Bottom Line: This chicken sandwich may not bring the heat, but it is quite tasty and filling and pairs well with Altstadt’s selection of beers.
Fredericksburg is a nice little touristy town about an hour and a half north of San Antonio that is right in the heart of Texas wine country and that is known as a good location for shopping as well as its German heritage. (It is also the home of hot sauce Mecca known as Rustlin’ Robs, but I will get to that in an upcoming post). My wife and I recently did our annual trip to the town, and I will be chronicling that in the next few posts. One of our first stops (after a nice wine tasting at Bingham Family Vineyards) was the Altstadt Brewery, a must for lovers of good beer and good food.
That brewery opened in 2018 and is located just outside of town on Highway 290 in a large, Tudor-style house. It produces German style beers that are guided by the German beer purity laws of 1516 and are brewed using only four ingredients: hops, barley, yeast, and artesian spring water. It also has a robust menu of German food (I highly recommend the sausage plate and the Rueben) as well as other items. On my most recent visit I noticed the Cashville Hot Chicken Sandwich and decided to give that a try. Following is the description from the menu:
Hand-breaded chicken thighs tossed in a classic Nashville hot sauce, with fresh pepper slaw, spicebox pickles, and Havarti cheese all on a parmesan bun.
To start off with, this sandwich is huge! As in unlock your jaw huge. The chicken is nicely breaded and has a good crunch without being too crusty. Since they use boneless chicken thighs, the meat is not at all dry like breast meat can be if not cooked properly. It is quite tender and flavorful throughout. The chicken patty has a bit of a tang along with a nice peppery flavor, and the sharpness of the Havarti cheese compliments it well. The slaw adds sweetness and a bit of extra crunch, and the pickles deliver just the right pop to bring everything together. The bun is nice and pillowy with a bit of sweetness and adds that little something extra to the experience.
Sadly, though, this sandwich is not very hot. The chicken has a bit of a zing, as does the slaw. But even when the two come together, it is no more than a mild heat. That is not necessarily a bad thing as this is still quite a tasty sandwich and rather filling as well. But I would like some more heat and next time I will ask for it to be extra spicy if that is an option. It may not satisfy your need for heat, but it will certainly satisfy your appetite.
Be sure to get the house made chips with it as well as they pair perfectly with the sandwich. They have a Cajun seasoning, which also does not bring much heat, but they are still quite tasty. They really should have those on the menu as an appetizer option as a plate of these with a spicy dip would be a great starter.
And if you are eating at Altstadt, you’re going to have to get one of their handcrafted beers to wash that meal down. They have all the German standards like the Lager, Kolsch, Amber, Hefeweizen, and Octoberfest. And they also have a regular rotation of specialty beers. I usually do a flight and this time around I got the Schwarzbier, the Kolsch Zwickelbier, the Festbier, and the Year Lator Doppelbock. All were excellent, but that rich and potent Doppelbock certainly stole the show.
If you like beer (or should I say bier) and good food (or gutes Essen), then Altstadt Brewery should be on your list of places to visit in Fredericksburg. They may not amp up the spice there, but there is still plenty to like about their food and beer. It is a little bit out of town, so you will have to plan your trip there. But if you do a few wine tastings in the area, this is certainly a good place to stop and fill up as well as to grab a good beer or two.