noun · first recorded 1951 · status: emerging
Hof Brau
1.A Bay Area cafeteria where roast meat is carved in front of you, the sides arrive by scoop, and the bar is not decorative. Sweetgreen for people who consider gravy a beverage.
The founder asked for somewhere authentically San Francisco, so we took him to a hof brau; he stared at the turkey leg and asked where to scan the QR code.
01Origin
The name comes from the German Hofbräu, meaning a brewery associated with a royal court. San Francisco menus show Hof Brau being used for beer-and-hearty-food establishments by at least the 1930s and 1940s, so the words did not suddenly appear after World War II. ([sf.eater.com](https://sf.eater.com/2018/9/11/17846674/hofbrau-history-california-brennans-berkeley-tommys-joynt-sf?utm_source=openai))
The modern California meaning took shape around Tommy's Joynt. Albert Pollack joined the Almond Blossom coffee shop in 1947 and transformed it with his cousin Tommy Harris into Tommy's Joynt hofbrau in 1951, then helped create Lefty O'Doul's. Harry's Hofbrau followed in 1954 and Sam's in 1959, spreading the format across Northern California before rent, meat prices, and the passage of time began their successful hostile takeover. ([sfgate.com](https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Albert-Pollack-2942750.php?utm_source=openai))
02Notable sightings
03Spread the ism
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