Munich in English - selected by independent Locals for Cosmopolitans, Newcomers and Residents - since 1989

Register and login

June 2002

Outta My Way

Finding burgers and bacon in the most unexpected places

TUMBLINGER
Maistr. 26
Tel. (089) 53 86 87 67
Open daily, 9 am–1 am,
food served until 11:45 pm
The interesting thing about Tumblinger is that you don’t find it, it finds you. And, even after you’ve stumbled across this friendly restaurant, it’s almost impossible to get back unless you’re not looking for it! One sure way to find it is to wander off toward the Schlachthofviertel after a Saturday shopping spree or on a rainy Sunday. Because the restaurant lies somewhere between the Goetheplatz and Poccistrasse U-Bahn stations, you may even come across its cozy, chestnut-tree-shaded outdoor café after a traumatic visit to the Ausländerbehörde. The menu features a tasty combination of pan-European and American nosh ranging from Greek salad and penne Arabbiata to turkey fajitas and “Giant Burgers.” Tumblinger offers the requisite 9 am to 4 pm daily breakfast selection (€ 4.20–€ 8), featuring dishes named after composers. The Wagner plate includes a hearty serving of eggs and bacon, the Haydn features a cheese plate and fresh fruit. A wide range of à la carte items round off the breakfast menu. Monday to Friday, holidays excluded, from 9 am to 11 am, Tumblinger offers its “Breakfast Reform”—any breakfast plus a hot drink for only € 5.60. This American-style wheeling and dealing goes on throughout the day at the elusive eatery. During “Happy Lunch,” from 11 am to 2 pm on weekdays (holidays excluded), every entrée costs just € 10. If you don’t have to go back to the office in the afternoon, you may wish to indulge in the “Beer and Burger” special, a cheeseburger, fries and small salad served with wheat beer for € 9.80 or the veggie burger and Pils for € 8.30. On Mondays, this will carry a diner through until Happy Hour at 5 pm and the “All You Can Eat” buffet (€ 8.90), which opens at 8 pm. The daily menu includes seasonal dishes, such as asparagus, which provide a reprieve from the somewhat “sports bar” offerings found on Tumblinger’s standard menu. In addition, the restaurant offers a wide range of soups, starters and vegetarian items. Tumblinger’s exceptionally friendly staff provide such a refreshing break from the standard German “truculent waiter” style that you’ll almost forgive the cook for using a strange, prepackaged sweet-and-sour sauce instead of real salsa for the Tex-Mex entrées.
FOOD 7, SERVICE 10, ATMOSPHERE 9

HAIDHAUSER AUGUSTINER Wörthstrasse 34
(089) 480 25 94
Open daily 10 am–1 am
While this restaurant has the oak paneling so typical of Bavarian Gaststätten, don’t let that scare you away. Now that the warm season is upon us, a handful of tables arranged around the outside corner of the stately Haidhausen building means you can forego the dark interior. The breakfast menu (served daily 10 am–4 pm at prices ranging from € 2.60 to € 8.60) features some respectable American-style fare, which includes hashbrowns, toast, bacon and scrambled eggs (€ 6.60). The “California Breakfast,” features a decidedly “non-Cali-lite” fried turkey steak, fried egg and “Country Potatoes” for € 7.60. The restaurant’s “Italian Breakfast” (€ 8.60), with its pungent Gorgonzola-mascarpone cream spread, tomato bruschette and Parma ham is a great lunch alternative for those who don’t like cornflakes or croissants in the afternoon. Haidhauser Augustiner also caters to any small sugar monsters you may bring along, with its side order of French toast and maple syrup (€ 3.60) and a strawberry shake (€ 3.50). Though weighed down by heavy German fare, the Augustiner-owned eatery’s standard lunch and dinner menu lists such pleasant surprises as “Tagliatelle Haidhauser,” pasta bathed in a savory red bell pepper cream sauce and turkey breast strips (€ 8.10). However, for real variety the restaurant relies heavily on its daily menu, which has featured such entrées as lamb in thyme/red wine sauce with al dente sugar peas and croquette potatoes (€10.20). This is one of the few German restaurants that perfectly prepares its American-style burgers by grilling the buns. The Haidhauser “Classic Cheeseburger” (€ 7.60) and the “Chicken Burger” with special sauce (€ 8.60) both come with a side salad and french fries. A salad of mixed greens and arugula with grilled chicken breast and fresh fruit is a light choice (€ 8.40), while flavorful pasta dishes, such as a mountain of penne with fresh basil and tomatoes (€ 6.90) or the curry turkey in coconut milk sauce (€ 8.20), are heartier alternatives. Dishes such as the mixed “spring” salad with grilled oyster mushrooms in a yogurt dressing (€ 7.40) and a filling portion of vegetable quiche with an herbal tomato sauce and a bed of rice (€ 6.90) make up for the fact that the restaurant does not cater to vegetarians. Make sure to allow yourself time here, as the service tends to be somewhat slow.
FOOD 8, SERVICE 6, ATMOSPHERE 7