If SA has big German influence, where are the German restaurants? (San Antonio: tax, cost)

[buffy888]

Originally Posted by majormadmax

Buffy

Friesenhaus didn't have spaetzle either, my wife noticed that right off the bat. It was kinda disappointing as it isn't that tough to make.

Were you are Ramstein? We did four years there, and loved it. We lived up near Sembach outside of Winnweiler in a small village called Langmeil (just of the B40). We lived within sight of Donnersberg, the largest peak in the Rheinland-Pfalz. Used to mountain bike all over that area. Those were great times!

Cheers! M2

Darn - sad to hear about the lack of spaetzle at Friesenhaus. May have to try the restaurant in Converse someone else mentioned.

Yep, my dad was stationed at Ramstein and I went to high school on base. We lived in Miesau (which had the most wonderful hanchen stand just outside the gates). Had a boyfriend in Sembach for a while during my sophomore year.

We were lucky to have the normal school holidays plus "Enrichment Week," which was an extra week off they built into our schedule so we could travel with other kids from school or take "fun" classes - everyone I knew chose travel, of course. When my father first got stationed there, I was so unhappy about it, but I soon realized what a wonderful opportunity it was. Now I am considering applying to teach at a DoDDS school.

[majormadmax]

We followed up our four years at Ramstein with three more in Belgium, after spending three here in San Antonio in between. We left Belgium in 2005 and returned to San Antonio to stay (I've retired). DoDDS would be great but I believe it is tough to get into. I hpoe we may get the chance to live in Europe one more time, preferably Germany but I wouldn't mind living in the UK again (I was there 82-84). I also grew up in Germany, my Dad was in the Army and he met my mother in Wurzburg. I was born in Frankfurt and my oldest son was born in Landstuhl. We've got a lot of German heritage in our family...

Cheers! M2

[Scamp]

Anyone remember the little restaurant off of Holbrook Road at the old Mehren House? I believe it was called Vienne meine struße (I may be missing an umlaut in there). It was operated in an old barn/stable by a woman and her husband. They had the absolute best Jaegersnitzel with potato dumplings I have ever eaten. Since they closed, I've been continuously disappointed by other places I've been recommended. I'm hopeful of the place mentioned in Welfare, I just keep catching them when they are closed.

[munerider]

Well, as a kid I rememeber going up to New Braunfels for great baked goods (bearclaws!) at Naegelin's Bakery.

Krause's was always good. I still frequent New Braunfels Smokehouse for a good sandwhch and a bowl of potato or split pea. New Braunfels Smokehouse

A longer list: San Antonio German Restaurants Directory - San Antonio.com (http://www.sanantonio.com/german-restaurants/business-directory - broken link)

[itsawomanthing]

Thank you all for the list here, I will be utilizing them. 16yo spent 4 weeks as a exchange student in Germany last year, and loved the food, plus a few others things , and this past year we hosted a German student, who found us interesting to say the least.

[Bo]

Originally Posted by CreekKnoll

Try Old World German Restaurant off of Babcock. I like thier Rueben and split pea soup.

I went there once and was unimpressed. The food was so-so and the prices were a bit high for what it was.

OTOH, I've been to the Old World Smokehouse in New Braunfels a couple of times and had good experiences. The meats were excellent and the prices were reasonable.

[majormadmax]

I've eaten at the Old World German Restaurant before, it isn't great but I wouldn't say it is that bad either! It is also kinda expensive, but when I get the craving for German food and don't have the time to go too far, it is one of the few choices in town. Of course now I know of other places to try!

Cheers! M2

[hello13685]

I'm a pretty picky eater (are you surprised?), and I found Schilo's food to be fantastic. I'm not a huge sauerkraut fan because it's often so sharp, but theirs was mild--probably the best I've ever had. The prices were reasonable, too. The best part was that the name of my server was actually "Flo." How classic is that?

[majormadmax]

Originally Posted by msgntlhrt

There is a small restruraunt on FM 78 not far from IH 35. I recommend going for lunch, because the bratwurst is excellent. I don't remember the name, but it is a little white house with blue trim.

Sorry for the slow response, but the place you are thinking about is called the Little Bavarian or Bavarian House (it is listed both ways on SA Eats (http://www.saeats.com/saeats/action/search/findByCuisine.do?cuisineCode=128 - broken link)). There are a few good write-ups, may have to check it out this weekend as we should be over on that side of town. Also want to check out the Yorkshire Tea Room in Schertz. The Welfare Cafe sounds great, that one is on the list as well!

Cheers! M2

[GWhopper]

A bit of German History in SA....

Paula Allen: Homes built by German immigrants still standing on N.W. side

Web Posted: 11/18/2006 12:00 PM CST


San Antonio Express-News
There is an old building along Loop 1604 just before you get to Braun Road as you travel toward Bandera Road. It looks as if it's from the same era as the Huebner-Onion House and has a new fence around it as if someone is protecting it historically. Do you have any idea what it was? Was it a stagecoach stop or just a farmhouse?

Evalyn Fulmer

There are actually two significant buildings on the site at 9760 Braun Road, known in the historic preservation community as the Ruempel homestead, first settled by Philip Ruempel and his family.

"We believe that the first house he built was later used as a barn," says Joanna Parrish, chairwoman of the Historic Farm and Ranch Complexes Committee of the San Antonio Conservation Society.

The conclusion is based on a comparison of the stonework, with the barn made of naturally rough-hewn rumble stone and the probable second house — sited on the highest point of the property — a larger structure made of neatly cut limestone blocks about 18 inches thick.

You are right about the Ruempel house being about the same age as the Huebner-Onion House. Not far away, at 6613 Bandera Road, the original house is thought to date back to the 1850s, about the time German émigré Joseph Huebner settled there. The Huebner-Onion House — whose double-barreled name also salutes the second family to own the property — is another limestone house of similar construction, currently undergoing restoration under the auspices of the Historical Society of Leon Valley.

The homestead you ask about was established somewhat later by another German-born pioneer. Philip (sometimes spelled Philipp) Ruempel (1837-1909) came to Texas at age 18 in 1855, along with other families from his hometown, Offenbeck, Germany, says a biographical document compiled in 1998 by Calvin Galm for a church history project.

He and his wife, Carolina Braun, after whose family the road was named, had 11 children, nine of whom survived to adulthood. Though many mid-19th-century German newcomers settled in San Antonio, making them the city's largest ethnic group by 1860, the Ruempels were among the first European American inhabitants of the area that now comprises Leon Valley, Helotes and other communities.

"The pioneers cleared the land and built homes from limestone blocks," write Karen Petersen and Gloria Anderson in "A History of Zion Lutheran Church," available at http://lonestar.texas.net/&tildegdalum/history/history.html (broken link). "There were Apache and Comanche Indians who raided and killed. The pioneers gathered wild dewberries, plums, turkey, deer and wild hogs to eat, and eventually began to raise their own cattle, chickens, turkeys, domestic hogs and horses. They grew corn, sorghum cane, cotton, oats and vegetables, and sold butter, eggs, cotton, hay and furs in San Antonio for cash."

The Ruempels and their descendants were part of this do-it-yourself world, as evidenced by the old canning jars Parrish has seen in the root cellar of their former home. They lost one son, Willie, to snakebite when he was 10, and another, Christian, to influenza at age 24.

With his son Karl (Charles), Philip Ruempel became a charter member of Lutherischen Zions Kirche zu Helotes (Zion Lutheran Church of Helotes), just west of their family homestead. Founded on Feb. 14, 1904, this was the first church built in Northwestern Bexar County, say Petersen and Anderson in their online history.

The predominantly German American pioneers also built a post office and school, the co-authors note, "and turned an uncivilized territory into a community that still endures."

Both men, along with other family members, are buried in Zion Lutheran Cemetery at 9944 Leslie Road, east of Loop 1604 near Braun.

Currently, the former Ruempel Homestead is owned by the Fulcrum Property Group Inc., a developer of several retail/office complexes on San Antonio's far North Side. The historic structures were fenced to protect them during construction and to deter vandals, says Steve Braha, a Fulcrum partner.

"We are going to do a mixed-use development on the site," says Braha. "The Ruempel Homestead will either remain where it is or be relocated to another parcel within the 20-acre project."