Shultzy's Sausage News

Shultzy's makes the Hot Dog Hall of Fame

2008-07-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

On July 4th, Shultzy's proudly received a trophy from the Hot Dog Hall of Fame. Here is the article which accompanied the award and appeared in the organization's The Frankfurter Chronicles E-Newsletter. Thanks for the award!

(L-R) Bruce, Don, and Tim. That is the trophy in Don's lap, and he is happy to see you.

Shultzy's in Seattle

By Chris Masterson

In the mid-80’s, Don Schulze decided to leave the corporate world and start his own business. Drawing on his family’s traditions, he decided to create a restaurant specializing in high-quality, handmade sausages. After a year of testing and refining his recipes, Don and his wife Susan opened the original Shultzy’s on March 13, 1989 next to the University of Washington in Seattle.

With only a dozen seats around a counter and Don making sausages and working behind the grill, Shultzy’s quickly developed a reputation for tasty lunches in a fun, convivial atmosphere. Shultzy’s popularity led to long lines daily; so in 1999, Shultzy’s moved a few doors down the street to its' current location. Shultzy’s has since been able to expand its menu, add a full bar, and is open from breakfast to midnight daily.

Despite the changes, the founding principles of Shultzy’s remain the same: great-tasting handmade foods and beverages in a fun, casual atmosphere.

Shultzy’s doesn’t believe in serving precooked food: your meal is cooked to order. Fresh-cooked items may take a little longer to serve, so patrons are advised to tell the server if they are in a hurry.

Shultzy’s currently offers nine beers on tap and rotate those taps frequently to present the most quaffable beers in the world.

While being presented with The Frankie Award for Hot Dog Excellence, Don shared how he got some of his hand-made sausage recipes. One recipe was located while browsing sausage related books in the Powell bookstore in Portland, Oregon. He picked-up a book and a hand-written recipe fell out of the book. Don said it was an obvious ‘sign’ and that he had to buy the book.

The Andouille sausage recipe was ‘obtained’ when a woman stopped in one day and asked Don if he could make her a batch of sausages using her old southern recipe. Don is no wimp when it comes to a sausage challenge and gladly agreed to make the sausages. After days of the lady never returning to retrieve her 60 lbs. of sausage, Don realized it was great sausage and added it to the menu (it's one of my favorites).

Don and family (Don, Susan, Emily & William) originally set out from New York and headed to Los Angeles. After a brief review of the LA area, they decided it wasn't a sausage town.

Next they went to San Francisco and scouted areas. While there, Don met up with and became friends with now world famous sausage chef Bruce Aidell. Bruce was cooking in the basement of Macy’s and was nice enough to share some of his sausage secrets with Don.

The Schulze family finally ended up in Seattle and where they continue today in making some of the best sausages on the planet.

NOTE: This is Chris' favorite Seattle area weenie stand and as a previous "Frankie" recipient, he nominated Schultzy's for this year's awards. Chris says he likes the beer menu (lots of local microbrews), their extensive condiment bar, their sausage sandwiches and personable staff.

Mysterious allusions to Shultzys in the press...

2008-07-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Shultzy's fan, Steve Bridgeland, passed this one along to us...

The Seattle Weekly recently published an article castigating Starbucks Founder and CEO Howard Schultz for his mishandling of the Sonics sale that has led to their leaving Seattle. The article starts out with this rant:

Last week's settlement between the city and Clay Bennett's ownership group leaves Sonics fans nothing to do but whistle Annie's "Tomorrow." It's been a hard-knock life, watching Shawn Kemp get robbed in '93, so close in '96, traded in '97, and fat by '98. Watching Wally Walker and Rick Sund run the franchise into the ground, seven feet at a time (by my calculations, they took it about 49' deep). Watching Vin Baker's jowls wobble from the aftershocks of an opponent's dunk. Watching Gary Payton win a title in another jersey. Watching Howard Schultz panic-sell like he was the dude who owned a sausage shop on the Ave. rather than the head of a worldwide coffee empire.

Say what? Did he just say that selling the Sonics is something that is more Don Schulze than Howard Schulze? I don't think so... For the record, here are some differences between Don Schulze and Howard Schultz for those who have trouble telling them apart.

Shultzy's has not recently closed 600 stores. In fact, we've been on the Ave for nearly 20 years and intend to be here a lot longer. We will not be moving to Oklahoma CIty.
Howard Schulze sold the Sonics leading to the franchise leading town. Don Schulze did not.
Howard Schulze sells coffee, coffee, and... uh... coffee. Don Schulze sells brats, beers, burgers, and breakfast.
At Shultzy's you can order a double at our bar without using "grande", "venti", or any other faux-Italian words.
Don Schulze is younger and better looking* than Howard Schultz.

*This may only be the personal opinion of Susan, his wife. Your opinion may vary.

A loss for Shultzy's

2008-07-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Shultzy's lost one of its founding members this past week with the passing of Earl Schulze. He will be fondly remembered and genuinely missed by those of us who had the good fortune to have known him.

Earl Schulze

A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 12:15 p.m. Aug. 1 at St. Mary Catholic Church in Eugene for Earl William Schulze of Eugene. He died July 11 of age-related causes at age 81.

A reception will be held at the church after the Mass.

He was born May 9, 1927, in Longview, Wash., to Albert and Gertrude Thompson Schulze. He married Joan Basken on Aug. 1, 1953, in Fair Lawn, N.J.

Schulze graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland in 1946. He served in the Navy in World War II and later served in the Army in Korea. He worked as a newspaper pressman for 40 years, including 30 years for The Register-Guard and 10 years for The Oregonian.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Maureen Woodward of Gresham; a son, Don of Seattle; and four grandchildren.

Arrangements by Poole-Larsen Funeral Home in Eugene. Remembrances to Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon.

I cheer, You cheer, We all cheer for Root Beer!

2008-07-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today, we added IBC to our list of bottled root beers.

We have IBC (#2 in a recent New York Times taste test) and Stewart's (#10) to regional favorite Henry Weinhard's. I recently had dinner with a friend who's something of a root beer afficianado and he's a big fan of IBC, so if you like root beer, give it a try next time you're in.

A Drink in Search of a Frosty Mug (NYT)

Shultzy's 1st Annual July 4th Eve Party (July 3rd!)

2008-07-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

It's another Shultzy's Extravaganza...
Thursday, July 3rd (not the 4th!)
11am ’til Midnight

Apple Pie Shots                                       $2.99
Just like Mom used to make

Old Forester Shots                                  $2.99
Just like Mom used to drink.
Bourbon, America’s National Libation

Red White and… Bitburger                     $3.49
½ Liter Mug with a tiny American flag

Mojo Mojitos                                     $4.99
with a float of Golden 151 Rum

Vienna Beef® Hotdog                            $3.99
America’s Favorite Dog
In a basket with Fries and Slaw       $5.99

Anyone can celebrate Independence Day on the 4th.
Show your Independence and celebrate it on the 3rd at Shultzy's!

We're showing our independence by not coming to work on Friday!

2008-06-29T22:04:00.000-07:00

Shultzy's will be closed Friday for the July 4th holiday.

What will we be doing? BBQ-ing on the Weber at home? Drinking cold beer? Spending the day on a friend's luxury yacht cruising around?* Hey, we can dream, can't we?

I can't speak for my colleagues, but I'll be working on our POS menu system. Since we're closed on Friday, I have time to fix anything I break before we open up on Saturday morning for breakfast.

So, to repeat, Shultzy's will close at Midnight on Thursday, July 3rd and reopen for breakfast at 8am on Saturday, July 5th. Then our schedule will return to normal.

* Note: if you actually do have a luxury yacht and want to surround yourselves with Shultzy's employees instead of supermodels and bon vivants, let's talk.

Congratulations to Spain and Carl on their Euro 2008 Victories!

2008-06-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

Spain defeated Germany in the Euro 2008 finals 1-0. We had a full house at Shultzy's enjoying the game on all five TVs, and we even had a few soccer-oblivious fans enjoying a sunny afternoon on the back patio. It was a fun crowd -- you should have been here if you weren't. And, we even had Weihenstephan Original Lager and Hale's Kölsch Summer Ale to enjoy during the game.

I also want to congratulate Shultzy's Euro 2008 Pick 'Em Contest Winner, Carl. He finished in first place with 36.5 points and correctly picked 21 of 28 games (3 were ties, so everyone/no one picked them correctly). Wow! Very impressive. For his victory, Carl wins a pair of 1/2 liter German Beer Mugs, a Shultzy's baseball hat, and a Shultzy's T-Shirt. I hope Carl comes to claim his prizes since I think he lives up in British Columbia -- I'll also personally buy him a beer if/when he comes by.

Miroslav finished second with 34.5 points; he missed more of the round robin games, but he nailed the semifinals and final. He lives even further away than Carl, but if he makes his way to Shultzy's, there's a T-Shirt and 1/2 liter German beer mug waiting for him. And finally, in third, from parts unknown, is Denis with 33.5 points. Denis actually picked more games correctly than Miroslav, but Miroslav got them right when they counted the most. Denis has a 1/2 liter German beer mug waiting for him if/when he comes into Shultzy's.

Carl, Miroslav, and Denis: e-mail me at webmaster@shultzys.com if/when you're planning to come in and collect your prizes, so I can alert the staff to be looking out for you. Congratulations again! And if you're too far away to come in, at least you have bragging rights over all your friends (and the staff at Shultzy's who didn't come close -- Doug the bartender was our best finisher in a tie for 5th).

Euro 2008 Finals and Pick 'Em Contest Update

2008-06-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Germany or Spain? We'll find out at lunch on Sunday.

In the Euro 2008 Pick 'Em Contest, things are also closely contested.

If Germany wins, Brockly, Barry, and "R" are in the running (Brockly and Barry will come down to the goals-scored tiebreaker for 1st place).

If Spain wins, Carl, Miroslav, and Denis will finish in first, second, and third respectively.

Come by on Sunday and cheer on your favorites (teams or contestants).

Shultzy's Euro 2008 Bracket Competition

2008-06-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the start of the Euro 2008 Semifinals, and we're expecting an enthusiastic lunch time crowd to enjoy Germany vs. Turkey. On Thursday it's Russia vs. Spain. Both days' games start at 11:30-11:45am.

Where are we in the pick 'em competition?

Carl's in first and is looking pretty good but he's hoping for Spain to go all the way.
Susan's in second, but she's doomed because she had Portugal and Netherlands winning the semis, and the Dutch winning the whole thing. Sadly, both those teams have already gone home.
5 people are tied for 3rd (Barry, Brockly, Doug, Denis, and Paul). Of those, Brockly and Barry look to be in the best position to take it all provided that Germany prevails.
Nobody left had Turkey or Russia in the semifinals or finals.
I am tied for 11th and sinking like a stone. DOH!

If you want to keep up with the results, click here to see the spreadsheet. Or, you can just come into Shultzy's and drown your picking woes in a refreshing beer as I'm planning to.

Sorry for falling behind on the beer updates...

2008-06-22T12:50:00.000-07:00

I was in Lincoln, Nebraska this week, and my effort at remotely monitoring beer changes was lacking. My math seminar took too much out of me.

But, as of Sunday afternoon, the beer list is back up to date.

New Bottled Beers available: Red Bridge and Coors Light

2008-06-13T19:11:00.000-07:00

Today, we added two new beers to the cooler: Red Bridge and Coors Light.

Red Bridge is an important beer for us to have because it's a gluten-free beer. In addition to those who adhere to gluten-free or wheat-free diets, Red Bridge is a beer for the estimated three million Americans who suffer from Celiac disease. The beer is made from sorghum, with imported hallertau and domestic cascade hops. I haven't tasted one yet, but it's something we wanted to have available on the menu for our customers. We'll be working to put together a list of gluten-free items on our menu, but in the meantime, we know that our Red Beans and Rice is gluten free.

The second beer is Coors Light. Why Coors Light? It's my fault. I'm a sucker for cold beer and I like the fact that the mountains on the Coors Light label turn blue when the beer is cold. Yes, it's a marketing gimmick, but it worked on me. Oh yes, and it's my wife's favorite beer. Domestic bliss is important, you know. Sadly, Miller Lite had to go to make room for Coors Light. If you're a big Miller Lite fan bothered by this change, drop us an e-mail to webmaster@shultzys.com and let us know; maybe there's room for both of them if we do some creative cooler shuffling.

No shrunken pints at Shultzy's

2008-06-13T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's become one of our favorite games to play when shopping: Spot the Shrunken Packaging. As companies try to find a way to deal with rising costs or expand profitability, it appears that the magic shrinking ray has hit a vast array of products. The "gallon" of orange juice may now be only 58 oz when you look carefully at the label. The 25 lb. bag of charcoal may now be only a little over 21 lbs. The differences are enough to fool you if you don't notice the change on the label.

Apparently, some taverns are doing the same thing with their beers. For quite a while, taverns have been able to buy 14 oz. "Pint" glasses. They look a lot like an actual pint (16 oz.) glass, but they have thicker bottoms. Net result, less beer for you, more profit for the tavern owner.

At Shultzy's a pint is 16 oz. We try to treat our customers the way we like to be treated and we're serious about our beers, so no fake 14 oz. pints. As much as possible, we try to serve our beer in logoed glassware from the brewer, so you'll even see some of our beers served in 20 oz. "Imperial" pints when that's what the brewer recommends.

And please don't complain about your beer having a "head". Most German beers, properly poured , have a 1"-1.5" head. The head keeps oxygen away from the beer and also adds a textural component that would otherwise be lacking. And if you still don't believe me, then order a Hoegaarden 1/2 liter. Our Hoegaarden glassware is oversized, so we can pour a full 1/2 liter of beer (up to the 500 ml line on the glass) and still have room for the head on top. Consider the head as a special bonus for drinking Hoegaarden.

Shultzy's: Where a Pint Is At Least 16 Ounces!

Wall Street Journal - "A Pint-Size Problem"
The link should be good for non-subscribers for a week

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes?

2008-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

The FDA has issued a health warning for raw tomatoes.

As a precautionary measure, Shultzy's has stopped serving raw tomatoes and fresh salsa until the current tomato health concerns are resolved. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Thanks to Kelsey for her clever headline.

Euro 2008 is underway!

2008-06-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

Euro 2008 got off to a flying start this weekend, and our contest has, too!

If you're entered in the Euro 2008 Bracket contest, click here to see how you're doing. The spreadsheet will be updated each day to reflect that day's results, so you can keep track of your progress and taunt your friends/competitors.

And whether you're in the contest or not, we've decided that our Happy Hour specials are in effect whenever Euro 2008 is on TV at Shultzy's. So, you'll be able to enjoy $3.50 half-liters of our German Lager of the day and $3.00 16 oz. pints of our Micro of the Day, as well as wine, shots, and food specials. For more info, check out our online Happy Hour menu.

We look forward to seeing our soccer-loving Shultzy's customers in these next couple of weeks, and we hope you're enjoying the action as much as we are.

UDSPA Charity Trivia Night #2

2008-06-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last night was the second in our series of UDSPA (University District Service Provider Alliance) Trivia Nights. I can say, as a participant in the contest, that it was a lot of fun. About 6-8 teams of varying size and composition fought through questions ranging from Geography and Social Issues (What annual income is currently defined by the Federal Government as the Poverty Line?) to Alanis Morrissette and Boyz II Men lyrics. Everyone had a good time, there were many clever team names, and the eventual winner was the Mazel Tov Cocktails.

I say "eventual" because the contest ended in a tie after four rounds and had to be resolved according to international competitive trivia rules, namely an audience-judged dance-off. Yes, it was just as scary as it sounds. Fortunately, we had an amateur beat boxer in the crowd to provide musical accompaniment (Bowden's roommate). The rest was... well I think you just have to watch it.

The runners up...

...and the winners, the Mazel Tov Cocktails!

Last chance for the Euro 2000 Pool!

2008-06-06T12:29:00.000-07:00

The deadline's tomorrow morning at 7am, so don't delay.
We won't nag you again, but don't blame us if you miss out.

Click here to enter the pool or click here for more information.

The perfect order

2008-06-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had to get a picture of this. A table at lunch yesterday ordered five different beers. Bowden poured each of them in their own logo glassware, and Kelsey was ready to take them to the table. It's like our own little beer commercial (sunshine, cheerful staff, perfectly poured beers).

Trivia Night again this Saturday Night at 7pm!

2008-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Last time, Shultzy's was packed with trivia folks who had a great time matching wits with the Trivia Masters. Last time, we had a sell-out crowd, so you may want to get there a little early to make sure you can participate in the trivia festivities.

Good luck!

P.S. The real name of Astro (the Jetsons' dog) is Tralfaz (Elroy found him -- the dog belonged to the wealthy J.P. Gottrockets).

Euro 2008 Contest entry deadline is Friday at midnight PT

2008-06-04T12:58:00.001-07:00

Euro 2008 Soccer starts this Saturday morning (Seattle time), so you're running out of time to enter our contest. All entries must be submitted by 7:00 am PT, Saturday June 7th.

Enter Shultzy's Euro 2008 Contest HERE!

We're still working on prizes -- they'll likely be t-shirts and other swag from our beer distributors. Strangely, we've been getting quite a few entries from Canadians (maybe some of our far-flung Shultzy's fans?). If you win, you'll have to pick up your prizes here at our restaurant in Seattle... sorry! But, it would make a great roadtrip for our Canadian friends...

And I think we've got the scoring rules figured out.
Each round robin game picked correctly = 1 point. Ties are worth 1/2 point.
Each quarterfinal game picked correctly = 3 points
Each semifinal game picked correctly = 5 points
Final winner picked correctly = 7 points
So, if you're a real wizard and there are no ties, you could earn a maximum possible 53 points.

The quarterfinal round might prove a little confusing to you, but I've simplified it. Don't worry about who's a group winner and runner-up. Just pick the four teams you think will advance from the quarterfinals (2 from groups A & B and 2 from groups B & C). As I used to tell my students, "if you still don't understand, just try and do your best".

Vote for your favorite server contest (pictures)

2008-06-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

The "Vote for your favorite server" contest continues, and now we've got some pictures to help you. More will be coming in the days ahead, so check back regularly!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

2008-06-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

I was watching a Cubs game last week at Shultzy's when something in the background caught my eye.

In the background, there was an advertisement that said Bubba Burger, Official Burger of the Chicago Cubs.

That struck me as pretty funny since Shultzy's has been making Bubba Burgers for years. Long ago, we started taking our Ragin' Cajun sausage and serving it as a patty instead of a link. Since I'd lived in Memphis, I thought it would be good to serve it on a roll with cole slaw, somewhat akin to a Memphis-style BBQ pork sandwich. And for some reason, we decided to name it after one of my father's nicknames "Dr. Bubba", and the Bubba Burger was born.

The Bubba Burger turned out to be popular and had a long run on the Shultzy's menu, but ultimately, people preferred their Cajun sausage burger in what is now known as the Chatalas Burger (with grilled onions and melted cheddar cheese). The Chatalas burger is a top-seller, but even now the Cajun patties themselves are known to our prep and grill staff as "Bubbas".

I'm pretty confident that we've got the Cubs version of the Bubba Burger beat hands down; after all, theirs isn't even a sausage burger. And, since the Ragin' Cajun is itself an homage, I guess one tribute deserves another.

Logo of the University of Lousiana-Lafayette

Man's Best Friend? His dog. Dog's best friend? Jimmy the Bread Delivery Man.

2008-06-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

The end of an era came this last weekend when Jimmy, our bread guy for nearly 20 years, made his last bread delivery at Shultzy's. The staff (except Don) always looked forward to seeing Jimmy in the mornings as he always had a nice word for everyone (except Don). But no one looked forward to seeing Jimmy more than Chloe (Shultzy's K9 mascot and family pet) who would always receive treats from Jimmy.

Jimmy, we'll all miss you. And that might even include Don.

Shultzy's Euro 2008 "Bracket" Contest

2008-05-30T23:01:00.000-07:00

You've heard of March Madness, this is Shultzy's Euro 2008 June Madness!

We've become a bunch of soccer fans, and figured that the only way to make the Euro 2008 tournament more fun is to let our staff and customers compete, as well. So, we've created a contest where you pick the winners to the tournament's games.

We're still working on the scoring rules (thank goodness NCAA basketball doesn't have round robin rounds or ties), and we'll let you know as soon as we're done.

The good news is that there's no entry fee. More good news: there are prizes. We're still figuring those out. Even better news, Shultzy's will have specials during the games, so you can root on your picks with food and beverages close at hand.

Good luck to all of you!

Submit your Entry to Shultzy's Euro 2008 "June Madness" contest.

If you're just interested in the Euro 2008 Tournament Bracket (schedule), click here.

USA vs England Soccer Today

2008-05-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

USA vs England Soccer at Noon today. Bayern (Missoula, Montana) and Boddington's (UK) on tap in addition to our usual German and Belgian beers.

Join us for some International Soccer on TV with lunch.

Soccer and Baseball on TV today

2008-05-27T05:35:00.001-07:00

Seminfinals of the tournament are on TV today. Unfortunately, the USA didn't make it, losing all three of their games (74 more days 'til the USA's first game in 2008 Olympic Soccer vs. Japan).

Chile vs Ivory Coast
Japan vs Italy

The first game is at 9am and the second is on at lunch (11:30 am).

Or, if your preference is baseball, the Red Sox take on the Seattle Mariners at 7:10pm -- Dice-K, Ichiro, and more Japanese sports photographers than you can shake a stick at.