Munich Hamburgers: Kennedy's Irish Pub

Our quest to find the best burgers in town took us recently to Kennedy's, a new Irish pub that the Killian's team (another Irish pub in Munichopened in the former Lamm's space at Sendlinger Tor.  Lamm's was unique: it was open 24 hours/day, VERY unusual here.  

Kennedy's doesn't exactly replace Lamm's, since, well...it actually closes..but there is another 24-hour restaurant now in the same building. Wirsthaus am Sendlinger Tor if you're in desperate need of somewhere to go after 3am. (We haven't tried it, but would be curious to know how it stacks up to Lamm's if anyone has been yet.)

Kennedy's have done a nice job with the interior -  it's a good, solid Irish pub atmosphere.  We were happy to find another hamburger to try - and one that really could be our corner bar (it's so close by!).

According to the menu, their burgers are 100% Irish beef, and of course with Irish cheddar.

Be advised, however, that they come medium-well and that there is a "special sauce" on both sides of the bun. (I don't like such spreads, and specifically asked for mayo "on the side", but the German waiter being German, he only carried out the order as stated.  The spread is something similar to, but not exactly mayo.  Not a nice surprice, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.  So, if you don't like mayo-type sauces, make sure to ask for yours without sauce.)

Aside from the unwanted sauce, it was a decent burger, though nothing spectacular. A little too much bun and the bun was a little on the boring side. The steak fries, on the other hand, are excellent. True steak fries, they're a bit thicker cut than the ones at other burger places.  And there are all kinds of tasty Irish and German beers on tap to wash it down. They do serve Augustiner, as well as Guinness, Kilkenny, and the other Irish pub standards.

We'll definitely go back to Kennedy's often (can't beat the proximity in a cold winter season!), and I'm looking forward to trying the Guinness Goulasch, Irish Stew, and a few other menu items.  If you just want classic pub food, they also have the same kind of baskets as they serve at Killian's bar near Marienplatz.

As far as the search for Munich's best burger goes, Hard Rock still is on top, though we need to return to Zum Goldenen Kalb to try the Wagyu Burger (we only tried their regular burger).  We did revist Hard Rock a few weeks ago and they've upped their game. The burger was perfectly cooked and seasoned - with a little pink in the middle - plus they changed from the sesame buns to one that reminds me a bit of the potato bread buns you find in the US. It was a much softer and finer bun than the sometimes dry sesame buns, and was a little less bread. Really a perfect balance and combination!

Next up will be the highly recommended Cosmo Grill. 

An American Classic

Spotted on the street this weekend in central Munich

 

Makes you think of family road trips... or perhaps the Griswolds are back for another European vacation.

Hofbräuhaus Traunstein

A couple of new beers popped up in our local grocery store, so we had to try them. We have seen a few restaurants around here with the Hofbräuhaus Traunstein logo on display, so we guessed it was a smaller local beer.

Upon further investigation, we discovered this was a private brewery from southern Bavaria (Traunstein is not too far from Chiemsee) and has been around since Elector Maximilian I founded it in 1612. See, the royalty had declared a monopoly over weißbier, so Maximilian started this brewery in order to help pay off debts he'd inherited.  Traunstein survived the Thirty Years War with relatively little damage. Through the years, the brewery survived wars and fires, passing through different hands until being acquired by the Sailer family at the end of the 19th century.  In fact the beer saved the brewery at least twice - they extinguished the fires with buckets of beer!

Today, Hofbrähaus Traunstein is a medium-sized brewery (10M liters per year), focusing on a mix of beer and hospitality (guesthouses and restaurants). They use Hollerdau hops, local malt and are the last brewery to transport their beer with horse-drawn carriages.

The Weißbier was quite good. It had hints of the standard banana and clove weißbier flavor, but was not overwhelming. It was nicely carbonated and unfiltered. Overall, we recommend it, especially to someone who enjoys a subtle weißbier rather than a sweet, strong one.

We also tried their helles.

 

The helles was OK...not bad but also nothing special. Not hoppy, not malty, not really much distinctive at all. It's definitely a decent beer and totally drinkable, but nothing exceptional.

We're looking forward to seeing what else might turn up on the shelves soon! 

European Stereotypes

Recently I received an email listing the new workshops in Europe offered by the Nikonians Academy.

Notice anything funny about how they targeted these courses?

For the UK customers, they focus on getting the most out of your software and hardware...

For the Dutch customers, the same technical focus, plus nature photography....

And then we see what they offer the French, Italian, and German customers....hmmm....

Lamplbräu Beer

At the end of our tour of the Lamplbräu brewery, Herr Stanglmayr kindly gave us a 6 pack with three of his pils and three of his weißbier to try, and we picked up some helles at the Deutsches Hopfenmuseum.

The helles was quite good. A smooth, classic helles style beer. Easy to drink, but with a good light hoppiness (from Hallertau hops, of course!) and just the right carbonation. When we visited the brewery, he had already sold his last batch of helles (apparently it goes quickly!), but we were able to pick up a six-pack at the Hopfenmuseum.

We'll have to try it up against Tegernseer and some of the better Munich helles, but we think it would stand up quite well in another beer tournament!

The pils was also much to our liking, not surprising for a southern Bavarian pilsner-style beer. It was a more hoppy beer, but not at all bitter. Very enjoyable.

Note the different bottle style - he had had some trouble with the bottles he normally used for pils and ended up having to use a different one. So it may be that this batch will be in a different bottle than ones we would get at another time.  

As you can probably tell from the lights, rides, and people passed out on the hill, we tried these at Oktoberfest (as part of our engagement picnic).

On a later day, we tried the Weißbier.

We are big fans! This is a great weißbier, and one that will please both weißbier lovers and those who find it too sweet. While it does have hints of the weißbier flavors, it is not at all sweet and is very subtle (but complex) in the flavoring. No one aroma or taste overpowers the others - it's quite a nice balance. Also an unfiltered weißbier, and one that is not too fizzy. We'll have to get some more of this!

Hello, Winter

While Herr J just posted about Autumn in Munich, the painful truth is that autumn here is incredibly short.

Saturday, we enjoyed what likely will be one of our last lunches outside.

Zwiebelrostbraten with Käsespätzle is definitely in my top 5 meals - especially when it's from Augustiner am Dom! You did have to protect the food a bit from the falling leaves.

 

And Sunday brought the end of daylight savings...which means colder weather and dark evenings. Winter definitely is here, but it does have one upside....an excuse to break out the snowboarding penguin flannel sheets! They always make me laugh a little, but I love them.

 

Autumn in NYC

I had the good fortune to spend a couple of weeks in New York in September.  Though most of the time was spent working in our offices on Long Island, I did get into the city for the weekend.

I didn't take many photos, but here are a few random shots that captured the beautiful New York fall.

Inspired by Herr J's earlier photos:

Dusk among the skyscrapers: 

Yes, I did do a little of this....(Bloomingdale's, not LV!)...and am in love with my new red winter coat! 

A perfect early fall day in Central Park: 

Wish I had video of this one...After spending time with the huskies in Finland, I realized this one is just playing around and wants to be dragged. I'm guessing this guy's walks often go like this.  It would almost be worth living somewhere cold to get to have huskies. Such great dogs! (I did say almost, Herr J!)

And the reason for our morning in the Park - Race for the Cure. I was so happy to have the chance to walk the NYC Race with one of my closest girlfriends. We did the Dallas one together several years ago, so it was special. And a perfect morning for a walk in the park, some swag (snacks, coconut water, pink flip flops, etc), girl-talk, and capping it off with a great brunch at a diner.

I was amused to discover that my hotel was around the corner from some (American-stylized) Germanity.  First, Schnitel & Things:

And the Hofbräuhaus! Herr J and I will bring our trachten next time we're in town and show them how Oktoberfest is supposed to go!