Taste of the Stadium: Germany is the Home of the Bratwurst

By Michael Voitek

This time on Taste of the Stadium around the European League of Football, I visited the home of the Rhein Fire – Schauinsland-Reisen Arena in Duisburg, Germany. Schuainsland is one of the bigger stadiums in the ELF and they have the vendors to prove it. They have two decks of vendors serving currywurst, bratwurst, pretzels, fries, popcorn, beer, and even one selling candy made by the vendor himself. Some of the best concessions I’ve seen in the ELF for sure.

Since I was in Germany, I had to go with one of their signature dishes—the bratwurst. Germany’s bratwurst reputation precedes itself, so I was expecting great things from the German hot dog…and boy, did it live up to the high praise. First off, it was grilled to perfection with marks on both sides, lightly seasoned, and with a thin line of mustard and mayo. Mayo was an odd choice but everyone was doing it, and I followed suit and it might be my new routine for dressing my hot dogs. The brat snapped in my mouth as I took my first bite, the mustard and the mayo enhancing every morsel. Then I got to the bread, which was unlike any hot dog I had ever had in the States. It wasn’t your normal white bread, potato roll hot dog bun. It was crunchy, browned, almost like a pretzel with a delicious slab of meat inside it. The roll truly took this bratwurst to the next level and allowed it to enter the upper echelon of stadium food for me right next to Fenway Park’s Fenway Frank and a Philadelphia Eagle’s cheesesteak. The fries weren’t too shabby either.

Check out the video below to get my official score. It’s out of four for film critic Roger Ebert, because if food is good, it could be like a movie inside your mouth!