A crisp pork schnitzel served the Frankfurt way: cold Grüne Soße over or beside it, with fried potatoes. The collision of hot crumb and cold herb sauce is the whole point.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Vienna may own the schnitzel, but Frankfurt annexed it by sauce. The Frankfurter Schnitzel is pork rather than veal, pan-fried in butterfat and served with the city's cold seven-herb Grüne Soße, usually with halved boiled eggs and fried or boiled potatoes. Apfelwein taverns standardised the pairing in the 20th century as their kitchens grew from cheese-and-bread snacks into full menus, and it remains the single most ordered plate on Sachsenhausen's tavern strips.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Milk
Tip from the editors. Keep the sauce fridge-cold and the schnitzel pan-hot; the temperature contrast is the dish. Swirling the fat makes the crust bubble properly.
Apfelwein Wagner proves Frankfurt tradition is a budget cuisine: Handkäs at €5.10 and Rippchen with kraut under €15 on Schweizer Strasse every day.
Try: Handkäs mit Musik at €5.10, Grüne Soße at €14.50
Tip: Order Handkäs and a Schoppen for the cheapest authentic Frankfurt dinner going; bread comes with it, and nobody hurries you out.
Gasthaus Zur Sonne has stood at the top of Frankfurt's Berger Straße for over 250 years, a half-timbered Bornheim tavern with a big chestnut garden.
Signature: Handkäs mit Musik, Frankfurter Schnitzel
Order: Frankfurter Schnitzel with the seven-herb Grie Soß, then Apfelstrudel
Tip: The courtyard behind the half-timbered house is Bornheim's best summer room; the heated barn takes over in winter.
Zum Eichkatzerl on Dreieichstraße feeds Frankfurt oversized schnitzel and apfelwein in a garden courtyard away from Sachsenhausen's tourist lanes.
Signature: Frankfurter Schnitzel
Order: The plate-covering schnitzel; portions here are a local running joke
Tip: Evenings only and closed Sunday; locals book the courtyard for birthdays, so reserve ahead for groups of six or more.
Apfelwein Dax on Willemerstraße keeps Sachsenhausen tavern hours seven days a week, feeding Frankfurt schnitzel and Grüne Soße until late evening.
Signature: Frankfurter Schnitzel, Grüne Soße
Order: Schnitzel with green sauce; last kitchen orders at 21:45
Tip: Open daily from noon, rare among the taverns, so it catches the Sunday and Monday gaps the older houses leave.
More cities are in research. Want frankfurter schnitzel covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.