Tourist Class at Its Best – SS Bremen Breakfast Menu, 21 September 1933
Tourist Class Breakfast Menu Card from North German Lloyd (Norddeutscher Lloyd Bremen) on the SS Bremen for Thursday, 21 September 1933. Written in German and English, the Meal Featured Fruit, Juices, Cereal, Eggs, Hash, Ham, Bacon, and Fried Potatoes. GGA Image ID # 154c775602
🍽 Review & Summary – SS Bremen Tourist Class Breakfast (21 September 1933)
This Tourist Class menu aboard the SS Bremen (Norddeutscher Lloyd) shows that even outside of First Class, passengers could expect a generous and cosmopolitan variety. The offerings blend American breakfast staples—eggs, bacon, and griddle cakes—with European specialties such as sausages, cheeses, and rye crispbread. Written in both German and English, it reflects the international clientele aboard a German liner bound across the Atlantic in the 1930s.
The menu strikes a balance between simple fare for everyday travelers and continental touches that lent the voyage a sense of occasion.
🍳 Featured Entrées of the Day
Two selections likely served as the morning’s featured entrées:
Hash of Lamb with Green Pepper: A hearty, savory option that stood out from the more expected ham or bacon. The green pepper would have given it both color and a slight bite, making it an unusual but memorable dish.
Poached Eggs Polonaise: A refined preparation, usually poached eggs garnished with buttered breadcrumbs, herbs, and sometimes anchovy essence—a nod to European haute cuisine adapted for Tourist Class.
Menu Items
- Oranges
- Melon Brodé
- Tomato Juice
- Stewed Prunes
- Porridge
- Oatmeal Gruel
- Milk Rice
- Grape Nuts
- Whole Wheat
- Wheat Griddle Cakes with Maple Syrup
- Pancake Creole
- Shirred Eggs in Cream
- Poached Eggs Polonaise
- Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes
- Boiled Eggs
- Hash of Lamb with Green Pepper
- Broiled York Ham
- Fried Breakfast Bacon
- Boiled and German Fried Potatoes
Cold Dishes
- Hunting & Liver Sausage
- Vienna Minced Roast - Mix. Pickles
- Pot Cheese with Chive
- Romatour Cheese Rye -Crisp Bread
- Three Fruit Jam
- Orange Marmalade
- Apricot Confiture
- Butter
- Honey
- Rye-Crisp
- Bread Rolls
- Toast
- Milk Rolls
- Cross Rolls
- Coffee Bread
- Coffee
- Tea
- Milk
10 o'clock :
- Beef Broth - Sandwiches
⭐ Special & Engaging Items
Pancake Creole – A more adventurous twist on standard pancakes, likely flavored with spices, fruit, or a tangy sauce. This was a dish meant to intrigue travelers.
Shirred Eggs in Cream – Eggs baked in a shallow dish with cream, a French-inspired choice not commonly seen on American breakfast tables.
Vienna Minced Roast with Pickles – A cold dish offering, essentially thin slices of roast meat paired with sharp pickled vegetables—a very Central European touch.
10 o’clock Service: Beef Broth and Sandwiches – A charming German tradition of offering a light mid-morning refreshment beyond the official breakfast, reminding passengers that meals at sea were as much about rhythm and hospitality as sustenance.
📜 Unusual or Potentially Confusing Items
To many Americans of the 1930s, several items might have needed explanation:
Melon Brodé – Literally “embroidered melon,” a presentation of melon with the rind cut in decorative patterns.
Oatmeal Gruel – Thinner than porridge, a hot, drinkable cereal sometimes given to children or health-conscious passengers.
Romatour Cheese – A soft, pungent German cheese, not widely known outside Europe.
Pot Cheese with Chive – A fresh, soft cheese similar to cottage cheese, flavored with herbs.
Rye-Crisp (Knäckebrot) – A Scandinavian-style crispbread, then unfamiliar to most Americans but a staple in Northern Europe.
🥞 Variety & Balance
The menu offered a well-rounded selection:
Fruits & Juices – Oranges, melon, prunes, and tomato juice provided freshness.
Cereals & Grains – Porridge, gruel, rice pudding, and brand-name cereals like Grape Nuts.
Eggs & Hot Dishes – Multiple egg preparations plus hearty entrées like lamb hash and ham.
Cold Dishes – Sausages, roasts, cheeses, and pickles reflected European tastes.
Breads & Pastries – Rolls, toast, milk rolls, rye crisp, and coffee bread offered plenty of variety.
Spreads & Sweets – Marmalade, honey, and jam rounded out the table.
Beverages – Coffee, tea, milk ensured the familiar comforts of home.
For Tourist Class, this was an impressively rich and diverse offering, more generous than what many middle-class travelers might have eaten at home.
💡 Engaging Detail
The most engaging feature of this menu is its dual cultural identity. It reads like an Anglo-American breakfast at first glance—porridge, bacon, eggs—but as you explore, distinctly German and Central European flavors appear: liver sausage, rye crispbread, pungent cheeses, and the mid-morning beef broth. For a traveler from the Midwest or East Coast of the U.S., this was both reassuring and exotic, bridging familiarity with the adventure of European travel.
Frühstück
- Orangen
- Netzmelone
- Tomatensaft
- Ged. Pflaumen
- Haferflocken
- Haferschleim
- Milchreis
- Grape Nuts
- Whole Wheat
- Weizen - Griddle -Keks mit Ahorn-Sirup
- Kreolen-Pfannkuchen
- Setzeier in Rahm
- Poschierte Eier polnisch Rührei mit Tomaten Gekochte Eier
- Lammhaschee mit grünem Pfeffer
- Grillierter Yorker Schinken
- Gebratener Frühstücksspeck
- Gekochte u. deutsche Bratkartoffeln
Kalte Speisen
- Jagd- und Leberwurst
- Wiener Braten mit Mixed Pickles
- Quarkkäse mit Schnittlauch
- Romatour-Käse
- Knäckebrot
- Dreifrucht- u.Orangen-Marmelade
- Aprikosen-Konfitüre Butter Honig
- Knäckebrot Br&then
- Röstbrot
- Milchbrötchen
- Kreuzbrötchen
- Kaffeebrot
- Kaffee
- Tee Milch
Vormittags 10 Uhr :
- Fleischbrühe - Belegte Schnittchen
