Beer, brats, and bretzels, oh boy!
Photos by Eric Wolfinger
In two weeks I’m leaving Boston for good. Before I settle down in my new town, though, I’m spending a month backpacking in Europe. But after last night, I can cross Germany off my list of places to go—I got my fill of beer and brats at Union Square’s new Bronwyn,
which specializes in “the food and drink from Germany and Central Europe.”
Two friends and I arrived early to get a seat and by 5:20 I had my first half litre of beer in front of me, the Weihenstephaner Lager ($9)—the Bronwyn Housebier (house beer). Apparently while on a trip to Denmark, Tim Wiechmann, the restaurant’s chef-owner of T.W. Food, loved this beer and worked out a deal to always have it on draft at Bronwyn. It is golden in color, crisp, and light in body, although not in weight (those beer mugs are heavy).
Our friendly server—who looked a little bit like David Cross so I immediately liked him—told us that Bronwyn was meant to be a family style restaurant (hence the communal tables) that would serve plates to be shared.
And share we did.
We started with the house-made Bretzel ($9)—a sticky and fresh pretzel that’s bigger than my head. Served with delicious house-made roasted apple mustard, I easily could have eaten it all by myself.
After the last sticky bite of bretzel, it was time for the main event: The Wurst. We chose three from the House-Made Wurst menu. First, the Beirwurst (the original, $9), next came the Lemon Weisswurst (the springtime special, $9), and last the Knacker (because it had a funny name, $9).
While I expected your standard brat to come out, the Beirwurst was much more.
The wurst was a delicate and juicy disk of pork, egg, and spice. Unlike your grocery-store-make-sure-you-bite-down-hard brat, it’s more like a flavorful, albeit flattened, meatball. It was as attractive as wurst could be, served atop sauerkraut and grilled sourdough and topped with a dollop of tangy mustard. David Cross informed us that everything was house-made with the exception of the kraut (because apparently, obtaining fermenting licenses is a real bitch).
Next came the Lemon Weisswurst. Again, served with sauerkraut and sourdough, this one was much lighter than the first. A punch of herbs and a subtle taste of lemon made this one my favorite of the trio. Finally came the Knacker, which we ordered with a side of Rebekuchen (potato pancakes, $8). This was the closest to the “typical” brat that we had. It was tougher than the others and tasted a bit gamier to me as well. The potato pancakes were great—sliced thin and fried crispy with a rose colored applesauce and grilled ramps.
The sweetness of the applesauce with the earthy taste of the potatoes was delightful.
And just when you thought we must have passed out from eating so much, we ordered two slices of German Chocolate Cake ($8). The cake ended our meal perfectly: juicy, sweet, and coconut filled.
I couldn’t have picked a better restaurant to end my Dig writing career with—Bronwyn served as a gastronomical transition into my European adventure. I’ll miss you, Boston,
but I guess all there is left to say is, Danke und Auf Wiedersehen.
BRONWYN
255 WASHINGTON ST.
UNION SQ.
SOMERVILLE
@BRONWYN_UNIONSQ
BRONWYNRESTAURANT.COM