Aussies really love a schnitzel. And while I don’t recommend one spend all their time pondering such deep issues, I admit I never really thought about how much we love a schnitzel until I met a newly arrived American chef (more about that in another article).
I asked him whether he could tell me one thing that had surprised him in his short time in Canberra about what we love to eat. Without any hesitation, he said ‘Schnitzels! Those things are everywhere. You guys just love them. And you have them with fries…”
“Chips,” I corrected him…
In case, like at the first Modern Olympiad, we get confused about which flag to fly, let us firstly acknowledge that Schnitzel is actually Austrian in origin. Okay, and probably also German (really, we are kind of just splitting hairs now), having travelled across the seas with waves of German immigrants–Germany ranks second highest amongst non-English places of origin in Australia.
Like many immigrants, it got its name tweaked along the way to become the schnitty and chips (Germans and Austrians will usually eat their schnitzels with potato salad or sauerkraut). Anyway, regardless of what, where or how, I think we can all still agree that Aussies love a schnitzel.
Aussies also love a beer, as do Germans. And what goes best with beer? A schnitty of course! Which brings us to Schnitzel Haus in Braddon. As the name implies, this place is basically a house full of schnitzels. And beer. German beer. From the oldest brewery in the world.
It’s called Weihenstephaner and it comes from a little place in Germany called Freising. The brewery is over a thousand years old, the oldest continuously operational beer brewery in the world. And its wheat beer, available on tap at Schnitzel Haus, is a beauty. Clean and elegant with lemony fruit and a big grassy finish; like the schnitzels, a little step-up from the regular beer and schnitty at the local club.
And it doesn’t end there. Schnitzel Haus is keeping it interesting and offering a number of tap beers that are hard to come by. Amongst others to sample is Blue Moon–an American beer with Belgian roots that is spicy and tart with pronounced hop bitterness and hints of orange fruit and spices. I don’t know if Schnitzel Haus can accommodate you, but ask for this with a slice of orange.
And the schnitzels? Oven baked rather than fried, they have a distinct and delicate buttery flavour, a result of getting a light coating of clarified butter prior to baking. Like the beers, they are unique and worth a try; and with the beer garden out front in full swing and warm weather to boot, it’s probably a good time to do it.
Schnitzel Haus are located at
Lonsdale Street Braddon.
They open 7 days from 12pm,
Check out their website
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