Midtown Lunch

Wursthaus Schmitz, the baby brother of Brauhaus Schmitz on South Street, started making hot food available at its Reading Terminal spot last week.  Beyond the shelves of funky looking German cooking products, sauces, and chocolates and the glass display of wursts, salamis, and head cheese, are a few meaty sandwiches (all $8) to choose from. I had “The Schmitz” in mind after seeing it on the online menu, the pretzel roll is what got me, but sadly those rolls are not in stock yet. So I had to adjust my sausage agenda.  You might think that after sausage gravy waffles I would have had my fill of sausage for the week. Not the case, friends, this girl can handle excessive sausage intake.

Both the sandwiches I tried were pretty long, but not super stuffed. One sandwich is a good size for a lunch.

The Bavarian substituted for the Schmitz; a smoked baurenwrust with cole slaw, horseradish sauce, and fried onions. I was impressed by the spice and  crispness of the wurst. The bread was just ok, a pretzel roll would have raised the score by a lot.

I also tried the Lyoner; fried bologna, munster cheese, dill pickle, horseradish sauce, and onion. I grew up never eating bologna but recently learned the beauty of a fried bologna sandwich from American Sardine Bar. Here the bologna was thick and tasted like meat, not chemicals, but I wanted it to be more charred.

At the counter are some cold salads and other dishes that can be warmed up at home. I tried the spatzle (soft egg noodles)  at home and found it to be bland but easy to perk up with spices and cheese.  On top of the counter is the condiment section that should not be overlooked.   There is ketchup, curry ketchup, sweet mustard, and spicy grain mustard. I didn’t pick up enough of the horseradish sauce on either sandwich so these sauces came in handy.

I would make a return trip to Wursthaus when they roll out that pretzel roll,  somebody let me know when it shows up, please!

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Short list of sausage sandwiches makes choosing easy

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Small hot menu at the point (will become larger)

Wursthaus Schmitz, 12th and Arch, Reading Terminal, 267-922-4287