudel at a famous beer hall in Munich, Augustiner Keller, hoping it could show me how amazing strudel can me. I was still mostly only excited about the vanilla sauce and whipped cream that came with it, not the strudel itself.
This ... was about the same.
The caramel that coated the pan was pretty fabulous, and, yes, boozy! I gladly saved all the catering pans and scooped up all the extra caramel. I warmed some of the rum caramel up later and spooned it over vanilla ice cream and was quite a happy girl.
The poached grapes were interesting, also quite boozy, I think perhaps poached in red wine? Others were confused by the grapes, but I remembered from my short time in Munich that this was fairly standard. Anyway, flavorful, well done poached grapes, although the skins were a bit bitter. I liked the boozy liquid mixed with whipped cream though.
And then, the strudel. I did like the filo dough wrapper. It had a nice flavor to it (yes, really, just the plain simple pastry), was thin, flaky, and crisp, just the right number of layers to hold in the filling and not break apart too easily. One batch seemed underbaked, and a bit raw, but I actually loved that. I could taste the flour, and, uh, I liked it?
The filling though I wasn't enamored with, but I didn't expect to be. Very generously stuffed with chunks of apples, lots of golden raisins, and tons of spices. Soooo many spices. Honestly, it was too aggressively spiced for me.
It also really, really needed whipped cream, ice cream, or, the cream fraiche it is served with at the restaurant. I expected that to be included, but alas, it was not. Without the cream component, the rum caramel was far too sweet and the filling far too spiced. Not balanced.
So overall this was a mixed success. I did really enjoy the boozy caramel and grapes, warmed up and spooned over ice cream. I did really enjoy the pastry with whipped cream (which of course I had on hand). But the essential apple element ... not really for me.
Bratwurst
"Pork, black pepper, garlic".
Bottom right? Not memorable. Lots of chunks inside. Seasoning ok. Casing a bit too thick.
Knackwurst
"Pork, beef, paprika, smoked."
Plump one, slightly redish, 4th sausage in on the bottom. I really liked this, it had a mild flavor, and the texture was nice, no bits or chunks, just smooth. The large girth made it super juicy. It was like ... a grown up hot dog. My favorite.
Frankfurter
"Pork, oregano, garlic, smoked."
Pretty sure these are the long thin ones on top left. Fairly classic higher end franks. Mild flavor and homogenous texture inside. My second favorite, because, um, I really like hot dogs! Great snap to the casing.
Weisswurst
"Pork, chicken, cream, cream, cinnamon ginger."
Pale plump ones, middle bottom. These were like breakfast sausages. I liked the flavors, but it felt like the wrong time of day to be eating it. There were lots of bits and pieces in here too that I didn't quite love. Third favorite, but the timing was wrong.
Nurnberger
"Pork, beef, all spice, cream, smoked."
Top right. Thin, long, spiced. These had bits I wasn't a huge fan of, but not as many as the spicy beerwurst. Decent enough. Middle of the road for me.
Kasekrainer
"Pork, emmentaler cheese, garlic."
I'm not sure which these were, I didn't find any that were cheesy ...
Chicken Calvados
"Chicken, apples, brandy."
Third from right, bottom. No memory of this one, but I know I tried them all ...
Spicy Beerwurst
"Pork, beef, amber ale, peppers, honey, mustard."
I think these are the ones on the bottom left. The texture of these really didn't do it for me. Too many chunks and bits. Nicely grilled, good snap on the casing, but, my least favorite, no question. I don't like the bits. I didn't like the flavor.
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| Apfel Strudel . $9 (individual), $100 (catering platter) |
And finally, dessert!
Schroeder's catering does not normally offer platters of strudel, but ... you know me, I need dessert, and I knew it was something they serve at the restaurant. A couple quick e-mails later, and platters were offered as an add-on to our menu. Yes!
I can't say that I've ever loved apple strudel though. Apple filling, in general, never my first choice. Not in a pie, not in a turnover, not ever. I tried the strudel at a famous beer hall in Munich, Augustiner Keller, hoping it could show me how amazing strudel can me. I was still mostly only excited about the vanilla sauce and whipped cream that came with it, not the strudel itself.
This ... was about the same.
The caramel that coated the pan was pretty fabulous, and, yes, boozy! I gladly saved all the catering pans and scooped up all the extra caramel. I warmed some of the rum caramel up later and spooned it over vanilla ice cream and was quite a happy girl.
The poached grapes were interesting, also quite boozy, I think perhaps poached in red wine? Others were confused by the grapes, but I remembered from my short time in Munich that this was fairly standard. Anyway, flavorful, well done poached grapes, although the skins were a bit bitter. I liked the boozy liquid mixed with whipped cream though.
And then, the strudel. I did like the filo dough wrapper. It had a nice flavor to it (yes, really, just the plain simple pastry), was thin, flaky, and crisp, just the right number of layers to hold in the filling and not break apart too easily. One batch seemed underbaked, and a bit raw, but I actually loved that. I could taste the flour, and, uh, I liked it?
The filling though I wasn't enamored with, but I didn't expect to be. Very generously stuffed with chunks of apples, lots of golden raisins, and tons of spices. Soooo many spices. Honestly, it was too aggressively spiced for me.
It also really, really needed whipped cream, ice cream, or, the cream fraiche it is served with at the restaurant. I expected that to be included, but alas, it was not. Without the cream component, the rum caramel was far too sweet and the filling far too spiced. Not balanced.
So overall this was a mixed success. I did really enjoy the boozy caramel and grapes, warmed up and spooned over ice cream. I did really enjoy the pastry with whipped cream (which of course I had on hand). But the essential apple element ... not really for me.
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