Lois_L

I agree that German food is surprisingly underrated. I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned German chocolate, some of the finest in the world, excellent eaten alone, or in pastries in the afternoon. You can't beat the simple pleasure of a fresh pretzel for breakfast, and Germany elevates "deli food"--cheese and cold cuts--to an art form. For Americans, the game dishes in rich sauces are also a treat we can't get here.

P_M

I think all my favorite foods have been mentioned, but when I travel and don't know what to order, I always ask the server to recommend their favorite local dish or dessert for me. I've never gotten anything I didn't like this way, and it's a great way to sample the local cuisine.

pandaschu

When I was in Bonn I ordered what I thought was some sort of baguette from a bakery, on my way to the train station.

As it turns out, it wasn't a baguette afterall, but a giant (baguette sized) pretzel stick (that's the only way I can think to describe it). Whatever it was, it was amazing! Unfortunately, by the time we ate it, we were on the train out of Germany!

Nobody I have asked has known what I am talking about- Surely somebody here will know. What was it?????

platzman

This could be considered either a quick meal or a snack.
Best freshly-grilled juiciest bratwurst-on-roll-with-mustard I ever had was at the Frankfurt am Main train station at 430 in the morning. I wasn't there to catch a train. I just couldn't sleep (newly arrived from Newark the afternoon before) and there was nothing else open at that time save for a few sleazy smoky bars. I suppose bratwurst is considered breakfast when you have it with coffee, and lunch or dinner when you have it with beer.

hsv

pandaschu,

I guess what you mean is a "Laugenstange". A "Laugenbrezel" is what is commonly referred to as "pretzel". The same dough and method of baking is applied to other forms as well, producing the "stick" variety. They can also be cut open and spread with some cold cuts or cheese.

If it isn't that, I am afraid, I wouldn't have the slightest clue either.

Oh, and platzman,
I really don't think, a bratwurst is ordinarily considered breakfast anywhere in Germany, though I will admit that I have savoured some on the break of day, too, but that was always after long nights of serious partiing and drinking to ease or circumvent a hangover. Probably being jetlagged from your transatlantic flight your situation was comparable !

platzman

One of the first things I saw in Germany was a man dressed in a suit and tie, walking very fast down the sidewalk in the morning eating a plain bratwurst.
I thought that must be a normal thing to do here. Never saw that again.

Peep

Laugensemmeln - pretzel rolls
Kaiserscharrn (although it's really Austrian, close enough)
Kurbiskernbrezen - pumpkin seed pretzels
Kaesespatzle

RufusTFirefly

No contest for lunch and dinner--Bier, or "liquid bread" as I've heard it referred to in Bamberg.

Zeus

Bitte, ein Jägerschnitzel mit Pommes Frites und Gemischte Salat. Und ein Mass Bier vom Fass.

And why do the German Bratwursts taste 100 times better than the American version? There is no similarity in taste - they are two totally different animals. The stuff I buy at the store and cook on the grill tastes like smoked sausage or kielbasa, nothing like the stuff you get on any German street corner. I've never been to Milwaukee, but people tell me THEY do it right. Do they?

Honestly, I can't remember having anything I didn't like in Germany. They may have been serving me entrails and headcheese for all I know, but it tasted great. I just avoided anything on the menu with the word "Fisch" in it.

Although I can't bring back German meats and veggies to cook back home, I always fill my backpack with Lindt and Ritter Sport chocolates, Toblerone, Bounty bars and jars of Nutella (1/3 the pride it is back home).

pandaschu

Thanks HSV!

bigboy72712

We will be in Hornberg Germany Sept 19,
13 days from today! one of my favorite
foods is German Bratwursts I will eat my share of the REAL ones while there.
We have 1 day in Hornberg and 4 days in Munich.

RufusTFirefly

Zeus--I'm able to get several different brands of good bratwurst here in Maryland. Perhaps because each locality in Germany has its own version of bratwurst, you developed a taste for just a certain style. That doesn't mean all the other styles are bad. Have you shopped around some local delis and meat markets?

Danna

We will be in Stuttgart in a little over a week and I'm looking forward to trying a Maultaschen. I've never met a big stuffed ravioli I didn't like. Kasespatzle have been calling out to me in my dreams. Will report back about experience vs. expectations.

tom42

dinner: Brandenburg duck.

Robespierre

Breakfast: a Coke and a Hershey bar (your body needs carbohydrate first thing, according to my MD friend).

Dinner: when we stayed at my brother's home in Bonn, he had stocked the freezer with store-bought <i>sauerbraten, rahmschnitzel, und pfefferpotthast</i>. If you stay in a place where you can cook (even a suite with a microwave), check out the grocery stores for some real yummies!

Tries2PakLite

I could live on Goulash Soup and Stew, with bread of course. I can't wait till it gets cold and I can whip some up.

grilledsardine

Hmm. This is tough. I think German food is underrated and overlooked. Some of my favorite German food is Sauerbraten with dumplings, roast goose at Christmas time, Wiener schnitzel, Bauernbrot and Zwetschgenkuchen. Not to mention, celery salat, the cucumber salat and potato salat. I also love the beer and some of the white wines.