Kuby's Sausage House Inc
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Breakfast
- Alcohol: None
12 Reviews for Kuby's Sausage House Inc
If you like greasy food, this is the place to go. I've tried their pastrami sandwich and their bratwurst, both came off the grill dripping in oil and tasting of the grill they came off of. Neither was pleasant. Their redeeming qualities: the split pea soup is flavorful, thick and very tasty, as is their warm German potato salad.
P.S. Don't ever ask for Ketchup in a German restaurant. I learned that one the hard way.
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Seldom do I sit down to a meal at Kuby's small restaurant that's attached to their market. When I do, I find that the food is exactly what it's supposed to be- very casual German. In its own right, it is exactly what it's supposed to be.
My rave is about the market. They have plenty of euro condiments, mixes and pickles. There's a small assortment of veggies, milk, eggs and precooked sides for convenience sake.
Their meats are fresh, well butchered and reasonable in price. Their butchered meats, such as sausages and dried meats are done correctly. Their deli counter makes life easy on no-cook nights. Their shrimp salad and seasoned sauerkraut are great, as is their german potato salad.
Kuby's outstanding selection of international products, outstanding fresh and prepared meats and convenient deli counter combined with their unpretentious attitude and uninflated prices on specialty items keep me coming back.
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All Hail Kuby's as a Historical Dallas Restaurant Institution -
Or not. Oh what can I say about Kuby's...........
Service - Un-starable and deplorable
Food - 2 stars
Atmosphere - 3 stars
Price - 1 star (and in this case, ONE star is a very good thing!)
There is nothing more relaxing that a GOOD late breakfast on Sunday morning. This wasn't it.
The two of us were seated remarkably quickly, snagging the last open table before the noon church rush. And then we waited....... and waited........ and waited. Looking around, I only saw 2 waitresses on the floor, neither of them looking our way. Trying to be patient, but really wanting coffee, I FINALLY got the hostess's attention, who served us coffee, but about 15 min. after being seated.
After another 5 - 10 min., and in need of a coffee refill, our waitress appeared with utensils and water and practically demanded our order. Ignoring her overbearing attitude, we each ordered a standard breakfast and I asked about a couple of the sausage types that where served on a "PLATTER" which included German potato salad, red cabbage and sauerkraut.
Her disgruntled response to my sausage inquiry began to ruffle my feathers, however, I was determined to remain calm; after all, this place is legendary and I did drive 20+ miles to get here, and it is a beautiful Sunday morning.............
Fast forward another 15 - 20. Food is served. Cold eggs, cold toast, cold potatoes, cold sausages, NO, repeat NO cabbage, kraut or potato salad. Visually noting the lack of sides on the "PLATTER" at time of service, my dear waitress became argumentative as to whether I had actually ordered it or not - IT COMES AS A $%^#$%^ "PLATTER" ITEM ON THE MENU LADY ---- NOT A LA CARTE ITEMS!!!!
After checking her order pads, she acknowledges her mistake and retreats to the kitchen for the sides. It's at this time that I discover the chilling temperature of the remainder of the meal. So, upon her return with the sausage sides, I bring the temperature to her attention. She actually told me she would take the egg plates and nuke them - I've NEVER heard of that! Amazingly, I remained calm and declined, but then she said that she would tell the chef that HE was putting out cold food. With that comment, I knew this was a losing battle.
All of this, NOT from some shit-for-brains-I-go-to-SMU-and-am-too-cool-to-wai t-tables....... No, this from someone of years that should have taken responsibility for serving plates of food whose temperatures would rival that of the North Pole. I'm still in total wonderment!
Sorry for the rant, but a day later, I'm still astonished!
Anyway, even with proper service of the food, I wouldn't have been blown away. The bacon was the best part - thick sliced and a little sweet. The fried eggs and toast were just that. The bite-sized, cubed, fried potatoes were beautifully browned, but were unseasoned and flavorless.
I was mostly disappointed with the majority of "German" portion of the experience. Both the weinwurst (looked like a hotdog) and weisswurst (a white sausage, touted as fat-free) were tastelessly bland. The German Potato Salad was overly acrid with no other traditional flavors of onion, mustard or bacon; the sauerkraut was unremarkable, but typical with a flavoring of caraway; and the red cabbage was hands down, the best - wonderfully braised to velvet softness, yet maintaining a crisp bite.
The atmosphere is "old diner", which isn't a bad thing. The lack of upgrades is certainly a reason that the menu pricing can be kept remarkably low. Our (2 meat) sausage platter, two (single) egg breakfasts with a selected meat, toast, fried potatoes and two coffees came in at under 16.00.
I would hope that you would have a better service experience and that my waitress was simply having a remarkably bad day. BUT! If you are looking for a deal on pricing, this would be it.
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We ordered the cold cut platter, the wurst bites and three potato pancakes. It was a huge amount of food for two people. Absolutely none of it was good for us...well, the pickles were probably okay. We literally had a meat, cheese, potato and bread fest with mustard and sour cream. Everything was excellent tasting.
They offered more traditional German fare, but we were in it for the meat. There was some sauerkraut and purple cabbage under the wurst. I ate a little and deemed it good, but was so full of assorted cold cuts that I didn't have room in my tummy for anymore.
I did have room to go to the bakery area and get a snicker doodle. Also, very good. Right amount of snicker to doodle.
All in all it was a great meal for two under $20. Love that they brought out pretzels and bread prior to the meal. I almost filled up on those. Only thing that could have been better was if the lady playing the accordion--which I totally love--could have volumed it down a notch. "WHAT? YOU LIKE THE PINK SAUSAGE BETTER THAN THE WHITE SAUSAGE? ME TOO."
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German food is the kind of thing you can only have once in a while (unless you live in Germany, of course). On those occasions, Kuby's is probably one of your best bets in D-town. This place is pretty authentic, with the restaurant attached to a full-scale German deli.
The menu features everything from wurst-stuffs to potato pancakes (my fave) to sandwiches. It's definitely authentically German..
Personally, I'm not into the whole sausage, kraut, brat, etc. deal, but my friends who are say it's tops. The sandwiches and semi-normal items are definitely worth decent. Not a huge fan of their German potato salad though. It's warm and semi-sour. They make it better in New York.
This place is packed on the weekends, and then don't serve breakfast after 10 a.m. on Saturdays (annoying). But Sundays they have brunch till 2. Seating is semi-communal, which can be a drag, but the waitstaff is really friendly and accommodating. Also, parking in Snider Plaza sucks, big time, so be ready.
If you're not into German food, don't be scared if your friends drag you here. Like I said, sandwiches and stuff are normal, and pretty tasty.
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The best part about Kuby's to me is not the relatively cheap and relatively yummy (though a little greasy) German food, it's not the awesome kitsch of the dining room, it's not the easy friendliness of the wait-staff; what's best about Kuby's is that it has that sort of 'slice of Europe' feel to it.
Yeah, it's in Snider Plaza with well-heeled Dallasites running around filling their needs for Wurst; still, the displays, the items, they are all unapologetically German. The people are--as they should be--unapologetically German (well, those who are German at least) and the palate of the items you can buy in the little grocery is (mostly) German.
I really like that I can get German coffee (which has a nice chocolatey-ness to it) in a place that's not a super fancy grocery store (not that I don't love Central Market, I do). Buying it here, though, just feels like the type of places I've shopped for basic stuff in Germany and has that authenticity without any air of snooty-ness (just Germanic 'tude, which is fine).
Kuby's Deli is the real reason to go. I'm a German food aficionado and I find the food in the restaurant to be pretty yummy, but kind of like in an comfort-food kind of way. It's not expensive, it's not fancy, it's brown and warm. The Wiener Schnitzel is pretty darn good as well! Also, as with all German places that have Germans on the staff, if you are unsure, just go with the Wursts; they are always going to be yummy.
It's pretty heavily calibrated to Bavarian sentiments (like many German restaurants are), but that's only fitting given that Bavaria is the Texas of Germany. I like this place a lot and I work at SMU, so I find myself there a good amount (especially in the Deli).
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Well I don't do breakfast unless it's past 10am, but my buddy Steve could only meet for an early meeting. Since I was in town for vacation for two weeks, I took advantage of enjoying breakfast at least once without sleeping in.
This is a neighborhood place, as it appeared many regulars come there daily for breakfast. Steve suggested I order the Breakfast biscuit which was a biscuit with cheddar, bacon, gravy and a fruit cup. Nothing really German about that meal, but it did keep me full for hours.
The waitress was basically an order taker but who could blame her, it's a simple menu and I think she was the only server. Didn't get the German influence of the breakfast menu, maybe I need to try it another day. Though it was decent food, I don't think I will be back until I am well passed 60 and need soft food.
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FOOD STYLE:
German!
FORMAT:
Deli + Restaurant w/Communal Seating
LOCATION:
Upscale Area with Poor Parking (demand seriously exceeds supply)
Texas.
One little word that conjures up a whole universe of mental images. Some positive, others less so. To outsiders, Texas is seen largely as a dusty expanse of sagebrush and open ranchland, populated by cowboys in ten-gallon hats, Mexican desperados, tin-star sheriffs with mirrored sunglasses, football champs, bible-thumping mind-slaves of the Republican army, and rich nutball oil barons with silicone-injected trophy wives (all blonde, naturally ... and more often, less so). Eagerly, they saunter into our big, urbane cities, and start looking high and low for snakeskin boots, quarter horses, and drunken gunslingers twirling six-shooters.
Surprise! Didn't find 'em, did ya?!
As locals and new residents can attest, that conglomeration of Texas icons belongs mainly to the distant past or the fevered imaginations of the TV-addled masses. At best, bits and fragments of these iconic Texas figures can be found only in the most remote regions of the State, somewhat preserved in hundreds of tiny little humble towns that are still more likely to feature Dairy Queens than dairy cows.
Lost in the hubbub of Hollywood expectations and preconceived notions are a number of true symbols of Texan and 'prairie' culture that have now long been relegated to the fine print of travel logs and history books. One oft-overlooked facet of our great State are the contributions of our German immigrant pioneers, who, improbable and inexplicable as it might seem, were somehow drawn to this part of the country in large numbers many years ago. (Germany + TX = huh? WTF?)
I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say, their culinary predilections left a lasting impression on the state, and Kuby's is one of the best places in DFW for chowing down on authentic German delicacies and their Texo-American descendents.
Doubt me? Two words for you, right here -
BLOOD SAUSAGE.
When was the last time (or, heck, the first time) you ever saw THAT featured in an American deli? Dry-cured and hung from the ceiling with sixty-odd other cuts of specialty meats and sausages you won't find at Albertson's or the Germanesque-sounding Kroger's this side of the Twenty-First Century & probably the next, too. Now that's authentic.
Kuby's opened up in Dallas way back in 1961, the dream of a recent German immigrant to the state (see?! they're STILL comin'! what the hell?!), who's forefathers had run similar deli's back in the Fatherland since 1728. Basically on the outskirts of civilization when it opened, Kuby's is now nestled deep inside the Highland Park Reichstag, surrounded by the trappings of haute couture in the exceedingly gentrified and college-ified SMU Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere.
While it might be hemmed in on every front by class and privilege, Kuby's is truly a gem of the plebian estate. Prices are as modest as the cuisine itself, and seating is strictly communal, offered on a first-come first-served basis - "Y'all seat yourselves, dears, when a spot to yer likin' opens up, and I'll be by presently". Bar, benches, or booths, it's all the same - you wait in line with the doctors, collegiates, and elderly until blessed providence frees you from limbo's agonizing grasp and, like a Tantalus victorious, your hands seize the fruits of the golden bough and quench the crushing hunger that brought you hither. Arrive after 11:30, though, and it could be a long wait. And yeah, no reservations, even if you've been eating there since dirt was first invented.
But nearly everyone finds the food (and the experience) to be worth the wait. Kuby's is often packed with regulars, choosing old favorites such as the potato pancakes, you-name-it-they-schnitzel-it, red cabbage, homemade sauerkraut (sooo good! gassy, but good!), reuben sandwiches, and a variety of daily soup specials. And, of course, there are the infamous German beers and more sausages than even Paris Hilton can endure.
The atmosphere is wonderful. Folks are friendly, and the building is old; the creaky kind of place nailed loosely together with thick wood planks warped by age and use. The walls are decked with old photos, famed personages, and, of course, Germanic memorabilia of the Oktoberfest-Kind. Gallon stein, anyone? Anyone? Gallon stein? Fits a six-pack in one handy mug .... No? Eh, maybe next business lunch.
And when you've finished with your repast (which will be quick - there is no moss growing on the shoes of these waitresses, however advanced in years some might be), there is that wonderful deli in the other half of the store. Actually, it's the first half. Folks new to Kuby's will find themselves entering through a small and unlikely door into the deli. The diner is to the right.
So enjoy, ya belly-scritchin', gas-passin', cattle-rustlin', low-down no-good varmints!
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I really like the concept of Kuby's, and I think they do a really good job w/ the food & the grocery area. When you walk in, you really feel like you are in small German town- with the decor and the way the staff are dressed. And there usually some older guy in the corner playing the accordion for entertainment, which can only help the German theme.
I had tried Kuby's before & after actually going to Germany, and I've always liked it. The last time I went, I had Rouladen- which is like a meat roll stuffed w/ onions & pickles. They serve it with red cabbage (that will turn anybody onto cabbage cuz its good), sauerkraut, and these doughy noodle things called Barische Spaetzle. We always get an order of potato pancakes w/ apple sauce & sour cream- and you can really make a meal out of those. They serve imported beers which just adds to the experience.
What really surprised me was when my mom mentioned it for breakfast- holy crap, it is good. We ordered a small feast- cheese plate, deli sausage & meat tray w/ breads & butters which really reminded me of Germany. Then, some of us ordered breakfast- I got eggs benedict which was incredibly delicious.
I like the little German market too because you can try new stuff and/or try to recreate some of this stuff, get sausage for cooking at home or get European candy.
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My friends who were rushing a fraternity at SMU often had to stay up all night doing horrible things. Kubys opens super early (and would sometimes open earlier for them) so they could get something comforting and warm when everything else in the world seemed bleak and horrible. Kuby's was a bright spot amidst the haze (ing).
This is the only place near SMU with good bagels (besides central market, obviously). Its a really good place to go for breakfast to cure a hangover or to study. The food is alright but the best part is the market, which is a nice change from normal Dallas markets.
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The food here is good, but we often buy the sausage and take it home. My girlfriend loves the pimento cheese that they sell. The jalapeno cheddar sausage is my favorite. great in a tortilla with some mustard.
I've only been here for breakfast, but the food is really good. They have the usual breakfast fare, plus a few German dishes. It's a good breakfast spot. There is alos a store with a meat market. I've been told that their Italian sausage was voted best in Dallas. Don't know if it is true, but they do have good italian sausage.
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