Schnitzelbank Bratwurst in top four Indiana sandwiches and Mayor Seitz wants to sing about it

Alan Hanselman, the owner of the Schnitzelbank, is busy cooking bratwurst these days. The Super 46 Sandwich Contest has put the restaurant’s sandwich on a lot of individual’s lists of “must try’s” in the culinary world. “You don’t find many 19A (Dubois County) license plates in our parking lot on the weekend but with the contest we have people coming all the way down from Indianapolis,” Hanselman said.

The contest has had an impact on bratwurst sales at the Schnitzelbank but the trickle down effect has hit Merkley and Sons Packing Company as well. “We usually sell 30 lbs (bratwurst) a week, now we’re (Schnitzelbank) selling over a 100 lbs a week. Merkley’s is pretty happy, “Hanselman said. “I was talking with one of the Merkley boys the other day and he said we aren’t the only one up on bratwurst sales, they are selling a lot everywhere. They usually don’t sell this much except for around the Strassenfest.”

The Schnitzelbank Sandwich was included on the list of the original 46 sandwiches and Hanselman recalls they had an opportunity to bring samples of the sandwiches at the initial invitational event. “They called down and said it was being held at a Shapiro”s Delicatessen,” Hanselman said, “and only the Indianapolis sandwiches should bring samples since they didn’t have a kitchen for us to prepare our food in. Well we didn’t like that very much, so we took one of our catering trucks up and cooked it right there.”

The Schnitzelbank bratwurst is the lone defender of the southern portion of the state. When the Schnitzelbank Brat beat the Hinkle Burger last week it whittled the competition down to two sandwiches found in Indianapolis and one from Lafayette. This week the bratwurst is up against the Roast Pork Po’ Boy from Papa Roux in Indianapolis.

Hanselman remains optimistic though. “We decided to send word to through our Indiana University students if we are pitted against the Lafayette sandwich,” Hanselman stated, “to turn it into an IU – Purdue competition.”

Mayor Terry Seitz has chosen to honor the Schnitzelbank Restaurant’s status in the Indiana Super 46 Sandwich Contest by declaring Wednesday, Jan. 25 as “Schnitzelbank Bratwurst Day” in Jasper. In addition, Seitz has invited the public to a community sing of “The Schnitzelbank Song” Wednesday evening.

“There was never any doubt as to which sandwich was the finest among the 46 chosen delights,” said Seitz, “and with the Schnitz bratwurst making it to the final four this week we wanted to underscore the important recognition this competition has brought to our city. Everywhere I go I have people asking about the contest and if I’ve voted. It’s only fitting we do our part to make the wurst sandwich Indiana’s best.”

Mayor Seitz has invited the public to the Schnitzelbank at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, to sing a rousing rendition of “The Schnitzelbank Song” so that it can be recorded and distributed via the internet as a way to promote the contest sponsored by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development.

Stop by after work and sing,” requested Seitz. “It will only take a few minutes and it’ll put you in a great mood after a long day at work.

Voting continues at www.super46.com; vote now for the Schnitzelbank Bratwurst.