text: Items sampled includennHaus Original Pretzel with Warm Three Cheese Beer Dipping SaucennHaus Bacon Wrapped DatesnnImported Pecorino and HoneycombnnBelgian Fries with RanchnnFall Turkey Brat with Butternut Squash Apples Sage nnDuck and Dates with Coriander Fennel Seed Orange ZestnnBeer Brat with Parsley Oregano BeernnRoot Beer Onions Apricot Onion Chutney Picked Red OnionsnnBrat Burger Pork Sausage Patty Fried Egg Swiss CheesennDrunken Date Cake Oatmeal Stout and Whipped CreamnnBelgian Waffle with Jalapeno Honey Butter and SyrupnnSpending the afternoon of New Years Eve in and around Scottsdale as lunch came around I asked my family what they were craving and deciding against Lo Los after much debate we ended up at Brat Haus in hopes of finding the artisanal sausage house as good as previous visits to similar locales in Chicagobut unfortunately no such luck would be found Clearly a spot where the impressive beer list supersedes the quality of the food our meal started off on the wrong foot when we were denied seating in the main dining room and placed in a smaller back bar area and although the bartender was pleasant enough while a great soundtrack played overhead it became quite obvious early on that our lack of enthusiasm for suds was unappreciated with food arriving slowly often far from hot while water refills required direct inquirynnFocusing on the food a first round of appetizers proved to be fine if not wowing the pretzel nothing to write home about and the do you want cheese with that commanding an unannounced up charge while the dates and pecorino were a nice sweet and savory pairing with quality ingredients well prepared Last and perhaps least a basket of fries was ordered by my aunt and although I am far from an expert I found them to be a bit undercooked more starchy and less fluffy than I would prefer nn Moving on to the meat of the menu pun intended aside from being luke warm and served on a decent roll I do not understand the reviews for the brats at Brat Haus and as a matter of fact with all the ridiculously hefty spices I would defy anyone to differentiate on blind tasting the difference between pig duck or turkey on any of our selections a lack of subtlety that led to my mother giving up after a few bites and even challenged myself on the duck brat as I felt like I was eating the smell of Penzeys Spices more than anything protein Faring better as a matter of fact quite a bit better my aunts burger with a supple and smoky patty fried egg and sharp Swiss was the highlight of the savories a case of Keep it Simple Stupid if there ever was onennFor desserts generally not a beer fan I actually liked what the rich chocolate stout did to temper the sweetness of the dates and the waffle that so many have raved was indeed a light at the end of the tunnel a light airy and golden crisp disc with a bit of spice balanced by the sweet honey showing that the kitchen can indeed achieve balanced boldness when they try or perhaps when they DO NOT try and end up overthinking and overshooting their mark as they did with the sausages