166426 Sun Oct 20 14:43:00 -0700 2002 24 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 889152 I am looking for suggestions for German food, either restaurants, bakeries or butchers. I would appreciate any recommendations in DC or NoVa. Thanks Sun Oct 20 14:43:00 -0700 2002 0 foodsnob 1 889153 The German Gourmet: Bakery, Deli items, foodstuffs at 7185 Lee Highway in Falls Church. I picked up a few bottles of Waldmeister Syrup there a few months ago. Everything looked really good. Old Europe: German Restaurant - 2000 block of Wisconsin (Glover Park area). It's not consistently good. There's also Wurzburg Haus over in Rockville. If you go to the Washingtonian website you can read reviews there. I haven't been there in years. Does anyone remember Evelyn's in Burke? I really miss their plum cake. Sun Oct 20 15:35:23 -0700 2002 889152 0 Barry 2 889157 Unfortunately there's not a restaurant in the D. C. area that could even begin to approach a mediocre restaurant in, say, Bremen or Dusseldorf. I believe that most Americans have no idea of what German food tastes like. (If anyone can tell me where in America I can find white asparagus as sweet as is grown in Germany I would be deeply appreciative. When this is in season in Germany there are restaurants that will have "spargil" festivals featuring sweet white asparagus prepared as many as twenty or more ways. Some of the heavy cream sauces can make you forget gnocchi with quattro fromaggio sauce!) But there are several good bakeries along with the above mentioned store. Heidelberg on Lee Highway south of Glebe road has posters of Heidelberg all over the walls. It is actually quite good and considered by many to be one of the D. C. area's better bakeries. Their primary competition is further up Lee Highway (around the 4500 block) and called Pastries by Randolph. At this point I've had a half dozen cakes and a number of pastries from Randolph's and would give them an edge overall. (Thanks, Zora.) But the one of the cakes they do best is Black Forest. Their's is perhaps the best I have ever had. (Heidelberg has a really good German Chocolate and a torte that starts with the letter K (I forget the name, something like kasne (sp?) which is their best.) Heidelberg sells Lowensef mustard but the red brand in America is only medium hot and different from the red brand in Germany. Heidelberg also has a decent deli and sells a few other German goods at incredible prices. Kuhne mustard is approximately four times as expensive there as in a grocery store in Germany. Sutton Place has some good sausages including Thumann's from New Jersey. Sooner or later someone is going to start an open air stand here like you find in many German towns featuring bratwurst, currywurst, bockwurst, etc. On round crusty rye rolls with Lowenserf middlescharf mustard. If we're really lucky they will also open a wine shop specializing in German reislings both trocken and sweet. Few people know that German white wine is the finest in the world. And, in Germany, much of it is priced like Chilean wine, i.e. cheap! Or that the best of the German dessert wines are as good as Y'quem and, unfortunately, priced appropriately. Sun Oct 20 17:19:53 -0700 2002 889153 0 Joe H. 3 889162 Joe H., for what may be the best white asparagus in America, if you happen to find yourself in Santa Monica, CA at the start of the white asparagus season, get over to Hans Rockenwagner's, he brings them in from Germany (although, I somehow think you already know this). Nothing like Old Europe or Cafe berlin in DC. Mon Oct 21 07:55:21 -0700 2002 889157 0 Stray gator 4 889173 I'll second Wurzburg Haus but I thought it was in Denton (sort of in-between Olney, Gaithersburg, and Rockville)- did they move? I also like Cafe Berlin on Massachussetts Ave. on Capitol Hill, they've got several good dishes during Asparagus Month. Mon Oct 21 10:50:24 -0700 2002 889162 0 Malcolm J. 5 889176 I'll try Cafe Berlin also but unless they are flying in the asparagus like Stray Gator mentioned above it may be good not in league with that grown in Germany. An analogy here is locally grown Silver Queen corn or any locally grown super sweet corn and the yellow corn you typically get in a supermarket. But my real point is that few Americans know that this is a wonderful part of German food. It's almost a celebration there when the asparagus is in season. Most Americans also have no idea of how good German beer can be when properly served from a tap. In Bremen Beck's has two restaurants and they fill glasses the traditional way, i.e. the bartender will take ten of them or so and continuously rotate them under the tap, touching it quickly and letting the foam rise to the top. By the time the glass has finished its rotation the foam has settled and another tap is given. This is done five or six times and the result is just incredible. The best Belgian beer at the source and the best German beer at the source are just better than anything available here. Thanks again for the recommendation. Mon Oct 21 11:11:09 -0700 2002 889173 0 Joe H. 6 889200 When you say the best German (or Belgian) beer at the source is better than anything here, I believe you're really making a comment on freshness (and probably a bit of ambience as well). Particularly for German beers, I'd suggest the way to go is to consume well-made German-style beers made locally. In our area these would include Tuppers' Pils, Victory Prima Pils, several products from De Groen's in Baltimore. For Belgian beers, what you say may be true for a pils like Stella or Jupiler, but many Belgian specialty beers are bottle-conditioned and strong, which means that unless they've been mistreated in transit, they're likely to be just as good here as they are in Belgium. Incidentally, there are some mighty fine Belgian-style beers made in the US these days, including efforts from the Brewer's Art, Victory, Brewery Ommegang, New Belgium and Allagash, to name a few. Mon Oct 21 16:30:35 -0700 2002 889176 0 Jim Dorsch 7 889206 There is a lot to be said for ambience but I swear that sitting in Beck's 600 year old pub in Bremen, at the bar with several friends and drinking beer that the barmaid has spent ten minutes rotating under a tap really does taste better than anything I've had on this side of the Atlantic. I am certain that I am being influenced by the surroundings and the "style of pouring" (as well as the number of beers) but I have not had anything here that rivalled that. Mon Oct 21 20:01:08 -0700 2002 889200 0 Joe H. 8 889211 Ten years ago there was a Chicago beer called Baderbrau that was sometimes poured in the manner you describe. Very nice treatment. I believe Bitburger is also known for this, at least in Germany. If I were in northern Germany, I'd seek out Jever Pils. Tue Oct 22 06:57:27 -0700 2002 889206 0 Jim Dorsch 9 889216 I agree with Joe H. about German beers tasting better than anything here...(haven't tried Belgian or the sveral U.S. pilseners Jim mentions so can't comment on them)..have toured a number of times throught Saxony (E. Germany) and never have tasted anything like the draft beers in each little town where a number of glasses are rotated and poured sloowwly as you described (ambience had nothing to do with the taste..brought dozens of bottled versions of each type back here & they were better than anything here, but far removed from the draft there)..each town's is like another variety of fine wine in different regions of France (by the way, the French and Spanish should stick to wines..)..If you are partial to pilseners.nothing beats Saxon varieties (including Bitburger, Bavarian, all the Czech ones)..have tried many on draft & this is why I hardly ever drink anything here..haven't found a microbrewery yet here which comes close.. Tue Oct 22 10:05:30 -0700 2002 889211 0 Kirk 7 889207 I hate to admit it, but I have never tasted any American beer as good as the draft Koestritzer Oktoberfest at the Oktoberfest in Lantana FL. It was flown in from Germany last week (probably in a C-5, judging from the huge number of kegs). "Creamy" doesn't begin to describe it. Fantastically smooth with a wholesome nutty flavor. Almost like a rich dessert. Man... Mon Oct 21 20:25:59 -0700 2002 889200 0 flavrmeistr 8 889212 I'm a big fan of American beers, but I must admit that US brewers sometimes struggle to attain the character of a good German Oktoberfestbier. I believe it has to do with a combination of ingredients and process. However, some brewers, such as Victory, are pretty good at it. Tue Oct 22 07:04:42 -0700 2002 889207 0 Jim Dorsch 4 889175 I didn't know that and I spend about 20 days a year or so in California. Thanks. I WILL go. Mon Oct 21 11:04:18 -0700 2002 889162 0 Joe H. 3 889217 Joe, For a great selection of German wines and an appreciation of how to match them with foods, check out Nancy's on Columbus and 75th next time that you are in New York. The staff love German wines and go out of their way to find and recommend interesting ones. Tue Oct 22 10:33:27 -0700 2002 889157 0 Jeremy M. 1 889161 In terms of German food/restaurants, I have been to "Old Europe" on Wisconsin Avenue. I guess if you have a craving for German food, it may whet your appetite. For German goods, I have never been to "The German Gourmet" in Falls Church, but have made it to "Old Heidelberg" on Lee Highway. Consistently I have been disappointed by their lack of anything German, or European for that matter. I just don't understand how any respectable bakery can sell that yellow-cake with white sugar icing! Disgusting! (I will have to check-out "Pastries by Randolph"!) If you're willing to drive a bit, I would suggest "Zum Rheingarten" (located at 3998 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Stafford, VA 703-221-4635. They accept AE,DC,MC,V. Closed Tues., reservations recommended). Yea, I know that's almost as far away as Germany, but the next time you're at Potomac Mills mall, drive another ten minutes or so South on I-95 to the Quantico interchange. It's very close to the Interstate-interchange. The first time I went to "Zum Rheingarten" I asked why would such a great German restaurant be located in the middle of nowhere?! (Gee I miss the great German foods of now closed restaurants like Hausners and Schotzies in Baltimore!) The response? Nearby Quanitco Marine Corps Base. Apparently any serviceman who have been stationed in Germany for any amount of time, once they return State-side, ends up missing German food. Hence, "Zum Rheingarten" in Stafford. There are no posters of Heidelberg at this joint! The emphasis is on food and only food. They also have a great selection of German beers. The only recommendation I would make is if you do go, make sure you go before the Potomac Mills IKEA closes: generally speaking, the place closes early. It's not uncommon for them to close at 11:00 pm. (Also, the tap may run dry of some of the more populat German beers.) On another note, for good deli meats...I know this will sound crazy (un-Teutonic) but try either "The Russian Store" in McLean VA or "European Bazaar & Int'l Food Store" in Rockville MD. Both cater mostly to Russian foods, but they have a great selection of great vursts and deli meats! Mon Oct 21 02:24:11 -0700 2002 889152 0 Eerik 2 889177 Eerik, thanks for the Stafford recommendation. Sooner or later I WILL go there. But thanks again, it sounds legitimate. Heidelberg, for the most part, is an American bakery. But at Christmas they do carry a number of traditional baked goods (stollen is fairly good). Overall I believe that Heidelberg (by American tastes) is very good. You have to special order several of their traditional tortes and so forth but, still, they really are good. Are they as good as the best of Lubeck (marzipan) or Koln? No. But I honestly believe they are as good as the average German bakery found on most corners. But again, please consider that they are baking to American tastes. Pastries by Randolph is traditional American but one of the best, if not the best, overall bakeries in the D. C. area. Mon Oct 21 11:20:47 -0700 2002 889161 0 Joe H. 1 889163 If you are willing to travel north, try the Schmankerl Stube in Hagerstown. (link below) Or how about the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV? I have never been there and have heard conflicting reports. Link: http://www.schmankerlstube.com/ Mon Oct 21 08:27:25 -0700 2002 889152 0 Liz 1 889164 The German Gourmet, as mentioned in some of the posts, is excellent. Sausages and german potato salad are definitely worth the trip, and the folks that own it are very friendly and helpful. Their website is: www.german-gourmet.com Mon Oct 21 08:51:29 -0700 2002 889152 0 Colleen 1 889190 I've only eaten there a couple of times but Joe H. will be gladdish to know in the spring they do run an asparagus festival, albeit green rather than white. Nice outdoor seating. I brought 2 former U-2 pilots (really!) there and they have spent a good bit of time in Germany o'er the years (ah, the Cold War: those were the days) and both really liked it. It's on Mass Ave, NE, just below 3rd. p Mon Oct 21 14:21:59 -0700 2002 889152 0 pam h 1 889195 If you want the ambience as much as the food, I recommend a fun evening at Blob's Park off B-W Pkwy in Jessup. The food's not the attraction, but it is cheap, and the music & dancing is first-rate. This place may not be around in another 5 years (due to declining audiences), so check it out... www.blobspark.com Mon Oct 21 15:55:20 -0700 2002 889152 0 Lauryn 2 889224 I second the trip to Blob's Park, and to reiterate, the food is NOT the reason, but the atmosphere. Except for the total lack of Packers jackets, you'd swear you suddenly landed in the middle of Wisconsin. Tue Oct 22 15:59:33 -0700 2002 889195 0 Jamie D 2 889293 Didn't Blob's Park close a few years ago? Fri Oct 25 10:29:34 -0700 2002 889195 0 bratsie 3 889301 If it did, it re-opened. K Fri Oct 25 11:39:10 -0700 2002 889293 0 Kok 1 889222 The German Deli / Cafe Mozart downtown on H has a good selection of German canned goods, candies, and sausages -- and really good stuff at Xmas. I like Cafe Berlin, but more for a good Paulaner Oktoberfest on the patio than for dining. Her desserts, though, are very good ... lots of buttery tortes and cakes. Tue Oct 22 14:02:02 -0700 2002 889152 0 Bucky 1 889292 Old Europe in Glover Park DC, Wisconsin Avenue. Fri Oct 25 10:27:56 -0700 2002 889152 0 bratsie