The best Pretzel by whillsjournal on Eaten
Pretzel
33 reviews
AMAZING
1st BIG ASS PRETZEL
The Explorium Brewpub Third Ward, Milwaukee
This is, in fact, a big ass pretzel and does not disappoint its menu name. Served with a nacho cheese sauce with a touch of spice, this pretzel is perfectly salted with a hint of garlic oil. A tender and doughy pretzel great stand-alone or dipped. This is an exquisite pretzel.
2nd BAVARIAN PRETZEL STICKS
Reefpoint Brew House, Racine
A fascinating pretzel stick!!! The outsides are almost like a shell, but are not crunchy. The perfect crust houses an incredibly tender chew of pretzel inside... And with no shortage of salt on the outside, these are absolutely delightful dipped in the spicy cheese sauce! A mild hint of heat across an otherwise rich and creamy cheese sauce makes this absolutely delicious!
3rd GET TWISTED PRETZEL
Big Sky Country Bar & Grill, Germantown
A crunchy and salty outside with a tender and doughy inside, this pretzel is an absolutely delight! The honey mustard is savory with a hint of sweetness, but the cheddar cheese sauce is incredible! The perfect amount of salty and cheesy, this sets a very high bar for German pretzels!
4th GIANT PRETZEL
Good City Mequon Public Market, Mequon
This is an exquisitely fluffy German pretzel. Perfectly cooked, salted evenly and just right, this is a great pretzel on its own. The beer cheese served alongside is delightful, savory but not too potent, and adding a great touch of creamy and cheesy. Incredible bites!
5th BAVARIAN PRETZEL
Milwaukee Brat House, Milwaukee
This pretzel is massive in every respect. Very flavorful dough and nice buttery coating with the right amount of salt. Comes with three dips: cheddar cheese sauce, beer cheese soup, and cinnamon cream cheese. The cheddar is great, the beer cheese is okay, and the cinnamon cream cheese tastes good standalone but clashes with the pretzel. Recommend splitting it with 3 if not 4 people.
REALLY GOOD
6th PRETZEL BITES
The Wicked Hop, Milwaukee
Super soft pretzels absolutely drenched in melted butter with salt, served alongside a mildly spicy beer cheese and a whole grain mustard. Both sauces were good, and the poppable bites were really fun and tasty! I just wish they had a bit more salt!
7th GIANT PRETZEL
Copper State Brewing Co, Green Bay
A very tender and perfectly cooked pretzel oozing with flavor! Perfectly salted and served with a very good cheese sauce. This does everything a pretzel should do!
8th PRETZEL
Twisted Willow Restaurant, Port Washington
A very delicious and tender pretzel with a rich and creamy gouda cheese sauce. The cheese sauce is so rich it makes up for the pretzel being undersalted, which is the only gripe here. Despite that, I was absolutely blown away by the flavors here in the whole package!!!
9th MKE PRETZELS
The Brass Tap, Greenfield
Incredibly soft, tender, and doughy pretzels!!! Served super warm alongside a mildly spicy beer cheese and spicy brown mustard, these were poppable salty delights that I wish hadn't disappeared so fast!
10th GIANT PRETZEL
Inventors Brewpub, Port Washington
A really good tasting pretzel! The pretzel is incredibly thick, making it difficult to fit the entire diameter in your mouth at a time. What that means is less opportunity to enjoy the nice beer cheese or whole grain mustard per bite, which is a shame. A touch more salt would have been welcome, but the sheer size almost holds this back!
11th PRETZEL BITES
Cardinals Nation, St. Louis
Very doughy and tender, and salted perfectly! The dough has a sweet flavor to it that is atypical, but welcomed! That sweetness is contrasted by the subtle heat offered by the poblano cheese sauce, which is again atypical in pretzel-fare, but very good overall!
12th PRETZEL BREADSTICKS
Eagle Park Brewing Company, Milwaukee
A very tender pretzel dough covered in the right amount of salt with a very tasty beer cheese dip! I could go for a touch more salt in the beer cheese and/or a stronger cheddar base, but these are absolutely delightful!
13th PRETZEL BREADSTICKS
Mad Anthony Brewing Co, Fort Wayne
The dough is the perfect density and captures the iconic pretzel flavor! The cheese dip is thick, creamy, cheesy, and salty. Very authentic overall! The biggest drawback is a lack of any salt on the pretzels... which would have really heightened these even more. The salt from the cheese is enough to save them, but it's definitely missing.
PRETTY GOOD
14th PRETZEL BITES
Elephant & Castle, Chicago
Tender pretzel dough with a hint of crunch on the exterior are nice poppable and dippable bites. Speaking of dips, these are served with a beer cheese bacon dip that is flavorful enough to enhance the pretzel, but not so impressive to make these elite. A solid bite!
15th PRETZEL BITES
Culver’s, Mequon
Incredible poppable bites of soft pretzel dough with a salty exterior and cheddar cheese dipping sauce! A very nice chew and flavor to the dough, not much more to ask of a pretzel, especially from a fast food venue!
16th EVERYTHING PRETZEL
Foxtown Brewing, Mequon
A solid pretzel with a tender and chewy dough! The everything bagel seasoning is a bit of a departure from pretzel-fare, and perhaps misses mostly because of a clear lack of salt. Pretzels need salt. An unremarkable beer cheese dip and honey mustard really keep this tethered to “pretty good” but absolutely not worth seeking out.
17th GERMAN PRETZEL
Rate Field, Chicago
A tender but somewhat bland pretzel with a good amount of salt. Served alongside a Chicago-style spicy cheese sauce that offered a novel twist in the pretzel space. A solid ballpark grab.
18th BAVARIAN PRETZEL
The Mecca Sports Bar and Grill, Milwaukee
A firm pretzel that is not doughy on the inside, and served with a savory beer cheese sauce. Just a middling pretzel that was neither impressive nor disappointing.
19th BAVARIAN PRETZEL
Milwaukee Ale House Grafton, Grafton
Cheese sauce really holds this back. The pretzel is nice and doughy with a nice salty touch, but the cheese has a sweetness to it that is just off base and contradicts the pretzel itself.
20th PRETZEL STICKS
Stilt House Gastro Bar, Cedarburg
A chewy pretzel that is cooked well and with the right amount of salt! The dough itself is a touch bland, and has a bit of a rubbery texture. The brown mustard dipping sauce was not for me, but the jalapeño bier cheese was quite delicious and made these a delight to eat despite the minor texture and flavor complaints of the pretzel itself. The cheese was very rich and creamy with a robust flavor and a mild heat… unique but tasty!
21st PRETZEL STICKS
Scores, Racine
A good representation of the average pretzel stick! The iconic pretzel salt here is so essential, and it helps make up for a dough missing the full pretzel flavor to it, with a processed cheese dip somehow lacking salt.
22nd ORIGINAL PRETZEL
Auntie Anne's, Wauwatosa
A good pretzel dough, but wish there was more salt on the exterior. The cheese dip is fine for a processed cheese, understandable for a chain, but wish it was hot cheese or even nacho cheese. Fine bite for a mall food court though.
23rd BAVARIAN PRETZEL
Kwik Trip, Mequon
A fine pretzel with the perfect balance of doughy vs chewy, but definitely would have liked more salt on the top. Cheese sauce is fine but also could use more salt. Passable for a… quick trip.
JUST OK
24th SPENT GRAIN PRETZEL BITES
Blue Moon Brewing Company, Denver
The flavor of the earthy grain far overpowered the doughy flavor you'd expect from a pretzel product. Very okay, but both cheese and mustard dips provided were flavorful and made them at least palatable.
25th BAVARIAN PRETZEL
Skippy's Burger Bar, Thiensville
An overdone pretzel with a tinge of burnt flavor on the exterior, although it remained fluffy and tender on the inside. A touch too much salt on the pretzel, or perhaps more accurately, inconsistent application of salt. The nacho cheese sauce was completely bland. The honey mustard was the saving grace here to provide flavor. I do not understand why this venue has such an issue with over cooking everything.
26th BUFFALO GOLDFISH PRETZELS
Pepperidge Farm, Denver
Strictly better than the unseasoned versions purely for the buttery buffalo seasoning on these. The burnt aftertaste is still there, but is significantly masked by the flavor. Still, these are just fine to have, but nothing special.
27th REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER PRETZELS
Hershey's Chocolate World, Hershey
A decent pretzel shell filled with Reese's peanut butter. Oddly enough, the peanut butter in these is... Rather bland? Not close to the same flavor found in the signature peanut butter cups... Just a lot of powdery sweetness without much flavor.
28th GOLDFISH PRETZELS
Pepperidge Farm, Denver
Decent cruncy pretzel snacks with a good amount of salt! The drawback here is a somewhat burnt aftertaste that overwhelms these otherwise. A lot better dipped in hummus, but still just... Fine.
29th BAVARIAN PRETZEL
Water Street Brewery Grafton, Grafton
Pretzel dough was good, but far over-salted, was all that could be tasted. The cheese sauce was rather dull, but the brown mustard was pretty good with a good spice as well... About the only saving grace here.
30th PRETZEL
First and Bowl – Football Bowling, Group Parties, and Corporate Team Building, Wauwatosa
A tender and flaky German pretzel brushed with what seemed to be a fake butter substitute and lightly sprinkled with coarse salt. The dough did taste fine, but an overly sweet honey mustard and absolutely bland cheese dip made this an all-too-forgettable experience.