Hofbrau
In general, a restaurant that serves German food and beer. In California, the term hofbrau refers to a style of eatery that focuses on inexpensive carved meat dinners and sandwiches, usually with a choice of cold or hot sides.
The choice of meats offered at most hofbraus are roast beef, corned beef, turkey, ham, beef brisket, and sometimes buffalo. Sandwiches are often served on sourdough rolls that are first dipped into a beef jus and then topped with freshly sliced meat. Dinners often come with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, with gravy also ladled over both the potatoes and the meat. In addition, a dinner roll with butter plus a choice of a hot or cold side is included.
Cold sides often include macaroni or pasta salad, potato salad, or regular iceberg lettuce salad. Hot sides often included corn, macaroni and cheese, rice, and green beans.
Most dinners and sandwiches cost under $10.
The restaurant is laid out cafeteria-style, with one grabbing a tray and utensils, placing your order/request at the beginning of a long steam table, adding on side dishes as you move down the line, paying the cashier at the end of the line, and then seating oneself.
Beer, and a bar in general, is a common characteristic at most hofbraus. The beer, mainly domestic with a few imports, is often served on tap. Hard alcohol is sometimes available and most alcoholic drinks are generally inexpensive.
Another characteristic of many hofbraus is that they are meeting places for large groups of people either gathered to watch sports on television, have holiday parties, or discuss topics that are of interest to them.
Because of the style of food and the cost, hofbraus are often frequented by those living on fixed incomes, such as the elderly and working class people.
No one is sure who first started the California-style hofbrau. Tommy's Joynt, in San Francisco, claims to be one of the firsts, opening its doors in 1947. In general, this style of hofbrau became popular in the 1950s and 1960s and, while mainly concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, spread to various parts of Southern California and the Central Valley.
Hofbraus in California are a dying breed. Every year or so, another closes down and is not replaced. Many of their longtime regulars, a large proportion of whom are senior citizens, are often left with no place to go. Recently, in the Bay Area, these closed hofbraus include the Hayward Hofbrau and Chinese, the Silver Spoon Hofbrau, and the Walnut Creek Hofbrau House.
Recent attemps to repackage and revamp the hofbrau concept has proven to be successful. One, and perhaps the only, such venture is a San Francisco-based chain called
Pluto's. Pluto's, while not claiming to be a hofbrau, has taken the hofbrau model and used it to include many items not traditionally seen on hofbrau steam tables, including more vegetarian options. The price for a single meal, in keeping with the hofbrau concept, is also inexpensive.
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Tommy's Joynt (San Francisco)*
"Lefty" O'Doul's (San Francisco)*
Brennan's (Berkeley)*
Harry's Hofbrau (various locations in the Bay Area)*
The Silver Dollar Hofbrau (Fresno)*
Old Fresno Hofbrau (Fresno)*
Sam's Hofbrau (strip club & hofbrau - Los Angeles)*Tommy's Joynt (San Francisco)
*"Lefty" O'Doul's (San Francisco)
*Harry's Hofbrau (multiple locations - Bay Area)
*Brennan's (Berkeley)
*The Silver Dollar Hofbrau (Fresno)
*Old Fresno Hofbrau (Fresno)
*Sam's Hofbrau/Strip Club (Los Angeles)
*The Chick-N-Coop (San Francisco & Daly City)
*Bogy's Hofbrau (South San Francisco)
*Europa Hofbrau (Orinda)
*Oaks Corner (Emeryville)
*Jerrold Market Place (San Francisco)
*Hof-Brau Roast Haus (San Rafael and Novato)
*Narsi's Hofbrau (Santa Rosa)
*Plaza Hofbrau (Sacramento)
*The Red Steer (Merced)
*The Clambucket (Oakland)
*Hofbrau on Broadway (Oakland)
*Sam's Hofbrau (Oakland)
*Robbie's Hofbrau (Berkeley)
*Hayward Hofbrau and Chinese (Hayward)
*Walnut Creek Hofbrau House (Walnut Creek)
*Fullerton Hofbrau (Fullerton)
*Silver Spoon Hofbrau (Hayward)
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The Hofbraus of the San Francisco Bay Area
