Food & Beer Culture

What food pairs well with Stuttgart beer? Swabian cuisine, hearty but rarely spicy. Lentils with Spätzle and Saitenwürstle (thin sausages) are considered by many Swabians to be the region's defining dish. Pilsner's bitterness cuts cleanly through the smoky, bacon-laced lentil sauce.

Maultaschen are stuffed pasta pockets filled with ground meat, spinach, onions, and soaked bread. Legend has it that monks hid the meat inside to secretly eat during Lent, earning the dish its nickname 'God's little cheat.' Whether that's true remains uncertain. They're served either in broth or pan-fried in butter.

Zwiebelrostbraten, a pan-fried beef steak topped with crispy fried onions and gravy, traditionally comes with Spätzle on the side. A Festbier, with its rounded malt character, stands up well to the dish. If you're skipping the local wine, this is a dish for beer rather than a Viertele.

Stuttgart is a wine city at heart, and that shapes its drinking culture: wine is served by the Viertele, a quarter-liter poured into a handled glass. Beer, meanwhile, holds its own firm place, in brewery taverns and especially at the Cannstatter Wasen.

The Cannstatter Volksfest has been held since 1818, running from late September into early October, right after the end of summer break, on the 35-hectare Wasen grounds by the Neckar in Bad Cannstatt. Organizers report around four million visitors each year. There are eight large festival tents. Dinkelacker-Schwabenbräu supplies its own tents as well as the Göckelesmaier, while Stuttgarter Hofbräu supplies its own tent and several others.

The Göckele, a half roast chicken, is the classic dish inside the tents. The drink of choice is the Maß, a full liter. Those wanting less can order a Halbe, or half-liter.