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Roo 10 years, 5 months ago.
Listen, you can make a ball out of nearly anything. 🙂 Sounds great Roo!
[lol]
I thought sauerkraut balls were a Pittsburgh specialty. When there was a playoff or championship game between some Miami team and a Pittsburgh team some years ago, there was one of those mayor/governor/whatever wagers that had sauerkraut balls on the Pittsburgh side.
The sauerkraut balls at Waterloo are tasty, but IMO far too big and falling-apart to meet standards as an hors d’oeuvre, which is their role. A true kraut ball should be compact and no more than an inch and a half in diameter, for spearing with a toothpick and dipping in cocktail, hot mustard or horseradish sauce. Waterloo’s are fork food, a happy mess.
Listen, you can make a ball out of nearly anything. 🙂 Sounds great Roo!
Most German restaurants in Cincinnati have these
Excerpt from the forthcoming Lexicon of Real American Food:
… In 1996, readers of the Akron Beacon-Journal voted sauerkraut balls the City’s Official Food. When the Akron Aeros played the Portland (Maine) Sea Dogs for the AA Eastern League baseball championship in 2006, Jim Cohen, the mayor of Portland, was prepared to send Akron’s mayor, Don Plusquellic, a basket full of Maine lobsters if his team lost. But it was the Aeros who lost, and so Mayor Plusquellic sent Mayor Cohen sauerkraut balls.
I was just at Barleys in Columbus last week, and while the BBQ was only average, the sauerkraut balls were top notch. Barleys is also a craft brewery, and their beers were quite good. Great place.
Sounds pretty good! Thanks for the report!
Pretty much, Nancy. We have those here at one of our local German resturants, and I love them.
I was in Ohio last week and had heard about the regional “sauerkraut balls’ in northeast Ohio. So I had to find some. It was highly recommened that I try John Bahas’ Waterloo Restaurant at 423 E Waterloo Road, Akron, OH 44319, 330.773.5158. Being the first that I had ever had they were great, served with cocktail sauce. Upon arriving back in Columbus I started asking about them there. I was told the best were at Barley’s Smokehouse, 1130 Dublin Rd. Columbus, Oh, 614.485.obbq. Could not believe how wonderful they were. Breaded in panko and served with chipote dipping sauce, the best to date!! I will continue my search and report again on my findings.
Now, I did run into ‘Reuben balls’ in a joint in Minnesota once. Anybody had those? Are they just a sauerkraut ball with pastrami and cheese tucked in?
WJ is right. Despite the German history in this city, sauerkraut balls are rare on menus here.
I thought sauerkraut balls were a Pittsburgh specialty. When there was a playoff or championship game between some Miami team and a Pittsburgh team some years ago, there was one of those mayor/governor/whatever wagers that had sauerkraut balls on the Pittsburgh side.
Don,
Definintely not a Pittsburgh specialty. I lived there for 5 years and never saw it on a menu anywhere. When I was living there I was under the impression it was a Columbus OH thing.
Thanks for the info
Sauerkraut balls in Ohio
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