The tuba gets there first. Somewhere under a striped tent on Marktplatz, an oompah band finds its footing, and the sound rolls down Main Street past the limestone storefronts. By the time you reach the gate, the air smells like grilled sausage, and a few hundred strangers are getting ready to do the chicken dance together without a trace of embarrassment.
That is Oktoberfest in Fredericksburg, and this year it runs October 2 through 4.
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Oktoberfest is underway in Munich, a good excuse to point out that Dallas has had its own German kitchen for 65 years. It is in Snider Plaza, and it is called Kuby’s Sausage House.
By Dallas standards, 1961 is ancient. By the family’s standards, it is recent. In 1728, Friedrich Kuby opened a meat market in Kaiserslautern, Germany, and the recipes passed from father to son for generations. “The original one was bombed in ’44,” Karl Kuby Sr. has said. “It was wiped out.”
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There is a particular kind of restaurant that Dallas doesn’t have enough of — the kind where the building itself is the first course. The Rathskeller in Fredericksburg is that restaurant. Fredericksburg sits about four hours southwest of Dallas in the Texas Hill Country, a small German-settled town of 12,000 people surrounded by vineyards, peach orchards, and limestone hills that turn gold in the afternoon light.
You walk down a flight of limestone steps off Main Street, duck through a low doorway, and find yourself in the basement of a building that was already old when Teddy Roosevelt was president. The walls are 1880s Hill Country limestone. The ceiling is low. The light is warm. The food is better than a room like this has any obligation to produce.
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Addison already has one of the best Oktoberfests in Texas. This fall, it gets something to match year-round.
Hofbräu Pub, the American offshoot of Munich’s legendary Hofbräuhaus, has announced its first Texas location will open in Addison this fall. The brewery behind it has been around since 1589, and its beer has been brewed to the same Purity Law since 1516 — water, barley malt, and hops. Nothing else. No shortcuts, no watermelon seltzers.
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Located in Snider Plaza, Kuby’s Sausage House is a living echo of the old world, built on the shoulders of precision, tradition, and comfort. Founded by Karl Kuby in 1961, after emigrating from Kassel, Germany, the restaurant and meat market still run under family leadership today. Karl-Heinz Kuby, his son, maintains the ethos with quiet rigor. At Kuby’s, nothing is ornamental. The charm isn’t curated—it’s inherited.
The interior, dressed in warm woods and hushed tones, has resisted the temptation of reinvention. There are hand-painted murals, a deli case with serious gravity, and waitstaff who know your usual order before you sit down. It’s a cross-generational meeting point where German immigrants, Highland Park regulars, and curious first-timers convene for something deeply elemental: food that honors its roots.
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Jorg’s Cafe Vienna in Plano, Texas, continues to offer a delightful taste of Austria in the heart of the Dallas area. Owned by Jorg Fercher, an authentic Austrian himself, the café delivers a unique European dining experience, marked by personal touches and a warm, inviting atmosphere.
The menu at Jorg’s Cafe Vienna remains faithful to its roots with traditional Austrian dishes. Schnitzels, particularly the Wiener Schnitzel, are a highlight, breaded and fried to perfection, and served with sides like potato salad or sauerkraut. Other notable dishes include the Goulash, a hearty stew that is meaty and rich in flavor, and the bratwurst, served with mustard and fresh bread.
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New Braunfels is a gem of a town in the heart of Texas, blending rich German heritage with plenty of modern-day fun. Whether you’re in town for a weekend getaway or just passing through, there’s no shortage of activities and delicious food to enjoy. Here’s a guide to making the most of your time in New Braunfels.
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While normally, we celebrate what is returning or traditional at Addison Oktoberfest, the event organizers work every year to refresh and enhance the experience at this award-winning festival. Oktoberfest celebrations are traditionally steeped in tradition – they started in Munich in 1810 as a wedding celebration – there have been many changes over the years. Addison’s Oktoberfest, which is timed to open the same weekend as the Munich Oktoberfest, has been celebrating with prosts and polkas for thirty-five years now, but has added a number of new features.
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