Oktoberfest

As I write this, Oktoberfest is just getting under way. But as you read it, we’ll all be lamenting its end. Although I wasn’t born and raised with Oktoberfest, I’ve developed a special fondness for it. I’ve been faithfully attending first Friday festivities since my late university days when my then-boyfriend (now husband) introduced me to the boozy interiors of Moses Springer Arena.

Perhaps it has something to do with a long weekend being part of the kick-off, but everyone I know in these parts gets giddy when Oktoberfest rolls around. The mini-steins come out from the back of the kitchen cupboards and go ’round the necks. And the passion for the oom pah pah band is again rekindled.

Tonight, we’re skipping a Mexican night with a group of friends in Burlington (to whom Oktoberfest means nothing) and are instead having our KW friends over for some pre-Concordia beers. And while I won’t be going Martha Stewart-style with pumpkins carved like Onkel Hans, trays of schnitzel and carefully crafted potato salad, I’m hoping we can at least get a few sausages on the barbie and maybe even partake in some sauerkraut.

The place to go for these essentials is, of course, Stemmler Meats and Cheese in Heidelberg. Those living north of the city are no stranger to this institution – they’ve been in business 23 years now. But city folk may be altogether unaware of its presence – and that’s what I would call a shame.

I stopped in at Stemmler’s a couple of weeks ago for a chat with Kevin Stemmler, who co-owns the meat shop along with his brothers. Six years ago, they purchased it from their parents, Gerard and Maryann, who started the original Lobsinger Line location in 1985. Now Stemmler’s is in its third year at a new, expanded shop just a few doors down.

Knowing that I had Oktoberfest on the brain, Kevin gave me a little tour of the store and pointed a few things out: four kinds of schnitzel – pork, veal, chicken and turkey; rolled ribs; cabbage rolls aplenty.
There’s much in the way of really traditional stuff, too, like pickled beef heart, blood ring and pigtails. The latter are a Stemmler specialty, in fact – the shop is the official pigtail supplier to Concordia Club.

If, like me, you’re not sure pickled animal parts will go over well (tongue, anyone?) then you can easily get excited about the house-made sausage. There are countless varieties of bratwurst, including Oktoberfest-style (regular or smoked and made with a spice recipe from Nuremberg). Beyond that, there are your basic pork sausages, but also some specialty ones, too – sundried tomato and feta, Mediterranean (with green olive and feta), maple, spicy salsarica and Texas jalapeno sausage. Not German, I realize. But still… Yum.

Sauerkraut, sold by the bagful, is made by a local woman who cans and pickles a variety of items for the store. And mustard is another must-have. A scan of the shelves reveals several kinds – roasted garlic, horseradish, dill and shallot, apple-cranberry and seed-style. There are a few off-the-beaten track accompaniments, too – apple-horseradish sauce and several chili sauces and relishes made by the aforementioned sauerkraut lady.

Best about Stemmler’s is its commitment to buying from local suppliers. All meat comes from regional farmers. “We choose not to buy international,” Kevin told me. “We’ve always felt it was safer, healthier, fresher and better tasting to stay local. It’s also important to us to support local farmers and the economy. It’s about staying home. And we’ve been doing that long before it was fashionable.”

In recent weeks, Kevin said they’ve seen a 25 per cent increase in deli business. He attributes the surge to the public’s desire to shop for meat closer to home in the wake of recent listeriosis scares.

Either way, it’s a busy time of year with people stocking up on comfort food, be it turkey or be it pigtails. “Oktoberfest is the German way to give thanks for the season,” Kevin said. “We call it Thanksgiving, they call it Oktoberfest. It’s the same thing done differently, that’s the way I look at it.”
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