There is More to Germany Than Beer and Sausages...like Other Food

I was in Germany last October with my boyfriend and, BOY, did we enjoy ourselves. It was 8 days of glorious gluttony. We tried as many different German platters as humanly possibly and enjoyed every one. But, when it was time to return home, we found ourselves dreading the German cuisine withdrawal and asking ourselves: what aren't there more German restaurants in the US?

You can find an abundance of restaurants dedicated to ethnic cuisines in our melting pot of a country: Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Ethiopian, French, Italian, etc, etc. But German restaurants are few and far between. For example, in Kansas City, there was 1 restaurant dedicated to German cuisine. It just recently closed down so apparently it wasn't very popular except with my boyfriends' German family. I searched restaurants in my future home of Chicago and, there too, the numbers are seriously lacking. Mostly I see delis, markets, and pubs that offer beer and sausages-not bonafied, dignified, sit down and get table service restaurants.

What is the explanation for this? Could it be a consequence of WWII? Because we have plenty of Japanese restaurants so no one is holding a gastronomic grudge against that particular former enemy. And a large number of Americans have German ties (me included). Don't people want to reconnect with the food of their ancestors?

Well, I do. And the fast food chain Weinerschnitzel doesn't cut it. Weinerschnitzel is the largest hot dog chain in the world, though I only noticed it for the first time ever last week in Albuquerque. Oddly enough, the restaurant doesn't offer Weinerschnitzel and seems to serve more American cuisine than German...chili cheese fries and hamburgers in addition to their "world famous" hot dogs.

What the owners of Weinerschnitzel may or may not know it that their restaurant is named for "Vienna Schnitzel", a veal cutlet that is dipped in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs and then sautéed. Served with a splash of lemon and some potato dumplings, you have yourself a delicious, classic German meal (okay, it's from Austria, but close enough).

Another authentic German dish that is hard to find west of the Atlantic is Sauerbraten. "Sour roast" gets its name from the vinegar (or red wine) used to marinate a piece of beef for 2 days. Pair the roast with red cabbage and more dumplings (please!), and you have a meal that would make your Großmutter proud.

Unfortunately, until the much anticipated American German Food Renaissance, you will probably have to settle on trying these foods in Deutschland or in your own kitchen.

But that's not all! Here are more highly recommended dishes I discovered in Germany:

Linsensuppe-lentil soup with sausage.

Leberknödelsuppe- clear consommé with liver dumplings.

Doner Kabobs-roasted lamb pitas a la Turkish immigrants. Makes a cheap lunch

while traveling.

Kartoffelsalat- not your American potato salad. Bavarians add vinegar to the mix

of cucumbers, onion and mayonnaise.

Find these and a whole library of German recipes here:

http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/german.html