St. Georgen and Levi Strauss

Last weekend, we made our fourth annual trip to St. Georgen Braeu in Buttenheim. Actually, it should have been our sixth, but since we couldn't make the trip in 2005 or 2006 because we were back in Chicago, it will be known as our fourth.

While we were living in Erlangen before, on the second Saturday of the new year, we would drive to Buttenheim to have dinner at St. Georgen Brewery. The first time we made the trip, was in 2002, about three weeks after we arrived in Erlangen. Bob had been to Erlangen several times before on business, so he wanted to take me to the places he thought were memorable. We had already been to Nuernberg and Bamberg, and now it was Buttenheim's turn. Buttenheim is a small village about 25 kilometers north of Erlangen. It is home to St. Georgen and Lowenbrau (not the same Lowenbrau as in the US) breweries--both owned by brothers as are Puma and Adidas, also headquartered near Erlangen. Bob had been to St. Georgen before, so that was where we went, and I loved it. I loved the beer. All of them--Pils, Dunkels (dark), and Keller. And I loved the atmosphere. It looks just like a Bavarian restaurant from the movies. It has lots of wood--paneling on the walls, beams on the ceilings, long tables and benches--and the beer is served in large ceramic mugs. It's also kid friendly, although compared to the US, most places in Europe are. And, it's cheap. Our current trip only cost us 40 Euros for two kids' schnitzels with pommes (French fries), Schauferla (pork shoulder--a local delicacy) for Bob, Hirschbraten (roasted venison--another local delicacy) for me, two sodas, and four beers. Our last dinner outing in Chicago cost us over $100. We went to Frontera Grill, which, outside of McD's and the corner diner, is kid-friendly. The kids split a taco plate, and Bob and I each had only one Margarita.

Let me digress here, and say that I miss Frontera Grill, Tecalitlan on Chicago Ave., and La Pasadita Tacos on Ashland. We have yet to find a decent Mexican restaurant, but you can buy tortillas, salsa and taco seasonings in the supermarkets, so we make our own tacos. Unfortunately, we can't find fresh cilantro, and what's a taco without cilantro?

Buttenheim is also the birthplace and childhood home of Levi Strauss, the inventor of jeans. His blue Fachwerk (half-timbered) home now houses a museum that does a very good job of telling his story. Briefly, Levi left Europe for NY when he was 18, and eventually made his way to SF during the gold rush. There he made pants out of a tough French fabric, serge de Nimes (the word denim is derived from de Nimes). He later started using copper rivets to hold his jeans together. This was not his idea, but since he put the money up for the patent, I guess that's why only his name appears on the label.

Before coming to Buttenheim, I never stopped to think that someone had to invent jeans, and I always thought Levi Strauss was the combined names of the company's founders--Mr. Levi and Mr. Strauss. It never occurred to me that Levi was a first name, although he changed it from Loeb.

Now, if only I could figure out how to add links within my text instead of just the title, you, my dear readers, would be able to check out the Levi Strauss Museum site.