Archive for the ‘Eat’ Category

Magic of sauerkraut, updated

Friday, January 10th, 2014

This is an update of a post that appeared first in October, 2011. Winter is a perfect time to eat sauerkraut, though we haven’t found a season where we don’t require a little bit of sauerkraut to make our Leavenworth visit complete. It seems a good time to take another look at one of our favorite Leavenworth treats: sauerkraut.

From the original post: One of the things we look forward to in Leavenworth is eating sauerkraut. We rarely eat it at home, with the exception of using it to top a hotdog at a local baseball game. But when we get to Leavenworth it only takes one whiff of sauerkraut in the air coming from one of the several restaurants serving German cuisine and we’re planning when we’ll get our first bite. And if you walk by München Haus when you’re hungry? ….Forget about it!

What is sauerkraut?
sau·er·kraut/ˈsou(ə)rˌkrout/
Noun: Chopped cabbage that has been pickled in brine.

“Sauerkraut is a great source of iron, vitamin K and vitamin C, which is another reason it was popular on seafaring vessels. It also helps the good bacteria in your body stay healthy and, in turn, keep you healthy. It is a great food for people taking antibiotics to eat because the medicine kills both good and bad bacteria.” Read more at eHow.

There are many other vegetables that are preserved by a similar process.
Korean kimchi
Japanese tsukemono
Chinese suan cai
Filipino atchara

“Sauerkraut is made by a process of pickling called lacto-fermentation that is analogous to how traditional (not heat-treated) pickled cucumbers and kimchi are made. Fully-cured sauerkraut keeps for several months in an airtight container stored at or below 15 °C (59 °F). Neither refrigeration nor pasteurization is required, although these treatments prolong storage life.” Wikipedia

Some of the 101 ways to eat sauerkraut from the Accidental Bavarian Eat page:

  • On a brat!
  • A little bit with each bit of whatever bit you’re eating
  • With scrambled eggs
  • A sweet sauerkraut with pork roast
  • With a dollop of fancy mustard
  • Mit Deutsch Kartoffelsalat (potato salad)
  • Mixed up with spatzle
  • On a corned beef sandwich
  • On dark Bavarian rye bread
  • Straight from the jar
  • On pizza
  • Twirl vs slurp?
  • On waffles
  • Maybe a sauerkraut milkshake?
  • Under mushroom sauce
  • With onions
  • Under melted Swiss cheese
  • Winekraut and Schweinshax’n

Still unconvinced? Rather than eating sauerkraut plain, try it as part of a sandwich or on a delicious German sausage. One of our favorites, a grilled Reuben sandwich. This classic pastrami sandwich layered with swiss cheese, thousand island dressing and sauerkraut on rye bread and served toasty hot, can be found at a number of eateries in Leavenworth. We’ve had very good versions at Ducks and Drakes and The Soup Cellar. At Andreas Keller you can get a Bratwurst Reuben at lunch. A bratwurst is substituted for the pastrami and the delicious house-made Weinkraut is in place of the typical sauerkraut. You can also find sauerkraut on breakfast plates, and on pizzas in Leavenworth.

How do you like your sauerkraut? Have you eaten this classic German side dish in unusual ways?

In Search of Schnitzel!

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

We have an interesting guest blog post today.

We got an email from W.J. Shilts, of Westminster, MD. He said… well, let me let him tell you himself.

“My wife and I spent 6 nights in Leavenworth in September and devoted ourselves to reviewing all the schnitzel we could find. Please consider posting our attached review on the Accidental Bavarian. We devoted a lot of energy (oh, what a sacrifice) sampling Leavenworth’s finest offerings and would hate for that effort to go to waste!”

So without further ado, here is their review.

Where to find the Best Schnitzel in Leavenworth, Washington

W.J. Shilts
October, 2013

Leavenworth, Washington is the center of all things Bavarian in the western United States (and arguably, the whole of the USA). But, for the occasional traveler with only a day or two in town, choosing the quintessential “German” restaurant can be daunting with so many choices in town. My wife and I recently spent 7 days and 6 nights in Leavenworth sampling our way through mounds of schnitzel, red cabbage, spatzle, and sauerkraut to come up with our best recommendations on where to sate your craving for a taste of Germany in Leavenworth.

To be fair, we didn’t try everything on the menu. We focused on Wiener Schnitzel. Why…because Wiener Schnitzel is as basic as it gets. Usually made of pork or veal, it’s pounded, then breaded, fried (nobody said this was healthy), and usually served naked. Most other schnitzels are built on this basic schnitzel by adding various sauces or toppings (Jaeger, Ziguener, Rahm, Champignon, etc.). If you make a good Wiener Schnitzel you’ll probably make a good any other kind of schnitzel.

Keep in mind this review is about schnitzel, not all the other German food you may love. The ratings don’t take into account furnishings, oompah music, or quality of the bratwurst. We do comment on some of these factors however, and share our favorite German restaurants in Leavenworth (regardless of their schnitzel rating).

Restaurant Weiner Schnitzel
Rating
Comments
Café Mozart gold-stargold-stargold-stargold-stargold-star Superb wiener schnitzel, available in veal, pork, or chicken, and uber tender. Fine German dining (rather than a gasthaus atmosphere) with all the trimmings.
King Ludwig’s gold-stargold-stargold-stargold-star Good schnitzel, veal or pork, but smaller portions. Very Bavarian menu but much more of a beer hall atmosphere, oriented to tourist clientele. Few extras (such as, no soup or wurst sampler on the menu).
Andreas Keller gold-stargold-stargold-star The ultimate traditional Gasthaus experience in Leavenworth! But alas, the wiener schnitzel was a disappointment… deep fried… to a curled at the edges, cooked to a crisp, throwable object. But their grilled Swiss jaeger schnitzel was wonderful… don’t understand the disparity. Other than the wiener schnitzel, great fun, authentic German eating.
Baren Haus gold-stargold-stargold-star Pork schnitzel (no veal available) was breaded and pan fried but was way too crispy to enjoy. It had the look but was just too crunchy. And aside from the wait person being clad in a dirndl, not much German atmosphere.
Café Christa gold-stargold-star Although the sign out front purported Café was under new management, the veal wiener schnitzel was still the worst we had in Leavenworth. It was tough and gristly. On the other hand, the red cabbage was great… but not worth enduring the schnitzel.

 

Our bottom line…If you’re looking for a superb schnitzel, and impeccable German dining, go to Café Mozart. If you’re looking for the best traditional German ambiance… fun, music, atmosphere, and food (not counting the Wiener Schnitzel)… go to Andreas Keller.

(And lest you think we’re not qualified to judge schnitzel, we’re from some pretty long German roots (Hessian soldiers), we lived in Germany for three years, and I have traveled to Germany twenty times in the last decade alone. We can spot a good schnitzel at a hundred paces!)

 

We want to thank the Shilts’ for their guest blog. If anyone else has reviews or a guest blog, please send them to us for consideration.

The magic of sauerkraut

Thursday, January 10th, 2013

This is an update of a post that appeared first in October, 2011. Winter is a perfect time to eat sauerkraut, though we haven’t found a season where we don’t require a little bit of sauerkraut to make our Leavenworth visit complete. It seems a good time to take another look at one of our favorite Leavenworth treats: sauerkraut.

From the original post: One of the things we look forward to in Leavenworth is eating sauerkraut. We rarely eat it at home, with the exception of using it to top a hotdog at a local baseball game. But when we get to Leavenworth it only takes one whiff of sauerkraut in the air coming from one of the several restaurants serving German cuisine and we’re planning when we’ll get our first bite. And if you walk by München Haus when you’re hungry? ….Forget about it!

What is sauerkraut?
sau·er·kraut/ˈsou(ə)rˌkrout/
Noun: Chopped cabbage that has been pickled in brine.

“Sauerkraut is a great source of iron, vitamin K and vitamin C, which is another reason it was popular on seafaring vessels. It also helps the good bacteria in your body stay healthy and, in turn, keep you healthy. It is a great food for people taking antibiotics to eat because the medicine kills both good and bad bacteria.” Read more at eHow.

There are many other vegetables that are preserved by a similar process.
Korean kimchi
Japanese tsukemono
Chinese suan cai
Filipino atchara

“Sauerkraut is made by a process of pickling called lacto-fermentation that is analogous to how traditional (not heat-treated) pickled cucumbers and kimchi are made. Fully-cured sauerkraut keeps for several months in an airtight container stored at or below 15 °C (59 °F). Neither refrigeration nor pasteurization is required, although these treatments prolong storage life.” Wikipedia

Some of the 101 ways to eat sauerkraut from the Accidental Bavarian Eat page:

  • On a brat!
  • A little bit with each bit of whatever bit you’re eating
  • With scrambled eggs
  • A sweet sauerkraut with pork roast
  • With a dollop of fancy mustard
  • Mit Deutsch Kartoffelsalat (potato salad)
  • Mixed up with spatzle
  • On a corned beef sandwich
  • On dark Bavarian rye bread
  • Straight from the jar
  • On pizza
  • Twirl vs slurp?
  • On waffles
  • Maybe a sauerkraut milkshake?
  • Under mushroom sauce
  • With onions
  • Under melted Swiss cheese
  • Winekraut and Schweinshax’n

Still unconvinced? Rather than eating sauerkraut plain, try it as part of a sandwich or on a delicious German sausage. One of our favorites, a grilled Reuben sandwich. This classic pastrami sandwich layered with swiss cheese, thousand island dressing and sauerkraut on rye bread and served toasty hot, can be found at a number of eateries in Leavenworth. We’ve had very good versions at Ducks and Drakes and The Soup Cellar. At Andreas Keller you can get a Bratwurst Reuben at lunch. A bratwurst is substituted for the pastrami and the delicious house-made Weinkraut is in place of the typical sauerkraut. You can also find sauerkraut on breakfast plates, and on pizzas in Leavenworth.

How do you like your sauerkraut? Have you eaten this classic German side dish in unusual ways?

Family Dinner at SOUTH

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013
SOUTH Fresh Mexican restaurant in Leavenworth WA

Our kids recently joined us in Leavenworth for dinner at SOUTH

On our recent trip to Leavenworth we had the fantastic opportunity to have dinner with all our kids, including our daughters-in-law and our daughter’s boyfriend. What a great time! We made reservations for Monday night at one of our favorite restaurants. We knew SOUTH with its great drink menu and fresh take on regional Mexican cuisine would appeal to all of them as much as it does us.

We’d already had German with a couple of the kids, having eaten at Munchen Haus, and the Soup Cellar earlier in the weekend.

We were so right about the kids enjoying SOUTH’s delicious and generous portions. To start we ordered two pitchers of Sangria and enough of the chips samplers for all to taste the fresh corn and flour chips and accompanying Oaxacan black bean dip, salsa fresca and yummy guacamole. The Sangria is light and refreshing and a great drink to share. The chips and salsa went fast. The kids enjoyed visiting the salsa bar and trying the offerings there.

The service at SOUTH is friendly and personable. The food arrives quickly and the portions are generous. Scotte ordered tiny tacos. A couple of the kids ordered the Mole enchilada. Fajitas where enjoyed, as well. I really enjoyed the smoked salmon tacos. Great food and great company.

Tasting Leavenworth

Monday, March 19th, 2012

Pear Blossoms

For most of us, travel equals food. From discovering falafel stands in Israel, to hunting down the best pizza and gelato in Florence, food makes travel memorable. We’ve enjoyed tacos with the locals in Mexico, poteen in Jasper, Alberta, high tea in Old Niagra, bison burgers in West Yellowstone, and game pie in historic Gettysburg.

We love to eat in Leavenworth. More than just sustenance, food is a lovely shared experience. We create memories around meals. Like the picnics we’ve shared along the Wenatchee River, breakfasts with new friends and old, trying new German dishes and sampling gourmet chocolates. There are foods we rarely eat except when we’re in Leavenworth. Things such as JaegerSchnitzel, Apfelrotkraut, black licorice ice cream, amaretto fudge, and yummy gingerbread cookies. On a recent visit to Leavenworth we tried some new restaurants and enjoyed German dishes at King Ludwigs.

It’s always such fun to find others who look forward to tasting Leavenworth as much as we do. Morgan Fraser is an author and food blogger who is a Chelan area native. Her recent book, Savoring Leavenworth, offers an insider’s view of the food and culture of Leavenworth. As her website says, “Leavenworth is not simply a Bavarian village in Central Washington. . . it has its own culture and local flavor. It is a hub for enjoying local wines, fresh fruit, fresh fish, locally grown produce, a small-town feel and the beauty of a mountain setting in any season.” Morgan has a blog, Savoring Life, where she talks about her culinary adventures, shares family recipes and reveals some secrets from favorite local restaurants. I was tickled to find a recipe for Mole de Oaxaca from SOUTH. It’s one of our favorite dishes in Leavenworth. Just reading the recipe in Morgan’s post brought back nice memories of sitting on the patio in lovely weather, savoring Mole enchiladas, house-made chips and salsa and a refreshing sangria. Another popular SOUTH recipe published in Morgan’s blog is Salsa Verde. You can also find Morgan on Facebook at Savoring Leavenworth.

Pear tree in bloom

There’s a new festival on the Festival calendar in Leavenworth. Spring Sensations is a culinary adventure through the month of April. Restaurants and shops throughout the village are offering unique specials and products for sale all with a pear theme. There will be pear scones, pear candy and savory pear dishes. Wineries and restaurants will be offering wine “pearings.” Icicle Brewing is hosting a Pear, Cheese and Beer “Pear”ing.

Spring Sensations will be kicked off with a new event: A Taste of Spring, March 31, 2012. There will be culinary samples along Front Street, live entertainment, pear tasting, a pear cook-off and an International Marketplace.

For more on food in Leavenworth see blog posts such as, Favorite Food in Leavenworth, Magic of Sauerkraut, and A New Taste Place.

Before you travel to Leavenworth, and while you’re in town, Check out our Eat page for dining ideas. Have a craving? Use the search at the top of the page to look up restaurants that serve the food you’re looking for.

What are your favorite tastes of Leavenworth? Let us know in the comments below or leave us a post on Facebook.