Crêperie Bernard: Interior
Parisian crêperies may have a lock on the market, but Crêperie Bernard et Bernard gives them a run for their money. The homey eatery, which has made the Haidhausen neighborhood home for 34 years, specializes in sweet crepes. Try the ones filled with chestnut cream, raspberries or pears for something different. Expect to pay between 6€ and 8€.

There's a modest fixed-price dinner option (22€), with a salad, beef loin with pepper sauce (or plate of the day), and a crepe rounding out the three-course meal.

Taverna Diyar: Dining area
Munich's large Turkish population naturally means a number of noteworthy restaurants serving up Turkish and Middle Eastern specialties. Among them is Taverna Diyar in the hip Haidhausen neighborhood.

While kebabs show up on the menu, give the more exotic appetizers and dishes a go. Avocado stuffed grape leaves, lamb cutlet served with rice and a garlic yogurt sauce or spicy turkey filled with kaskaval cheese are items to consider.

Staff is friendly, and matches the warm atmosphere. Entrees range from 7€ to 12€

Restaurant am Chinesischen Turm: Dining room
Restaurant am Chinesischen Turm, near the pagoda in the Englischer Garten, attracts large crowds of locals and tourists, especially when the weather is good. Brass bands play from the tower while diners take a leisurely lunch on the terrace. Sure, it's touristy, but passing time in Munich's lovely and sprawling park may be worth the trade-off.

The menu features duck breast, stewed sirloin, grilled Nuremberger sausages with sauerkraut and Bavarian noodles with grated cottage cheese and fried onions. Main dishes range from about 7€ to 20€. Fixed-price, multi-course dinners start at 32€.

Wirtshaus in der Au: Entrance
Often the perfect side dish to roasted pork, kartoffelknödel (potato dumplings) sometimes are big enough to constitute their own meal. At Wirtshaus in der Au, for example, are almost softball-sized. But, then, that's what's this place is known for. They have been serving up knödels (both potato and bread versions) and beer for more than 100 years.

While the restaurant, not far from the Deutsches Museum on the Au side of the Isar River, has a trendy, but classic look, it's menu offerings have traditional flair. There's oven-fresh schweinebraten (pork roast with crust in beer sauce), leberkäse with potato and radish salad and, of course, knödels done up in a variety of ways with a variety of sauces. Entrees (7€ to 17€) are good value for the price.

Hackerhaus: Entrance
Back in the day - that would be 1417 - locals raised a glass at the Hackerhaus to welcome a new brewer, Hacker-Pschorr, to the Munich beer-making scene. The restaurant hasn't changed much since then.

Spread over several floors, the Hackerhaus exudes nostalgia with its old photos, wood-panel dining rooms, strategically-placed barrels and a random stuffed boar's head sticking out of the wall. Nearly every nook and cranny has something time left behind.

The menu, too, lists things grandmothers from the 15th Century would have been cooking in their kitchens. Calf lung hash with bread dumplings, crisp-roasted suckling pig in dark beer sauce, and liver dumpling soup are the kinds of stick-to-your-ribs fare Bavarians are known for. For less adventurous diners, there's pork cordon bleu or beef with fried onions.

Kaimung: Dining area
Want to add a bit of spice to your Munich palette? Then take a seat at Kaimung.

With several locations around town, the stylish, fast-food Thai eatery offers a satisfying dose of curries, noodles and stir-fried dishes, blending classic Thai ingredients like coconut milk, Thai basil and the right amount of chili sauce.

Sure, the quick cook-to-order turnaround from the open kitchen area behind the bar feeds into the fast-pace, high-clientele-turnover ambience. But, regardless, the dishes, which can be ordered in small or big portions, hit the mark. The site on Sendlingerstrasse, not far from Sendlinger Tor and the quirky Asamkirche (Asam's church) is convenient to the downtown.

Zur Hundskugel: Entrance
In a place like Munich, which celebrated its 850th anniversary in 2008, it's not too difficult to find houses and even restaurants dating back several centuries. In fact, on the corner of Hackenstrasse and Hotterstrasse, stands one of Munich's oldest gaststätte (restaurants). The Zur Hundskugel dates back to 1440, and the Alpine mountain house is still equipped with old hoisting mechanisms to the attic's storage rooms.

There are several different stories about the restaurant's name. One version is that dogs (hund) rolled a ball (kugel) through the Neuhauser Tor, which then became the subject of fresco for the then-owner. Or maybe it refers to the hood or kugel worn by friars at funerals. A darker, medieval tale tells of criminals that were bathed in the housed after being tortured and before execution; these no-gooders were said to be called hundsfut, which according to restaurant documents, roughly translates to future food of the dogs.

Münchner Kindl: Interior
For down-home Bavarian coziness where locals pull up a bar stool late in the afternoon, Münchner Kindl is worth a visit.

Decorated with 16 clocks, old beer steins, pewter flasks, and an assortment of other antiquey artifacts, it's the kind of place that will warm you right up on chilly, rainy day. The landmark building, built in 1865 and home to a family-run 18-room hotel, is walking distance to Marienplatz, Sendlinger Tor and Karlsplatz.

The menu is simple, if not refreshingly basic, stockpiled with staples like sausages with sauerkraut, salmon with country potatoes, beef stew with noodles and Weiner Schnitzel with French fries. Menu items average 5€ to 10€.

Weinhaus Neuner: Entrance
One of the city's oldest landmark taverns, the Weinhaus Neuner tops the charm meter. The building dates back to the 15th Century, and its dark wood touches, restored artwork, and original arches and vaulting play up the nostalgic sentiments of days long passed.

History is embedded in every corner. The wine cellars were used in the 16th century by Duke Wilhelm for the royal court's use. From 1612 to 1806, it served as a Catholic boarding school for young Gregorian priest and was a guest house for the former Jesuit Abbey across the road. The building as it is now was bought in 1852 by a wine merchant and renamed Weinhaus Neuner; the Neuner family still runs the restaurant.

Quick Eats: Bavarian style - Vendors
Having just landed in downtown Munich, your nose may go into overload, and there may be some uncontrollable salivating happening. While walking around the Altstadt (old town), often the first whiffs you'll get will be a blend of roasted meat, grilled sausages, out-of-the oven pretzels, sweet mustard and sauerkraut. If there's a festival on, the smells are even more intense and become completely inescapable.

Besides beer, there are some Bavarian staples worth giving a go. For starters, there's weisswurst, white sausages stuffed with finely minced veal and herbs and typically eaten before noon. There's all sorts of other sausage dishes like short or foot-long bratwurst, currywurst (which is covered with curry powder) and wurstsalad (sliced sausages with cucumbers, onions and vinegar). Warm leberkäse (a meatloaf-shaped combination of ground meats that neither contain liver or cheese like the name implies) on a roll is another thing you'll find readily available, usually for less than 2€ or 3€.