Chinesischer Turm e.V.The basket and what belongs in it
Brotzeit in the beer garden
Brotzeit is the practical side of the bring-your-own-food right. It is not a picnic but a meal form of its own, with a fixed repertoire, its own handiwork and a clear order at the table.
Beer garden culture
Brotzeit means literally what it is: time for bread. No hot kitchen, no courses, no change of cutlery. A wooden board, a knife, and everything else comes out of the basket. In the beer garden it is the rule, not the exception, because the bring-your-own-food right expressly protects it.
The repertoire
Radi
The white beer radish is the emblem of the beer garden Brotzeit. It is cut with a radish slicer or freehand into a continuous spiral, salted and left to stand until it draws water, which takes away its sharpness. That the Radi brings tears to the eyes is a saying with a kernel of truth: the salting used to be jokingly explained as the innkeeper weeping over the seat given away for free.
Obazda
Ripe Camembert, butter, onion, paprika and a dash of beer, mashed with a fork until a spreadable mass results. The name comes from the mashing itself. It is the classic use for cheese that has ripened too far, a dish born of thrift that became a delicacy.
Brezn
Large, lye-baked, dark outside, soft inside, with salt. It is broken, not cut. In the beer garden it is often sold at the table by the pretzel woman, which strictly speaking is no longer a brought-along Brotzeit, but belongs to the order of the place.
Sausage salad
Strips of Lyoner or Regensburger sausage, onion rings, vinegar, oil, often gherkin. Cold, sour, filling. The Swiss variant with cheese is accordingly called Schweizer Wurstsalat.
Steckerlfisch
Mackerel or char, skewered, salted, grilled over charcoal. The Steckerlfisch is the exception to the cold rule and is bought on site, because it has to reach the table hot.
What else the basket needs
- Board and knife
- A wooden board and a sharp knife replace all crockery.
- Salt
- Indispensable for the Radi. Forget it and you go begging.
- Tablecloth
- Chequered, blue-white or red-white. It marks your place without occupying it.
- Napkin
- Cloth, not a paper roll. The wind in the beer garden is merciless.
- What does not belong
- Your own drinks. Those are bought in the beer garden; that is the other half of the bargain.
The order at the table
The Brotzeit belongs at the tables without a tablecloth. There you fetch things yourself, clear up yourself and return the crockery. Where a tablecloth lies, there is table service, and there you order.
A beer garden table is communal. If you find four free places at a table of ten, you sit down, ask briefly, and room is made. Reserving whole tables with spread-out jackets counts as poor form.
Further reading
This page is about what lands on the board in the beer garden. The wider Bavarian food culture, from Weisswurst to the purity law, is a subject of its own.
Frequently asked questions
What belongs to a Bavarian Brotzeit?
Classics are Radi, Obazda, pretzels, sausage salad and Steckerlfisch, plus a board, a knife, salt and a chequered tablecloth.
How do you cut a Radi correctly?
With a radish slicer or freehand into a continuous spiral, then salt it and let it stand until it draws water. That takes away the sharpness.
What is Obazda?
A spreadable cheese preparation of ripe Camembert, butter, onion, paprika and a little beer. The name comes from mashing the ingredients.
May you bring your own drinks to the beer garden?
No. The bring-your-own right covers food only. Drinks are bought in the beer garden.
Where may you eat the Brotzeit you brought?
At the tables without a tablecloth, in the self-service area. At the served tables you order.