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Culinary Munich

„Eating and Drinking keeps body and soul together” – in Munich people still adhere to this old Bavarian saying. For well over 600 years the Bavarian capital was the seat of the Wittelsbach dukes, elector princes and kings. Sumptuous meals were always served at court, but the middle class Munich folk did not neglect their creature comforts either.

What surprises travellers to Germany, and especially to Munich, is the extremely diverse culinary structure. Here special mention should be made of the local Munich cooking, which despite its venerable age has maintained its freshness.
Genuine Munich cooking includes traditional meat dishes as well as delicious desserts. Grilled knuckle of pork or veal, boiled beef with freshly grated horseradish, Munich Sauerbraten (marinated beef with a spicy flavour), as well as game such as haunch of venison or roast wild boar and, last but not least, of course, the popular roast pork with dumplings – all these are served in every good traditional restaurant in the Bavarian capital.
And talking about dumplings: the well-known Munich comedian and author, Karl Valentin, was a great lover of dumplings. He originated the famous dumpling sketch with Liesl Karlstadt, in which everything turns on the question on whether the word for bread dumplings should be Semmelknödel or Semmelnknödel - the question remains unanswered even today. One thing is certain: king of the dumplings is the bread dumpling, closely followed by the potato dumpling; both help you to get the gravy to your mouth.
Fresh fish are caught in Bavaria’s streams and lakes: carp, catfish, brook trout, pike and pike-perch. The Munich people’s favourite fish is the Steckerlfisch, a whitefish or mackerel, grilled on a spit. And it is best washed down with a freshly filled litre mug of beer.

Bavaria, as a country conscious of its tradition, has taken over a lot from the church in culinary matters. Innumerable meatless dishes have their origin in the cuisine of the monasteries during Lent. Thus the monks, for example, were excellent at preparing desserts – a lot of flour, a lot of milk, clarified butter and yeast. This is how the still very popular yeast dough creations originated, such as steam dumplings, baked to a crisp brown in the oven, or deep fried in clarified butter and called Kiacheln, or Kücherl.

For a snack to “bridge the gap” there is the Bavarian Brotzeit, which is just as much a part of Bavarian cooking as the salt on the radish. There are plenty of opportunities to indulge in it: under shady chestnut trees in the beer garden over a litre mug of beer or shandy. To go with

it, order for example a good helping of Obatzda. This is a soft cheese, often mellow Camembert mixed with butter, mashed and flavoured with onion, salt, pepper, paprika and caraway. Fresh Brezen, knotted rolls with coarse grains of salt on them, go well with it.
Highly rated for the morning Brotzeit, as a second breakfast, so to speak, is the white sausage, a Bavarian speciality made of veal, refined with a lot of fresh parsley, lemon peel and spices. It is served, hot and steaming, straight onto the table from the sausage cauldron. The white sausage and how to eat it are subject to iron laws. It “should not have heard the clock strike twelve”, is a rule from the times when electric cooling systems were unknown. And eating the white sausage in the proper way is an art all of its own: some people simply suck the contents out from one end. The more refined, and yet the Bavarian, way is to cut the sausage into to parts lengthways and then to peel the skin off both halves. Sweet mustard adds the final touch to the taste of this mild sausage. Try it with crisp Brezen and a fresh wheat beer.

As a gourmet stronghold Munich has a lot to offer the most discerning palate. Four Munich restaurants have been awarded one or two of the Michelin stars. The gourmet bible the Gault Millau has awarded points to a total of 14 restaurants in Munich. As ever one of Germany’s top restaurants is “Tantris” (two stars and 19 out of a possible 20 points; chef de cuisine: Hans Haas), opened in 1971. It is here that many Germans once made their first acquaintance with the nouvelle cuisine, the up-to-date style of cooking light and easily digestible meals. The coveted award makes heavy demands on the restaurants, which is why not every top-class chef necessarily wants to reach for the stars. Nevertheless, the distinguishing features of Munich's gastronomic landscape are high quality and tremendous drive; thus new and interesting restaurants are always opening up, for example, in the Maximilianshöfe in the vicinity of the Opera House and in the Fünf Höfe (Five Courtyards) in the Theatinerstrasse.

Munich also owes its culinary reputation to the famous delicatessens Dallmayr and Käfer. Dallmayr is the oldest shop in Munich for good taste, and a walk through its historical salesrooms just to see what is on offer will turn out to be an experience for the senses. There are small bars where you can enjoy the delicacies on sale. Munich’s gourmet paradise is also an absolute must, and here epicureans meet from all over the world. If you prefer to have your culinary delights served, take a seat in the nostalgic and cosy restaurant rooms.

Situated in the heart of the town is Munich’s brightest and most endearing gourmet oasis, the Viktualienmarkt. Established in 1807 as a market for the farmers in the surroundings of Munich, today this food market offers local and international specialities. The diverse array of fresh produce is larger than almost anywhere else in Europe. Thus this market is also an ideal base for the highly-decorated cooking elite who meet at the Viktualienmarkt almost every day, not only for their daily purchases, but also to track down some rarity or other.

The traditional enjoyment of eating and drinking has also stimulated the fine arts. Silversmiths and porcelain factories created precious equipment, choice vessels and luxury china, which have withstood the passage of time despite their delicate fragility. For banquet tables at court, adornments and resplendent decorative pieces were created which transform set table into nothing short of a landscape or a garden scene in miniature. The interesting collections of porcelain in the city and in Lustheim Palace provide a feast for the eyes on this aspect of culinary Munich.


Delicatessens

Dallmayr, Dienerstraße 14-15, Tel. 21350
Käfer, Prinzregentenstraße 73, Tel. 4168-0


The Starred Gourmet Restaurants
(The stars are based on the Guide Michelin)

** Tantris, Johann-Fichte-Straße. 7, Tel. 36 19 59-0
* Aquarello, Mühlbaurstr. 36, Tel. 47 04 84 8
* Königshof, Karlsplatz 25, Tel. 551360
* Schuhbeck’s in den Südtiroler Stuben, Platzl 6+8, Tel. 2166900

The points (maximum 20) have been awarded by the Gault Millau restaurant guide
(The stars are based on the Guide Michelin)

Tantris (19 Punkte), Johann-Fichte-Straße 7, Tel. 36 19 59-0
Königshof (18), Karlsplatz 25, Tel. 551360
Acquarello (17), Mühlbaurstraße 36, Tel. 47 04 84 8
Käfer-Schänke (17), Prinzregentenstraße 73, Tel. 416 82 47
Schuhbeck’s Südtiroler Stuben (17), Platzl 6+8, Tel. 2166900
Ederer (16), Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße 10, Tel. 24231310 / 24231311
Hippocampus (16), Mühlbaurstraße 5, Tel. 475855
Lenbach (16), Ottostraße 6, Tel. 549130-0
Alba Trattoria (15), Oberföhringer Straße 44, Tel. 985353
Al Pino (15), Franz-Hals-Straße 3, Tel. 799885
Bistro Terrine (15), Amalienstraße 89, Tel. 281780
Broeding (15), Schulstraße 9, Tel. 164238
Casale Ristorante (15), Ostpreußenstraße 42, Tel. 936268
Garden Restaurant (15), Promenadenplatz 2-6, Tel. 2120993