10 January 30 - February 5, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Brau Now Authentic Bavarian beer and food finds a home in Little Haiti. BY GRANT ALBERT T he feeling of returning to a warm, cozy cabin after a success- ful day of skiing in the Alps has never felt more real down in South Florida since Little Haiti’s Cuckoo Clock Brauhaus opened last year. Upon entering, your eyes first catch the log cabin walls as your feet feel the gentle give of the wooden floors. To your left, you’ll find a ski lift hanging from the ceiling with old skis resting beside it, and an outdoor patio that shines brightly. You have just entered Little Bavaria. Stefan Seuss and his partner, Mark Schar- nitz, opened Cuckoo Clock Brauhaus, located at 99 NW 54th St. last year. In a short amount of time, the bar and restaurant already has a fan base as the go-to spot to watch a soccer game, grab a drink, and devour housemade au- thentic German and Eastern European delica- cies. “People seem to appreciate what we are doing,” Seuss tells New Times. “My partner Mark and I had this space available, and I al- ways had this idea in my head of stepping into the restaurant and having a different theme.” Seuss moved to Miami in 1997 from Mu- nich, where he pursued his master’s degree at the University of Miami and worked in various industries. However, it wasn’t until 2015 that he first ventured into the restaurant business by investing with a friend in the popular German- American restaurant, the Hoffman, in Jensen Beach. After seven years of watching the Hoff- man become a hit in Jensen Beach, Cuckoo Clock took a year of planning to come up with. Seuss’s partner called him one day, asking if anyone would be interested in taking over the 54th St. building. “I was really interested and then we started this business,” he says. Cuckoo Clock is not a stereotypical Ger- man eatery with lederhosen-wearing servers or where every day is Oktoberfest. Instead, the restaurant brings the traditional German and Austrian flair with some twists and turns and has fun doing it. Seuss hired professional chefs to prepare the food. The menu features the classics like bratwurst sausage ($18) and schnitzel, an ultra-flat, fried chicken cutlet ($25), and the rich, hearty Hungarian stew, goulash ($18) that is poured into a bowl filled with tiny German dumplings called spaetzle. “We developed the menu eight years ago at The Hoffman, starting with the schnitzel,” Seuss says. Seuss also combines different cul- tures with the food he ate growing up in Ger- many. He remarks that the “Greek salad” is sold all over Munich due to a large Greek community in Germany. Naturally, he added it to the menu. Mostly everything is either homemade or purchased from German bak- eries or delicatessens. Aside from the feeling that mom is cooking in the kitchen, the tasty food comes down to technique. “For our German pancakes—latkes in the US—we do it differently. Latkes are usually fried from the spot on, but we cook it in butter first and then fry it for the last thirty seconds, to make the corners crispy.” Seuss adds that you cannot throw a whole chicken cutlet into the fryer: it’ll be saturated with oil. Like the pancakes, the cutlets are shallow fried in but- ter. “I use a lot of butter and eggs because they give a lot of taste. I wanted to stay true.” The desserts are largely made in-house, including the apfelstrudel ($14) and sacher torte ($10). “There’s a lot of soul in it. I use real Hungarian paprika in the goulash and real curry powder from India for the curry- wurst sausage. It’s simple food, but when done right, it tastes really good.” The second half of any brauhaus is obvi- ously the beer. The Cuckoo Clock tap features beer from Seuss’ hometown, all across Ger- many and Belgium, satisfying any thirst. “I have Michelob Ultra in case someone really wants it,” he chuckles. Plus, Cuckoo Clock has breakfast and beer specials on the weekends to enjoy while watching the European soccer matches, in- cluding an English breakfast (sausage, eggs, tomatoes, and baked beans ) and a Bavarian breakfast (white sau- sage and beer). There is also a happy hour all day on Tuesdays and every day between 4 and 7 p.m. The brauhaus fes- tivities do not end there, though. Seuss says that there are monthly chess nights, karaoke, video game nights, and even jazz nights. Beginning in February, there will be “after-skiing” nights, inspired by the apres-ski lifestyle in Europe. “It’s like drinking after skiing — we’ll have a DJ there,” he adds. While an average restaurant usually tries to figure out its identity after the first year, gauging what doesn’t work and what is possi- ble, Cuckoo Clock has already hit the mark. Seuss has little intention of changing a system that is already working. In just a year, people have found their new spot to watch the game, grab a beer, and be transported across the At- lantic to Germany. “I’m proud in the sense that I really appreciate how people really come here and say, ‘Wow.’ People appreciate it. I’m proud of that.’” Cuckoo Clock Brauhaus. 99 NW 54th St., Miami; 786-963-0149; cuckooclockmiami.com. [email protected] ▼ Café Photo by Lalo Hernandez Everything at Cuckoo Clock Brauhaus is either house-made or purchased from German bakeries or delicatessens. “PEOPLE APPRECIATE IT. I’M PROUD OF THAT.’”
