Out of Bounds Biergarten, Folsom, CA

Last night I attended an Oktoberfest party thrown by friends Vic and Peg. They had some awesome, giant pretzels that seemed perfect for today’s review:

But to my surprise, the pretzels were plastic, inflatable props. Turns out they were for a ring-toss game that involved toilet plungers. I am not making this up.

So let me instead offer a review of a real pretzel I had earlier this summer. I was at Out of Bounds Biergarten with my brother-in-law Scott S, who truly understands and appreciates this pretzel project.

Out of Bounds used to be a local brewery, but now it’s a taproom, serving pub food and other breweries’ beers. They have something like 25 taps going, so there’s bound to be a beer for everyone. It’s got a nice outdoor seating area (the eponymous Biergarten) and an attractive, rustic indoor space. There was a good, friendly crowd filling the indoor space but only a few people in the Biergarten. We opted for the latter, as pretzel reviewing requires a setting free of distractions.

I quickly got to work and ordered the Giant Soft Pretzel. This thing really is “giant”–in fact, it’s easily as big as the plastic one at Vic and Peg’s Oktoberfest. Out of Bounds also get points for hanging the pretzel on one of those fancy metal stands. This thing is a work of art.

More important even than presentation, this pretzel was positively delicious. It has what our server called a “thin crisp” consistency outside, which gives a slight crack when you bite into it. The inside of the pretzel is soft and chewy but not doughy. There’s a reasonable amount of salt (but it could have stood an extra shake or two from the saltshaker).

Accompanying the pretzel is what the menu calls a beer cheese “sauce,” that, brilliantly, includes chunks of real bacon. I could have eaten a bowl of the sauce with a spoon. But instead I just scooped up dollops of it with my pretzel. The pairing of the toasty, savory pretzel and the rich, robust sauce really worked; both the pretzel and the beer cheese sauce complemented each other in a beautiful display of symbiotic cooperation. Oh, they also gave us a container of honey mustard, but why waste your time?

Even though it was a huge pretzel, I was left wanting more when it was all gone. But that’s probably because Scott ate half of it.

I feel compelled to award this pretzel the full five stars. But I’ll also make another visit before the month is out, just to ensure I’m not falling victim to the Mariann’s Phenomenon.

PRETZEL TRIVIA

For today’s pretzel trivia, we are pleased to share a contribution from loyal reader Peter D. Taking us up on our plea for pretzel-related art, Peter shared a Renaissance-era Dutch painting by Pieter Bruegel. It’s called “The Fight Between Carnival and Lent,” and it contains over 200 figures that depict the push-and-pull between the excesses of Carnival and the self-restraint of Lent. It’s essentially a 16th-century Where’s Waldo scene, since Peter promised there are pretzels hidden within the scene.

I draw your attention to the red cart at the bottom of the painting. Upon it is seated a figure that personifies Lent, and there, at her feet, are two of those weird Flemish pretzels I was complaining about yesterday. Check it out:

Before closing, let me redirect you attention to the photo of the full painting. Note the Lent is about to collide with a fat man seated on a beer barrel. This guy personifies Carnival. Am I wrong to consider this a piscine confrontation between the herrings on Lent’s oar-like peel and Carnival’s prodigious cod-piece?