San Diego Pretzel Company (National City)

Are you ready for Oktoberfest!?  San Diego Pretzel Co. sure is!  They will be providing many of the fine pretzels you will be consuming at the various Oktoberfest celebrations in and around San Diego.  Elizabeth was kind enough to invite us for a tour and tasting of what many San Diegans will get to enjoy very soon!

The building is in a residential neighborhood but the pretzel stands, truck, and giant pretzel on the wall gave us confirmation we made it to the right place.

Once you enter the building a pretzel aroma grips your senses like a Chinese finger trap.  I can still smell faint signs of pretzels days after our visit.  There is nothing like waking up to something freshly baked in the oven.  I might as well have woken up on their doorstep.  Nostalgia set in.  It was time to succumb to the urge that would pull me through the very same doors thousands of pretzels have passed through before.  The only way to escape this precarious Chinese finger trap was to slowly inch closer to the source…eating your way out!  The best kind of trap.

Here Leticia is giving us a crash course on making the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel, which is going to be served at many a Oktoberfest celebrations.  She was so fast and efficient.  You can tell she’s been making these for a long time.  I prefer the final stage better…the one where we can eat them!  But it was fun to watch her do her magic and make all the different pretzels.

   The unbaked buns in the rack are small pretzel slider buns they’re making for some of their clients.  They feature many other products and have expanded their offerings seen in the picture above.  You may not know it but it’s possible you had the pretzel puffs (balls on the right) served at Disneyland already. 

After looking at the dough itself, watching them make pretzels by hand, seeing the final finished product after it’s been in the oven, and smelling it up close and personal, we were ready to eat some!  Behold our tasting table.  We even got lemonade and coffee.  Because of all of the Oktoberfest celebrations kicking off, what better way to get started than trying the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel.  This thing is huge.  Basically double the size of their regular pretzel being that it is double twisted.  I’ve had other theme park or fair pretzels before and they usually end up dry and need mustard to give them any sign of moisture.  These are soft through and through while giving a nice snappy texture on the outside.  I’m glad they don’t add salt because for me, other companies put way too much on top.  They do give you a packet on the side if that’s your thing.   
Lucky for all of us we can get our hands on these well after all of the Oktoberfest events.  They sell these in the freezer section at Whole Foods!  We haven’t tried putting these in the oven yet but can’t wait to see how they compare.  I think they are trying to expand to even more super markets and local San Diego staples like SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo.   Anh and I love food tours so thanks again Elizabeth, Leticia, and San Diego Pretzel Co. for showing us around!

San Diego Pretzel Co.
224 West 12th Street
National City, CA 91950
www.sandiegopretzel.com

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