Heidelberg Haus: Where Germans and Americans go “Cuckoo” about Brats!
Featured several times on the Food Network and written about across the globe, the Heidelberg Haus Café and Bakery has become an established and important ingredient of the German-American community in Indianapolis.
Open since 1968, owners Gabi and Juergen Jungbauer wanted to fashion a locale where all could savor the taste of the Germany they love. Over the years, the Jungbauers have conveyed a piece of the Rhineland to Indy’s east side and fostered a warm and affectionate communal and eating place for visitors.
At Heidelberg Haus on any day of the week, you will find an eclectic mix of customers from all nations. Many of these are veterans once based in Germany, who recall fond memories of all things German, especially the food.
In the café, the menu, or “Spiesekarte,” is deliberately limited and as German as you could possibly imagine – no doughnuts or muffins here! Kick off your lunch with a Kilbasa dinner, two fried Kilbasa Sausages with traditional German potato salad, bread and butter. Finish off with one of the many daily selections of pastries or with a German style ice-cream. A note about the German Potato Salad – this is a twist on the familiar American style, adding vinegar and bacon and omitting the mustard.
The on-site bakery makes everything from Struessel cake to an assortment of pastries. Christmas is Heidelberg’s busiest time with customers clambering for their homemade Springerle cookies. The century old recipe is very labor intensive and made using wooden molds that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Heidelberg Haus is much more than a café. After your lunch, take a stroll around the gift shop, densely decorated with German memorabilia. This is a Bavarian treasure trove, where you can pick up almost anything German you can possibly think of - Cuckoo Clocks, DVDs and CDs, Ornate Candles, Beer steins, Hummel Figurines.
And yes – you can even purchase Lederhosen!
HelloIndianapolis Tip: Check out the café’s web site – it’s got not just a plethora of information and history, but you can even order items directly from the gift shop. And Order your Christmas Springerle Cookies in plenty of time. These holiday treats sell out quickly!
- by Jim Brown , Indianapolis Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
