Culture
In Baltimore, the Best Beef Is Sour
October is the time to experience the unsubtle glories of the city’s German-American heritage.
CityEats is a series that digs in to what locals eat, and why.
On my first weekend in Baltimore, my uncle picked me up at my dorm and, by way of introducing me to the city, took me to an unforgettable restaurant called Haussner’s. This was one of East Baltimore’s time-worn German eateries, a huge space encrusted floor-to-ceiling with 19th-century paintings. The Germans dominated the local restaurant scene in the early 20th century, as they did in many American cities, and Haussner’s was their most ornate redoubt. Its vast menu ranged from Teutonic fare like hasenpfeffer to overwrought “Continental” offerings in rich flour-thickened sauces. (Check out New York Public Library’s digitized copy of a 1967 menu online.)