Funkenhausen - Brunch

 

While the odd name and cuisine combination were kind of a draw, I knew, before I came that I would enjoy Funkenhausen.  I first encountered Chef Mark Steuer when he was working the savory side of the restaurant at Mindy's Hot Chocolate.  There, I had the best Shrimp and Grits that I had ever had.  He then went on to open The Bedford and The Carriage House.  When I later went to The Carriage House, I did not remember until I had the shrimp and grits that the chef there was the same chef as the one I first encountered at Mindy's Hot Chocolate.  Through these three restaurants, I saw that Chef Steuer did some excellent Lowcountry Southern food.  With Funkenhausen Chef Steuer decided to combine the Southern food that he grew up with with the German food which relates to his heritage.  I like both Southern and German cuisines, though there didn't seem an obvious connection between the two, especially with brunch.  With German food, I think of a lot of meat and starch.  Southern food uses different starches and seafood.  Before having the food, I was thinking, possibly that gravies and sauces could make the connections, but I would have to see.  The space is very large and open with a bar on the left side, an arched ceiling, and a half wall dividing the space in the middle.  The arches in the ceiling, gave the space an Alpine lodge look.  The wall behind the bar was covered in green tile that was laid out in a chevron pattern  On the wall was a Cuckoo Clock and the bar taps were decorated with antlers emphasizing the German Alpine feel.  The back wall also was tiled, though it was tan instead of green.  On that wall was a sign that said, "Wine, Stein, Dine".  Below the sign, a Boar's head was mounted, which could be either German or Southern.  In addition to all of this, the soundtrack was old school funk, which was a lot of fun to listen to and was a throwback to the name.  I sat at the bar and had a coffee (from Metric), which is kind of universal, served in a heavy rustic mug.  The coffee was a medium roast and tasted pretty good.  It was a good way to start things and I was excited for the food.  I was obviously seeing German elements in the design, I was wondering if the Southern would show up in the food.

The brunch menu had German elements, but was not strictly German.  The menu looked fun and didn't take itself exceptionally seriously.  I like to go both sweet and savory with brunch.  I started with sweet and a doughnut.  In this case, it was a Black Forest Doughnut, A Dark Chocolate Doughnut with Chocolate Glaze, Amarena Cherries, Vanilla Buttercream, and Powdered Sugar.  This was very definitely a very whimsical take on a Black Forest Cake.  It had the flavors of Black Forest Cake, Dark Chocolate and Cherries, but it wasn't overwhelming.  It was a little messy, but it was very good and a lot of fun to eat.

When I think of breakfast pasta, I think of Pasta Carbonara, a combination of Parmesan, Bacon, and Eggs (sometimes with a white wine sauce).  The ingredients combined with the pasta are breakfast regulars, so it just makes sense if pasta is gong to be served for breakfast, Carbonara would be served.  Funkenhausen did do a spin on Carbonara, using Spaetzle, a German hand-rolled pasta, with Parmesan, Bacon, Red Onion, Peas, and topped with a Soft Boiled Egg and lots of Pepper.  It was very similar to a good Spaghetti Carbonara, the Carbonara was what you would expect from a good Carbonara, but the Spaetzle was thicker than spaghetti and more chewy.  The soft boiled egg, served on top instead of being mixed in, was a good reference to breakfast.  Because it was soft boiled, it was easy to break up and mix in which provided enough moisture to the other tasty ingredients.

This was a lot of fun.  There were no obvious Southern dishes, but it definitely was not strictly a German restaurant.  The food was very good, the space was nice, the staff was friendly, and the music was nice to listen to.  I will have to return again to try out dinner sometime, and possibly return for brunch.