Tip Top Meats

After a trip to the Carlsbad Farmer's Market I decided to go to Tip Top Meats only a few exits away off the 5. I had heard they serve meals and my husband was starved so we decided to eat at their restaurant before shopping for meat.

I knew the minute we entered the store that I had found what I had been looking for. Every city I live in I look for the local German deli. This is it. They have a huge selection of beer, wine, German and Eastern European goods, condiments galore, and every meat you can think of including all of my favorite sausages (wursts, etc.). In the back of the store you can find their restaurant.

Their restaurant has a big menu with breakfasts, lunch, and I believe dinner. Their prices are great. An all-you-can-eat meat breakfast includes potatoes, eggs, and your choice of meats for less than $6. They have great blue-plate specials and wide range of entrees and sandwiches. I ordered the German Weiner which comes with your choice of bread, a pickle, and a side for less than $4.

I substituted German potato salad for fries. Their German potato salad was definitely authentic (with bacon and scallions) but it was served hot and I prefer it cold or room temperature. The German Weiner plate comes with 2 weiners (and if you know German "hot dogs" you know that they are very very long). I cut one in half to fit the roll and saved the other one for home. My sandwich was great but I was disappointed that they only had nasty mustard available even though they sell a TON of German (and other kinds of) mustard. A true German sausage needs good mustard.

My husband believes that a good sausage needs sauerkraut and while I should agree with him due to my German heritage, I don't care for sauerkraut. He ordered a side of kraut to go with his sandwich.

He said it tasted fresh and it definitely made his sandwich taste better. His corned beef sandwich was very big and only around 6 bucks. The meat was exceptionally tasty.

After lunch we wandered through the store some more and gawked at their huge selection of mustards, olives, desserts, candies, and more. I was in heaven. I feel "in my element" a lot more now that I found a German deli. Now I have a place where I can get my wursts. Our purchases today included landjager, Nuerenberger bratwurst, German weiners, and Braunschweiger (for my husband). I'll definitely post more about these when we cook them. For now I'm freezing them for future dinners.

I got a kick out of some of their products and their candies. They actually had several flavors of Mentos which I've NEVER seen before. I'll be honest, their prices are marked up quite a bit. For instance, their Nutella was over $4 even though you can get it at Trader Joe's for closer to $2. Most of their products are like this. However, I thought their meats were well priced as well as their bakery goods (bread, strudel, etc.).

So expect a lot more German foods (or at least meat) in my posts over the next year. I will definitely take advantage of having Tip Top Meats nearby while I'm in San Diego.

Tip Top Meats: 6118 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad, 92011 - (760) 438-2620

(Down the street from the Carlsbad Outlet Mall)