# Why are German restaurants not more popular in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256 "2016-10-31T14:11:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/61 "2016-11-01T01:17:36Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Indeed, the “standard” American fare of Meat, Potato, and Vegetable, is essentially German in origin. > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Nah. “Meat and two veg” is British. And the Germans usually dispense with the vegetable. > [@dropzone](#): > > Indeed. Was ist ein “vegetable?” Ok, I have to clear up some things here. As I’ve said here before, I’m the Germanest German at this board, was born and raised in a typical rural region sticking to traditional food, and indeed **Icarus** is spot-on with the meat, potato and vegetable thing. My mother got her cooking clues from her mother and maybe a bit from her mother-in-law, and when I was a kid in the seventies, that was the usual course: cutlet with salt potatos and kohlrabi, meatballs (Frikadellen or as we said, Gehacktesbällchen) with baked potatoes and savoy cabbage, Rouladen with salt potatoes and beans, Sauerbraten with dumplings (Kloeße) and red cabbage, I could go on and on. That WAS standard food, and it was kinda awful. But something like a casserole was already exotic, though of course a stew was allowed (that inevitably contained meat, potatoes and vegetables). I don’t want to diss my mother’s cooking skille, bless her heart, she cooked those things quite well, but it was sometimes bland and quite unimaginative. Fortunately, the Italian influence was present early, and the exceptions were often Italian pasta. It was a BIG thing when my mother cooked her first lasagna for us (and frankly, it was the best lasagna I’ve ever had :)). My sister and I pushed our mother to be more experimental in her cooking when we became older, and the food became more variable (to my father’s chagrin, who was programmed in his youth to that meat/potato/vegetable thing). After we kids left the house long, long ago, my mother returned to the traditional style, and my Dad is content again. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/62 "2016-11-01T01:35:55Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Schaller & Weber is still there! > > Still has excellent house-made brats, bauenwurst, knockwurst, liverwurst, frankfurters and weiners of every shape and size, and that heavenly Hungarian smoked kielbasa, redolent of garlic and paprika. > > Plus a wide variety of egg noodles, Central European cheeses, mustards, and even dried spaetzel for when you’re too lazy to beat flour and an egg together. I am _very_ glad to hear that. Next time I’m uptown I’ll stop by and stock up. And they always had the best butter. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/63 "2016-11-01T03:04:12Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Lots of delicious stuff meine grossmutti would never have cooked. Had she, she wouldn’t’ve lasted past 81, and my namesake not past 97. We die early as a service to the world, given the 20th century. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/64 "2016-11-01T03:05:01Z")
I know of one in Tampa that went OOB not too long ago but this one recently opened in St. Pete [www.hofbrauhausstpetersburg.com](http://www.hofbrauhausstpetersburg.com) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/65 "2016-11-01T03:07:41Z")
> [@Nightaudit](#): > > I second that shout out to Jorg’s… I live in Fredericksburg TX area, and I make many pilgrimages to Plano just for schnitzel and Stiegl. The “German” in F-burg is mediocre at best… > > Sent from my XT1097 using Tapatalk My wife only gets the jager schnitzel at Jorg’s. I rotate through the kasseler rippchen, various wurst and the schnitzel. Beer wise, you probably ought to check out whatever Franconia offering they have on draft at Jorg’s when you’re there next; it’s from a local (McKinney) brewery that a German immigrant founded and runs. Great, super-fresh German style beer. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/66 "2016-11-01T03:16:20Z")
For the Peanut Gallery (look it up) we are discussing a cuisine that will kill you DEAD. In am suicidal and I throw out half of what my wife and daughter try to feed me. The dogs can digest it. I can’t, though I’m game to try because, a) I grew up on it, and b) I had my gall bladder yanked in '92. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/67 "2016-11-01T03:52:52Z")
When I was young and spent time with my grandmother, she lived in the middle of a mostly German American population, and there were at least three very popular German restaurants. Grandma had a recipe for the best sauerbraten! And we had limburger cheese on crackers for snacks. Eventually, all the Germans died, or moved, and the restaurants all closed. Today, I see quite a few German frozen or boxed foods in Aldi (no surprise there) - spaetzle, wiener schnitzel, various cakes and desserts. There’s still a meat market in the area Grandma lived, with countless kinds of sausages made there. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/68 "2016-11-01T03:56:38Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Nah. “Meat and two veg” is British. And the Germans usually dispense with the vegetable. Red cabbage is a vegetable! Going by my own experience (For those of you who know Queens,NY, I grew up in Ridgewood/Glendale), I think part of the reason (in addition to the ones already given) is assimilation and aging. When I grew up, there were at least six or seven German restaurants that I knew of in the area, a few German bakeries and I don’t know how many delis and butchers. One of the bakeries is still open, but it’s not particularly German anymore. The delis are gone, the two biggest butchers closed their retail stores but still sell their products in other stores and I think there are only three restaurants left. Part of the reason is that the owners decided to retire and their kids didn’t take over- but I think another reason is that although the neighborhood is still full of German names, most of us are the second or third generation born in the US. And while my grandparents would have gone to a German restaurant nearly every time they went to a restaurant, people my age (53) don’t really do that. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/69 "2016-11-01T04:38:12Z")
When you think about it, the years of the greatest German immigration were in the mid nineteenth century, before restaurant culture was what it would become later. Combined with the tendency of Germans to settle in rural areas and immigrate in intact family units, they were eating their meals at home for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/70 "2016-11-01T04:55:46Z")
> [@NetTrekker](#): > > I know of one in Tampa that went OOB not too long ago but this one recently opened in St. Pete > > [www.hofbrauhausstpetersburg.com](http://www.hofbrauhausstpetersburg.com) I tried going there to meet women, but it was a total sausage-fest. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/71 "2016-11-01T06:08:25Z")
Several of Houston’s European Ethnic neighborhoods (never very large) were broken up by freeway construction in the 50’s & 60’s. The Germans, Poles, Italians, etc., headed for the 'burbs. I can think of one slightly stodgy [traditional German place](http://www.rudilechners.com/), and a newer, [more adventurous place](http://www.charivarirest.com/home) (actually owned by a Romanian). German & other Central European settlers contributed sausage to the Texas Barbecue Experience; most of that immigration happened in the 19th century & most of their food has assimilated. But [this place](http://www.kingsbiergarten.com/home) is doing well in Far Off (Outside the Loop!) Pearland. **(Warning–sound!)** Early next year a branch will open in my neighborhood. If it catches on, they have plans for expansion. Maybe German food will be the Next Big Thing. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/72 "2016-11-01T06:11:26Z")
Could discrimination played a role? Many Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans and Italians were were discriminated against when applying for a job, forcing some to open small businesses in order to survive. A restaurant might have been a fairly easy business to start - Mom and her sister cooking the food, with the Father keeping the books and waiting on tables. The kids would be cleaning the tables, dishes and generally helping out. The Germans, Swedes, English, etc. did not face this sort of discrimination and would not have as much incentive to start a restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/73 "2016-11-01T07:26:07Z")
Do good ethnic/national restaurants exist without a dependable inflow of same-country immigrants to own, run, and staff them? Of course, I’m not saying everyone who works in a sushi bar needs to be a recent immigrant from Japan, but I think there must need to be a recognizable Japanese community in the city–not necessarily a neighborhood; it could also be a population dispersed over the region which still maintains cohesion through some other means, like religious congregations or other organizations. As recently as the 1970s you could still meet first-generation German immigrants, and there were several German restaurants in L.A. in Santa Monica. But I don’t think that’s true anymore. I don’t think there are any significant push or pull factors that would make Germans want to pull up stakes and move here; by contrast the recurrent economic convulsions of some other countries often seem to result in a number of young adults deciding to head our way. In short, the main target client base for German restaurants has evaporated away due to assimilation, and perhaps also suburbanization. Suburbanization spelled the end of L.A.'s Italian district. Having said that, I agree with the OP that it’s too bad. But this seems to be a classic example Roger Price’s First Law: _If everybody doesn’t want it, nobody gets it._ Oh well, we can still buy German food and beer in the supermarket, right? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/74 "2016-11-01T09:05:33Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > “German food” is pretty much the local version of Northern European food–beer, potatoes, bread, sausage, cabbage, onions, and if you’re lucky a herring or something. It’s not distinct enough from British or Irish or Scandanavian or Slavic food, and note that none of those cuisines have ethnic restaurants either. It’s basic home food, which you can serve at home, and so why would you go to a restaurant for it? yeah, except for maybe the beer that basically describes Polish food. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/75 "2016-11-01T09:37:47Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Do good ethnic/national restaurants exist without a dependable inflow of same-country immigrants to own, run, and staff them? Of course, I’m not saying everyone who works in a sushi bar needs to be a recent immigrant from Japan, but I think there must need to be a recognizable Japanese community in the city–not necessarily a neighborhood; it could also be a population dispersed over the region which still maintains cohesion through some other means, like religious congregations or other organizations. Tel Aviv has more sushi restaurants per capita than any city in the world, after Tokyo and New York. If there’s any Japanese community here, I have yet to find it. We just love sushi. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/76 "2016-11-01T09:58:22Z")
Of all the major cuisines, I think most Americans consider German to be the wurst. mmm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/77 "2016-11-01T11:13:29Z")
> [@X.L.Lent](#): > > Could discrimination played a role? Many Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans and Italians were were discriminated against when applying for a job, forcing some to open small businesses in order to survive. A restaurant might have been a fairly easy business to start - Mom and her sister cooking the food, with the Father keeping the books and waiting on tables. The kids would be cleaning the tables, dishes and generally helping out. I think it’s more a case of these cultures favoring large families. When they emigrate somewhere without a dime to their name, they open a restaurant because every member of the family can help out, and they have something (their cuisine) to offer a receptive general public. They can also live on the food the restaurant produces, and reside in the same building. This cuts their living expenses substantially. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/78 "2016-11-01T11:39:27Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Tel Aviv has more sushi restaurants per capita than any city in the world, after Tokyo and New York. If there’s any Japanese community here, I have yet to find it. > > We just love sushi. What kind of sushi is common and popular in Israel? Is it mostly Med fish (and which ones), or others? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/79 "2016-11-01T12:31:27Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Of all the major cuisines, I think most Americans consider German to be the wurst. > mmm Oh, don’t be a brat. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256/80 "2016-11-01T13:19:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > They can also live on the food the restaurant produces, and reside in the same building. This cuts their living expenses substantially. Run properly, restaurants also generate immediate profits and are a good return on investment. Plow all of your limited means into one, and you’ll be prosperous in no time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-german-restaurants-not-more-popular-in-the-us/770256.md?page=5)