 |
| Many of my German food experiences have been at the Portland restaurant, the Rheinlander. |
1. Currywurst This is to Berlin as deep dish is to Chicago. It's the traditional German sausage that we all know and love just with a little extra umph of curry.
2. Knödel I'm still perfecting the pronunciation of this word, but it's a staple of Central European cooking and are considered the most authentic form of Bavarian comfort food.
3. Brezel If the only pretzels you've ever had are those snack-sized, crunchy ones, you're missing out! Apparently they were invented by monks as a prize for kids who learned their prayers. Needless to say, they're delicious!
4. Käsespätzle Okay, so this Rittersport interpretation of the classic egg noodle dish doesn't look über appealing, but the original version is definitely an amazing comfort food.
5. Apfelstrüdel The best strüdel I've ever had was in a little Alpenhut after a long day of hiking. It was warm out of the oven accompanied by a glass of refreshing milk.
6. Berliner These are pretty much jelly-filled doughnuts. President JFK has the famous quote in German, "Ich bin ein Berliner." Well, this is what he was actually saying and it's delicious.
7. Torte This is a category rather than just one food. But really, how can you pick just one when there's Schwärzwalder Kirschtorte, Erdbeertorte, Sachertorte, Prinzregententorte, and a million others.
8. Döner Kebab In Portland there are food carts all over the place whereas in German cities there are Döner kebab stands serving lamb gyros. Technically these are Turkish, but it's become a German meal in my mind.
9. Brötchen At home in Salem we generally get Dave's Killer Bread, which I'm totally a fan of, don't get me wrong, but it's nothing compared to the awesome, fresh, plethora of bread and rolls that come out of a German bakery.
10. Apfelschorle This is a combination of sparkling water and apple juice. Apparently it's popular in the summer and amongst athletes, which I can see why because it's super refreshing.
