I went to a party this evening to celebrate German re-unification, and there was this fanstastic spread of German food. The potato salad was particularly wonderful (warm, with bacon and what tasted like a bit of tarragon vinegar) and all kinds of what I would call "salami" but I guess I should call it "wurst." I have to admit I especially liked the mustard, and the pumpernickel (best I've ever eaten) and a kind of jellied terrine that held together vegetables, lardons and some meat. It was marvelous. Just melted in the mouth. They gave us small plates -- which was too bad for me, because I didn't have any room for the marinated herring and the several kinds of hams, weiners and everything else that looked so good. I did balance a nice warm pretzel on top of all my food.

There was reisling -- which got me to thinkign that reisling may be the only white wine I really like. I left without sampling the beautiful dessert table, because I'm saving that for when I visit Germany itself, which will be soon.

Nice introduction to German cuisine.

So where was the party held? In Germany or elsewhere? I want an invite next time around! Barb

New York City. I'll see what I can do about snagging you an invite. ;-)

Have fun. And your post did make me chuckle.

I lived in Germany for a year, and know some people who absolutely detest the very food you loved. Guess that's why they call it "taste."

You'll find ample opportunities to sample the riesling in Germany. A word about desserts, however: In my experience, German desserts tend to look really good, but if you're accustomed to typical American desserts, you may be disappointed at how the German stuff tastes -- much less sweet, more subtle. Some people like it, but it takes some getting used to.

Love German food and wine.
For a shorter trip, come to Milwaukee. 85% of Milwaukeeans have some German heritage.

I grew up eating most of the things you wrote about not knowing there were "ethnic".
German potato salad was the only kind my mom ever made, and we have to ship sausage to my uncle as he moved to Arizona and you just can't get the good stuff there.

Look for farms in the area own by german farmers. I found one and i am glad.
Where in NY and how to get there?

Hi
It's interesting about the German food and peoples thoughts about it. I actually detest American deserts, I find them much too sweet for my taste. I also enjoy having lachs and some of the herrings while visiting. I enjoy the buffet bkfst. and having lunch at a Nordsee if I come across one. I guess it's what you grew up eating.

Ziana,

Do you mean German farms in New York? My grandmother was a German immigrant who was raised on a farm in upstate New York. Alas, she didn't cook!

aieger,

What are lachs? And what is a "Nordsee"? I really like herring. I am looking forward to tasting German cakes and pastries in Germany!

Angelthereader, good advice. We do volunteer work at Germanfest (held at the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee) every year. If you grew up in Milwaukee then German and Italian food is where your heart is (and we were born and raised here-alas, we are "mutts&quot. I think the true German and Italian "sweets" really aren't that over sweet at all, that is what makes them so good! When it comes to true comfort food, the heavy German food has it for us, hands down. That said, we have pasta once a week in some shape or form! Chilly nights around here now, any wonder there are pork chops in the oven with potatoes and sauerkraut to go with for supper tonight??? The German white wine is the best. Italians have the book on the red. Now I am starving! Shirley, Waukesha (20 miles from Milwaukee), WI

I love the Nordsee! I hope aeiger doesn't mind if I jump in. The Nordsee is a seafood fast food place. They have a nice selection of sandwiches and seafood dishes that are available for take out. Everything is fresh, and if it isn't, it's on display so you can see what looks good at the time you're there.

Don't get me started on the German cakes. There was an Apricot Cream cake in Boppard that I've never gotten over. I've never considered myself a "foodie" until I landed in the Deutschland. It hit me about half way through the trip that this was the food my mother would have been cooking had she been a very good cook! She gets a star for trying.

I'm a huge fan of German cuisine! May I suggest currywurst; it's amazing...
I'm told that it's like a 'fast-food' dish that is typical in Germany, and my German friends say it's nothing special but I say it's heaven...especially with a hefeweizen.

What is a hefeweizen?

Where is Nordsee?

Nordsee is actually the North Sea, which is located West of Germany and East of England ;-).
Otherwise, it's a chain of fish and take-out seafood stores located all over Germany. See

http://www.nordsee.de/flash.jsc

to locate outfits.

A Hefeweizen is a wheat beer which actually can be found under that name from more and more micro breweries in the U.S., too. It gets increasingly popular. German brands include Maisels, Schneider, Franziskaner, Erdinger and Paulaner.

I'd rather have the currywurst with a Pilsener, though. Currywurst originates in Hamburg (although Berliner's like to believe they invented it, but are, of course, wrong ;-) ) and Hefeweizen is not a North German type of beer. We rather have those strongly hopped Pilseners like Jever or Holsten around here.

>>"What are lachs?"<<

Salmon

What's the point of a dessert that isn't sweet? Sort of like using milk in one's coffee instead of cream.

Just being cute--everyone's taste buds are different; partially genetic and partially based on what one is used to.

What tastes good to you is what tastes good to you. Eat what tastes good to you (but do try different foods as sometimes you'll find a new favorite; or at least have a new experience--though I don't really recommend the aged skate and kimchi dish popular in a very small area of South Korea).

Of course we're all mutts, we're Americans. If that's not enough, DH and I have NO common ethnicities, hence my kids are really mutts.
It's funny, because if you ask my mom, she'll say I'm 1) German 2) Magyar (my grandpa came here from Hungary, but always referred to himself as Magyar 3) Austrain, 4) Bohemian 5) Czech (never Czechoslovakian)
My grandma was a proud Bohemian and never referred to herself as German.

Back to food -
My favorite comfort food is egg drop dumplings. Instead of potatoes with pork, I'll roast a rack of ribs with sauerkraut and make the dumplings, mmmm....

I agree about the German white wines - that's what they do best.

Well, gotta disagree on one point:

"Of course we're all mutts, we're Americans"

Not all Americans are "mutts"--I'm very proud of my Italian ancestry. My family has only been here for about 60 years, and everyone has married other italians.

Having said that, I love German food--I especially like desserts that aren't too sweet. It's the reason why I usually prefer cheese to end a meal, or perhaps a little dark chocolate.

You must try Bavarian "Gammelfleisch", it's been sold in many places, even a downtown restaurant. Delicious

Missziegfeld, I say we are "mutts" because we really are, little bit of this, little bit of that, so we embrace especially the minute German and Italian heritage that we possess even though we do not have the total strong "full breed" background. We also have roots from Belgium, Poland, France and England-but yes, are Americans-born to parents born here. We are happy to claim heritage to all listed above. Shirley

On the subject of hefeweisen - since our trip to Germany, I have been trying different ones made in the US. So far, I have found the Gordon Biersch and Trader Joe's hefweisens to be very similar to the ones we had in Bavaria.