Brewhaus in Nevada City, CA
Before diving into our Pretzel of the Day, I thought I’d share a few items in the mailbag.
First comes a few photos from loyal reader Brian W, who responded to my call for photos of Muffler Men. He’s on a road trip from Denver into Michigan and stopped in Atlanta, IL at a place called the American Giants Museum, which displays a number of authentic Muffler Men. It almost feels like cheating, having so many in one place. But at least they are preserved and visible to the public.
Of note is the giant that looks like Alfred E. Neuman (next to the Indian in the middle photo). Compare him to the one I spotted near Philadelphia earlier this summer:
We also heard from loyal reader Peter D., who noted the connection between the “last supper” pretzel in yesterday’s Pretzel Trivia, and the Lenten pretzel in the Pretzel Trivia from my October 12 post. He also shared this article about “Holy Pretzels,” which even includes a Pretzel Prayer.
Finally, loyal reader Jonathan C. reported on several pretzel sightings in southern California. He writes:
“I wanted to be sure you know that Rock n Brews offers a Bavarian pretzel w mustard. But they charge EXTRA FOR BEER CHEESE. Nelson’s, at Terranea, also has what I thought was a pretty good pretzel – hot, buttery and salty, with no extra charge [for beer cheese]. But at their prices it’s likely “baked in” anyway.“
I appreciate not only the “baked in” pun, but also the outrage at being charged extra for beer cheese.
And now, on with the Pretzel:
Today’s pretzel comes from The Brewhaus in Nevada City, which, of course, is a city in California. The Brewhaus is a very comfortable, welcoming space with plenty of outdoor seating. Just watch a few seconds of these photos on their website and you’ll get the vibe.
It was a beautiful, sunny day, so I took a seat outdoors and ordered their Bavarian Pretzel and a mug of their Secret Incantation Porter. (I realize now I should have standardized my beers, to control for that variable in my reviews.)
This was a truly wonderful pretzel. Attractive artisanal shape, good size, firm crust, soft and chewy inside. In fact, the texture may have been the best so far. The salt was agreeably flaky, if a bit unevenly distributed. The taste was malt-forward, with a bit of molasses (?) on the finish.
And then there was the amazing beer cheese–warm, creamy, cheddary, beery. It perfectly complemented the pretzel, adding depth and character without overpowering the pretzel. My only complaint is that I wanted more.
So, this was about as close to a perfect pretzel experiences as I’ve had so far. I have to admit that the attractive outdoor seating area and the perfect weather added to the experience. But, as we discussed yesterday in our review of frozen pretzels, part of what you pay for at a restaurant is the setting and the staff interactions and everything else that I call the Total Pretzel Experience. So I feel its fine if these factors influence my rating.
And so, this is a perfect specimen of the rare Five Star Pretzel. Even without a hook!
PRETZEL TRIVIA
You may have noticed the reference to 1990s hip-hop lyrics in the title of today’s post. This serves two functions:
- The “5” in the title is a reference to the fact that one of the pretzels under review finally scored 5 stars.
- The hip-hop angle foreshadows our pretzel trivia, which concerns pretzel-related hip-hop lyrics.
You see, Garnet Valley High School near Philadelphia designates every Thursday as “Pretzel Day,” when the school’s Common Grounds Cafe sells soft pretzels for a dollar. In 2019, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, the students created a number of music videos celebrating Pretzel Day. Here’s some sample lyrics:
(Mouth so dry) Hands full of yeast
These pretzels are our feast
Stomach full, salty heaven
Eaten so much but I can’t cease
Please check out Saltboi Carti’s “Pretzels in GV,” below, for the full ode to pretzels. (And if you’re in a hurry, just skip forward to 02:10, which is when the actual song starts.)
