Not long ago we drove through the town of Wernsdorf, just outside Bamberg. As we passed a Bier Keller/Garten, Thorsten casually mentioned that this particular place was known for having the best Schäuferla in the region. I couldn’t believe he hadn’t shared this gem with me yet if this rumor of “best Schäuferla” was true. He went onto explain that this particular Keller was known as Franconian “fast food” because you walk up to a window to order, your food is ready very quickly and you are in and out in less than an hour. What’s cool about the keller culture is that most of the time they have a limited menu each day. It is all very delicious because they can make it in small batches and once they run out they run out.
You can see the Semmel Klöße in the foreground and the Kartoffel Klöße in the back. The bier is Alkohol-frei, …it was lunchtime afterall.
We finally visited this Keller for lunch about a week ago. It certainly lived up to the hype. On this day they were featuring Semmel Klöße. A version of Klöße made with bread instead of potato. I have a real sweet spot for this type of Klöße (also called Knödel in other parts if the German speaking world.) I got so distracted by the possibility of Semmel Klöße that I ordered the Sauerbraten with Semmel Klöße and forgot all about the Schäuferla. Thorsten ordered the Schäuferla of course and his work colleagues ordered some of the other specialties. This Keller has indoor seating, but since this was an especially nice afternoon, we sat outside in the bier garten, flanked by a kitchen herb garden and a play area for kids.
Lunch at the bier Keller bordered on glorious. When the sun shines in Bavaria you really feel like you’ve stepped into a little piece of heaven.
Laurie's Franconia 