Go the schnitty at Essen Restaurant and Beer Café

Some mornings and nights are getting cold enough for me to declare this Sydney's coldest winter in ages so doing as the Europeans do in winter makes perfect sense to me. Hence, this winter you'll find me next to an open fire, in a long puffy jacket or downing glühwein at Essen Restaurant and Beer Café in Broadway.

Essen, a traditional northern European restaurant, was completely packed on the cool Friday night I visited, with couples and large groups all getting into the European spirit and many a "Prost" toast with German beers in hand.

Glühwein - mulled wine from Essen Restaurant and Beer Café, Broadway, Ultimo

Essen has glühwein on the menu as a winter special and as the price ($6) might indicate, not "mit Schuss" (with a shot). The order by the glass completely surprised me with its adorable presentation in a matching cup and saucer.

Sugar is a necessary addition to the otherwise sour drink, as are particularly cold weather conditions ideally. Not even halfway through the citrus and spice infused red wine, I was already warming up considerably.

'Diesel' (left) and Radeberger Pilsner (right)

My drinking partners opted for 500ml beers: the easy drinking Radeberger Pilsner and a Diesel - a variation on the beer and lemonade mix of Radler with cola in place of lemonade.

The Diesel isn't actually on the menu at Essen but it was no trouble having it arranged. It tastes like a not-so-sweet cola with a beer-bitter finish and might take several more litres of it before I'm convinced of its merits. 

Knobli Brot - Swiss style garlic bread with paprika and gruyere cheese

We started at the entrée menu, which included beer's best friend: the traditional German pretzel. However, contender for favourite dish name of the year goes to the knobli brot on the entrées menu: a kind of garlic bread spread with smoky paprika and topped with a few shreds of melted gruyere.

The bread had a soft texture rather than a crispy one, and the combination of smoky spice, garlic and cheesy flavours is one I'll steal for the home kitchen.

Deep fried camembert with cranberry compote

Cheese in a melting or melted state is one of my weaknesses so the deep fried camembert cheese was a must.

Golden crumbed, crispy and uniformly shaped, the gooey innards and shape-holding rind of the camembert made for a rich, albeit happy, start to dinner, while the sweet touch of the cranberry was a perfect match.

Edelweiss beer

It would appear that Essen has a rotating schedule of beers on its menu as the first one that piqued my interest after the warming properties of the mulled wine (some sort of lager infused with peppercorns) wasn't available. The waitress instead pointed me to Edelweiss; an Austrian beer with flavour tones of alpine herbs.

Quite unlike any other beer I've had, the Edelweiss certainly had herbaceous notes that rendered the beer mildly sweet in floral rather than fruity notes. It was also probably not the best food-matching beer, compared to a clean, refreshing pilsner.

Schweinshaxen - slow roasted pork knuckle with gravy, bread dumpling and sauerkraut

If pork knuckle is on the menu, someone usually orders it. That's been my experience of the very Bavarian and often large dish, common in the touristy beer halls of Munich and German restaurants outside of Germany.

This version of the hefty pork knuckle lacked skin and crackling and probably as a result, the large amount of meat was on the dry side. Luckily there was gravy served alongside to save it as well as a couple of decent deep fried bread dumplings and sauerkraut.

Ente - oven roasted duck with red wine poached pear and roesti potato

The huge portion sizes of the food hit home when I realised that in my rather cute cast iron pan there was indeed half a roasted duck. The artfully arranged breast and maryland portions, with a whole, crimson poached pear and roesti potato, were hiding the fact this was the largest serving of poultry I've ever eaten.

The duck was well cooked: moist with crispy skin in places; however, just a tad under in overall flavour which made the sweetness of the soft poached pear a very necessary component in every mouthful.

Meanwhile, the roesti potato was all sorts of carbohydrate and fatty awesomeness: the outside browned and crispy all over while the inside starred fall-about shreds of properly seasoned, fluffy potato.

Jaeger schnitzel - pork schnitzel with a creamy mushroom sauce

Of the mains, the humble schnitzel ended up being the winner. There are a lot of schnitzel varieties on the menu at Essen - indeed, a whole separate menu page - with the Jaeger Schnitzel available in chicken or pork.

The impressive size of the schnitzel - two pieces, actually - was matched with its admirable golden coat. The Jaeger arrived smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce alongside roesti potato with cabbage salad as a side dish.

Surprisingly, this iconic German dish makes for quite a balanced meal with the tender pork (protein), scrumptious roesti (carb and vegetable) and cabbage on the side (vegetable). And a few more carbs on the side in beer, of course.

Apfel und birne strudel - apple and pear strudel with vanilla sauce and ice cream

Regardless of how completely stuffed one might have been after a protein-heavy main meal, is a German meal complete without strudel? My answer leans towards "no", and the apple and pear strudel we ordered to share was just reward.

Smelling heavenly of cinnamon and spices, the shatter of the thin, crunchy layers of pastry confirmed that there was indeed space in my stomach for dessert on this occasion. The soft, just sweet-enough filling was comforting and improved with a touch of the very good vanilla bean ice cream though I left the cool vanilla sauce.

As we concluded the meal, we were witnesses to the 'Schnitzilla' challenge that Essen has, Man vs Food style on the table over. Except I'm not sure this challenge is achievable. 'Schnitzilla' consists of schnitzel, roesti potato and cabbage salad to a total of 3.5 kilograms. The platter with golden schnitzel piled high looked like it could serve at least six hungry people.

No-one has completed the challenge to date with the closest competitor leaving with about 1 kilo of take-home leftovers. Good luck to those deranged and hungry enough to attempt the 'Schnitzilla'. Find more details of the challenge on Essen's Facebook page.

Food, booze and shoes and a guest dined courtsey of Essen Restaurant and Beer Café, with thanks to Wasamedia (some items were paid for separately).

Pure feasting at Bavarian Bier Café

When thinking Bavaria, beer certainly comes to mind, perhaps a stein or three with a pork knuckle to nibble on the side. It certainly takes me back to my visit to Munich a few years back, and while it was insanely fun at the time, I couldn’t imagine doing that more than once a year.

The stein chandelier at Bavarian Bier Café, O’Connell Street, Sydney

With Oktoberfest well and truly over, thanks to Zing I’m invited to the Bavarian Bier Café on O’Connell Street to experience a different side of Bavaria.

With seven bier cafés across Sydney and a brand new one just opened in Brisbane, it’s pretty easy to experience the essence of Bavaria in our very own backyards. And it proves to be more than just beer guzzling and pork knuckles – though that’s available too, if you so choose.

Beer and pork knuckle - just like in Munich

The evening started with a bunch of food bloggers, the guys from Zing, and Roberta Camargo and ‘Bier Professor’ Dominic Dighton from Bavarian Hospitality Group. Dom knows the history and theory of the liquid gold, but will also recommend a beer to your tastes, like a sommelier.

Stiegl Goldbrau 300ml

I started on the crisp Stiegl Goldbrau, an old favourite of mine, as Dom tells me it’s a lighter lager style that’s ideal pre meal, like champagne. He goes on to talk about the Pure Bier philosophy of the Bavarian Bier Cafés and indeed Bavaria back in the day. As per the strict Bavarian Purity Laws, or Reinheitsgebot, of 1516, the biers comprise just four natural ingredients – malt, barley, yeast and water.

This is impressive given some Australian mainstream beers contain up to 40 ingredients. I’m sure dad’s home brew doesn’t have 40 ingredients, but I’m sure there’s more than four. There’s no addition of sugar in Bavarian Bier Café’s range of Pure Biers, which is what converts to alcohol and subsequent throbbing-head hangovers.

The Pure Bier menu

The fact that there are only four natural ingredients means the Pure Biers take a longer time to brew: full fermentation versus sugar aided, self carbonating instead of carbon dioxide injections, and of course, the commute from Germany or Austria.

All made without the addition of preservatives, the Pure Biers have a shelf life ranging 6–12 months, depending on the bier. All that work for our drinking pleasure.

Freshly baked Bavarian pretzel with butter

As far as beer snacks go, the daily in-house baked Bavarian pretzel ticks all the boxes: salty, carbs for alcohol absorption and downright yum with butter spread on its warmed inners.

Roberta tells us that each Bavarian Bier Café has a team of chefs that cooks the same menu to a staggering consistency. Imagine, chefs in eight venues all making their pretzels daily, with flour imported from Germany no less.

It’s a part of their Pure Food push, highlighting that Bavarian Bier Cafés are not just beer barns – there’s pretty good eating too, using organic and sustainable produce where possible despite the difficulties in sourcing consistent produce for their growing number of restaurants.

Tomato and caramelised onion tart with goat’s cheese and rocket

We’ve decided to share entrées at our end of the table, with four between five of us suggesting the evening was going to be a gluttonous one. The entrées were the real eye-openers in terms of breaking the beer and pork knuckle stereotype.

Shall we start with a vegetarian option, perhaps? Pork knuckle free, the tomato, caramelised onion and goat’s cheese tart, topped off with a frizz of balsamic dressed rocket leaves, was a tame start with a short, buttery pastry case and lots of pesto. It’s a great combination of ingredients that should delight both vegetarian and meat-eater.

Pissaladiere with Crystal Bay prawns and garden salad

Rather French, but hey – still European, is the pissaladiere with Crystal Bay prawns. A pizza of sorts, the toppings sit on a hard, almost cracker-like base smeared with a creamy white sauce. Whole, tail-on prawns are nestled into the creamy bottom, beneath mixed leaves and Spanish onion.

I’m not sure how authentic an interpretation it is of pissaladiere, but it’s a take on pizza and a fresh alternative to traditional Bavarian fare, especially the beautiful prawns.

Bavarian antipasto platter - (from left, anti clockwise) salami, prosciutto and pork belly

I’m delighted that we have ordered the antipasto platter, a large one at that, featuring salami, prosciutto, pork belly, smoked ham, some yellow camembert cheese sauce, kipfler potato salad and pickles with European bread and butter.

Bavarian antipasto platter - (from left, anti clockwise) pork belly, smoked ham and salami

Again, not sure about the Bavarian-ness of the delicious thick-cut salami or salty, thin slices of prosciutto; but the ham had a great, particularly smokey flavour and was lovely paired. The pork belly was a little scary in its fat to meat ratio and while tender, it was a little bland.

I skipped the basket of European bread (looked like slices of rye) since I’d already scoffed a pretzel, but couldn’t go past the potato salad with its sweetly spiced dressing, or the sour and crunchy pickles.

Mediterranean flammenbrot

My favourite of the entrées had to be the flammenbrot – a Bavarian version of pizza and while I’m rather against seafood on pizza generally, I had no objection to the Crystal Bay prawns on this ‘pizza’. The base was similarly thin like the pissaladiere, but of a softer, less crunchy texture that I preferred.

The flammenbrot had a herbed soft cheese bottom and was topped with prawns, olives, caramelised onions, button mushrooms and semi dried tomatoes. It was so much like pizza, yet not, probably due to the absence of a salty, melt-y cheese and tomato sauced base. In any case, I think I could have had the whole dish and called it a night.

Hofbrau Dunkel

But more food in the form of mains beckoned. I had trouble deciding what to have from the house specials and schnitzels. I’d previously tried the tasting platter and really enjoyed it, but I wanted to try something different.

We'd also moved on to a different beer, the Hofbrau Dunkel, a dark lager that tastes unexpectedly light with some fruitiness marrying with a deep woodiness. I quite liked it but probably couldn't have much more than my 300ml stein.

Slow roasted pork knuckle served on Sebago mash and sauerkraut
with Lowenbrau Bier jus

I would have ordered the pork knuckle if I thought had the slightest chance in getting close to finishing it, or even half of it. It was a monster, about the size of a toddler’s head – for comparison. It had the most beautiful fringing of golden pork crackle, like an xylophone wrapped around the pork knuckle.

Crackling roast pork belly with Granny Smith apple compote and sautéed potatoes

There was also a bit of food envy seeing the pork belly dish; a most geometric cut of the belly with the all important crackling above slices of sautéed potato. The belly meat looked fairly fatty but evenly so, served alongside a dish of red wine apple compote.

Jager schnitzel served with sautéed potatoes

I opted for the Jager schnitzel; a veal which I don’t often have, usually in favour of chicken or pork. It came with a mushroom sauce that was a lot creamier and heavier than I anticipated. Lemon helped with flavour, but the unexpected chewiness of the veal was a bit of a downer.

However, the sautéed potatoes managed to save the day – an clever alternative to mash or fries. These small, skin-on slices of potato had been cooked with speck and onion, with both latter ingredients imparting sweetness and richness to the starchy side.

Oven baked chicken schnitzel served with green salad

The newest addition to the menu – and what I wished I’d ordered – was the oven baked chicken schnitzel, which Roberta kindly shared. The free range chicken thigh from Victoria’s Hazeldene’s poultry was juicy and tender, deliciously tangy and light in its yoghurt and Emmenthal cheese dip, which is then crumbed and oven roasted for a still crisp outer coating.

Bavarian tasting platter

Most everything is covered with the Bavarian tasting platter, proteins and sides alike. There’s the pork belly as per the standalone dish, served with stewed sweet red cabbage that’s fragrant with cinnamon. There’s a small portion of pan fried chicken schnitzel served with the apple compote.

Sausages of the Bavarian tasting platter

And there’s a selection of three mini sausages with sauerkraut and mashed potato. Simon kindly shared a sample, and I adored the cheesy kransky with its firm texture, and smoky, porky flavour. The thinner one was a Swiss bratwurst while the other was a Nurnberger sausage.

Pan fried salmon fillet special

From the day’s specials menu was the pan fried salmon fillet on a potato roesti. The sustainably sourced salmon was topped with rocket, and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

I hesitated at the thought of dessert; I was already suitably stuffed after the main, which I couldn’t even finish. Roberta assured me that a shot of Jagermesiter or schnapps, after dessert, would solve the problem as they’re meant to act as digestive aids. I can’t quite recall my last experience with those two shots, but I’m sure it didn’t end well.

Apple strudel with vanilla anglaise

Desserts arrive and I can’t resist a bite or five of the strudel, which fills the air with homey smells of apple and cinnamon. It’s by far the most elegant apple strudel I’ve ever seen, with thin layers of apple in a neat pile within the crisp pastry. The sultanas are a sweet addition as is the vanilla ice cream which I had instead of the anglaise.

Chocolate delice with summer berries and toasted almond ice cream

I also couldn’t resist the chocolate delice, which was looking at me, tempting me with its moussey innards and glossy chocolate ganache top. It was rich with a slight bitterness, with some nuttiness in the biscuit base. The toasted almond ice cream was a highlight, with toasted honey notes in addition to the finely ground almond.

Walnut and date pudding with honey ice cream

I couldn’t fathom the walnut and date pudding, which was likened to a sticky date pudding and apparently very sweet.

Classic lemon tart with double cream

I also couldn’t try the lemon tart which looked great in its shallow pastry case, nor the aromatic cheese board with lavosh crackers. I just couldn’t do it.

Selection of cheeses served with red wine apple compote and lavosh

There was a bit of a mental drum roll that accompanied the cow bell, signalling schnapps time. It’d been a while since I’d had a shot of anything - I decided to leave those days behind me a while ago. But if it was going to help me digest the feast I’d just had, then there was only one way to go.

Schnapps and Jagermeister (second from left) - fuzzy, like I was after the shot

Arriving on a ski were our individual shots all lined up. That brought back bad memories of a ski trip, but the selection I went with reminded me of my visit to a schnapps museum in Vienna – good memories. The Bergfeuer, translated as Mountain Fire, has 50% alcoholic content and an aptly fiery red hue.

I detected fruity aromas by smell, perhaps cherry, and upon shooting it, it reminded me of the liquid red Panadol medicine we would be forced to drink when sick as children, but much nicer.

It was seriously warming; first the throat, then the lower chest area where it felt like my stomach was squashed up into. And after a while, it did feel like it helped; if anything, just burning through the copious amount of food I'd ingested.

Porcelain stein

After a good rest period letting the schnapps do its thing, I headed off clutching my gift of a porcelain Bavarian Bier Café stein, thinking about when I'd next get to use a 500ml beer vessel at home. Being festive season, perhaps not too far away. Now to cook that pork knuckle to have with the half litre.

Thanks to Roberta, Dom, Bavarian Hospitality Group and Zing for the lovely feast at Bavarian Bier Café O’Connell Street.

Knuckles and chuckles

I love a good laugh. And considering I laugh at most anything, I don't generally have to go out of my way in search of a giggle or a chuckle. But when presented with opportunity, one has to be laughing mad, or plain scared, to decline.

In The Rocks for the evening, dinner is had at the Lowenbrau Keller - a place where many a drink has been consumed by yours truly, but never a meal, until tonight. It's hard to pass up this 2-for-1 deal from the kind people down at The Rocks, but especially so when I'm heading next door just a bit later.

The mini beer hall is fairly busy for a Monday evening with tourists and locals alike being served by traditional costume-clad girls and guys. Sharing one end of a long table, we're presented with epic-sized laminated menus detailing a drool-worthy range of Bavarian eats. I'd somehow forgotten to have lunch - which is just as well as I had my eye on the pork knuckle.

Schweinshaxn - oven roasted pork knuckle with sauerkraut, Lowenbrau Bier and mashed potato from Lowenbrau Keller,
Argyle Street, The Rocks

I can't help but laugh out aloud when it does arrive because this Midas-touched knuckle is absolutely beastly in size. It dominates the plate and the table really, as all of a sudden I feel eyes shooting in my direction. Substantially larger than my last German sample, I'm more hungry than I am trepidatious so I pick up the appropriately dangerous-looking knife, laugh unremorsefully, then drive the knife through a particularly crunchy, meaty section.

Coincidentally the oompah band has started up its loud antics and any auditory evidence of my attacking a helpless portion of pig is hidden. There are witnesses to knife wielding, multiple stabbing madness later on in the meal, but that is some really crunchy skin. The entire knuckle is wrapped in this salty, crunchy guilty pleasure and not a bit of this impossibly perfect crackling goes to waste.

The meat, on the other hand, is even more bounteous but ranges from dry and hard on the outer bits, to moist and tender on the inside. I manage to skip over a lot of the fatty bits inside, even then only managing a bit more than half of the meat. It's definitely one for the hearty eaters, or two, but great comfort food for the cooler weather as well.

The mashed potato is moreishly smooth and creamy; simply delectable with the gravy whereas the sauerkraut is the perfect partner to the salty crackling skin.

Kassler - chargrilled smoked pork loin with sauerkraut,
Lowenbrau Bier and mashed potato

After some significant menu deducing, my companion opted for the lighter kassler - which also comes in a, not quite as funny, huge serving with mash and sauerkraut. It's a superbly thick slice of smoked pink meat that's strongly reminiscent of ham but juicier and perhaps not quite as savoury. It's enjoyed along with the entertainment of me across the table patiently fighting (or is it boxing?) it out with the knuckle.

When I eventually give up it's a dozen or so cobblestoned steps next door to The Argyle for the Time Out Sydney Comedy Awards in what promised to be a funny kind of booze-fest. Celebrating the best of the recent Sydney Comedy Festival, it was also a fun night picking out the comedians in the packed venue.

With beer and absinthe brands sponsoring and (responsibly) plentifully distributed upon arrival, I spotted Julian Morrow from The Chaser (who was MC-ing the ceremony), Julia Morris, Lawrence Leung, DeAnne Smith, Al Pitcher and the literally unmissable, Reggie Watts.

Reggie Watts performing at the Time Out Sydney Comedy Awards,
The Argyle, Argyle Street, The Rocks

The bouncy Afro-ed Reggie Watts doesn't take out an award but he's the winner of the night's performances with a fun, funny and strangely awe-inspiring act that the crowd loves.

Not too long after the ceremony people disperse; perhaps for the fact of a Monday night event, or perhaps the not-so-funny drying up of the free bar. Either way the clearing out makes for better comedian hunting, which makes a chuckling, giggling, laughing and funny addition to my photo albums.

Sydney night out with a bit of Germany

It has only just occurred to me that I've had an unknowingly German night out recently. We headed for a meal at the Bavarian Bier Cafe on York St before seeing the Sydney Festival outdoor screening of Run Lola Run to a live score in Darling Harbour - it being a fantastic and surprising German film made all the better by the atmosphere and soundtrack we experienced. In hindsight the meal was a perfect precursor to the movie, which was so popular that people watched it from the highway bridge above Darling Harbour.

But I digress. I hadn't been to a Bavarian Bier Cafe for a meal for quite some time, and had forgotten how pricey it can be. For some reason, price doesn't enter the equation when it's just beers and drinks. Anyway, we haven't got huge appetites tonight anyway so we're happy to steer away from the heavy mains. I start with my favourite beer from the cafe, the Austrian Stiegl in the small 300ml size as I'm aware that I'm going to an outdoor movie just later.

Stiegl from the Bavarian Bier Cafe, York St

We select two dishes from the starters menu and while service is a bit on the slow side this night, we happily kill time by drinking and chatting into the loud open space. The atmosphere is decidedly post-work, with large dinner groups at tables and duos and trios at the bar with steins. After a bit of grumbling about work, family, boys, life in general and the wait for our meals, food arrives looking resplendently scrummy.

Bavarian antipasto plate

Fusion at its best? Having never thought to seeing the words 'Bavarian' and 'antipasto' together in the same title, my choice of starter arrives on a long rectangular plate with a basket of 'European bread' and butter. It's a plate of cold meats and vegetables, and as close to healthy I'm going to get eating Bavarian, I think. On the bottom of the meat side sits a thinly sliced salami-style meat and a pastrami-style one - I've no clue of the Bavarian terms for these. Folded on top are devon-style meats and the two on the edge are ham-like and bresaola-like, respectively. I guess if it's a antipasto plate I'm entitled to use some Italian terms.

Some pickled vegetables sit on top of the leafy greens: cauliflouwer, onion, baby corn and capsicum and there's a little dish of potatoes in a sweet dressing. Hidden somewhere underneath the greens is also a lump of rich, creamy pate, although we run out of bread to make the most of it. Our other dish is not quite so Bavarian but probably more ubiquitously Sydney.

Chilli salted squid with passionfruit sauce

While the squid dish looks pretty, I'm skeptical about the pairing of the cephalopod with the seedy fruit. As it turns out, it's not half bad. The squid is perfectly, if not unbelievably, tender beneath the thin and crispy golden fried batter. The batter itself is a revelation, seasoned with plenty of chilli flavour that doesn't so much hit the tastebuds as caresses them.

With food and beer in our bellies we're ready to brave the crowds and whatever weather conditions the skies decides to throw out tonight as we rush down to Darling Harbour for a quintessential Sydney night out.