Dinner in Germany

The first week of my spring break may or may not have been planned around a certain restaurant in Germany.

Full disclosure: it was. My neighbors in America happen to be German, and they happen to have family who own a restaurant back in the homeland. Yes, please. But there is more. The restaurant has received a slew awards from German and European guidebooks, which is a pretty big deal because it’s in a little German town about forty minutes from any major city (Bonn).

After said forty-minute ride through the German countryside with Wolfgang, brother of Uli (German neighbor) and our driver/dining companion for the evening, we arrive at his childhood home turned restaurant in Adendorf, Germany.

Gasthaus Kräutergarten.

(That’s Wolfgang on the left.)

Kräutergarten is run by Astrid, Uli’s sister, and her husband Chef Herbert Jungbluth. They also call on a sister, brother-in-law, and niece (or two) to help on he busy nights. A true family business.

Let’s go in. I’m hungry.

The dining room is as charming as they come. Bright colors on the walls, rugs on the floors, simple and warm lighting, and fresh flowers. It just makes you feel happy. It just makes a light and simple atmosphere that brings a smile to your face. The restaurant seats around 50 people (one seating per night), and there is additional seating outside in the garden during the summer.

And the table is as pretty as the dining room.

It’s a refreshing and unpretentious atmosphere (a welcome change from a sometime stuffy French culture). Also, I really wanted to steal one of those plates.

Even the menus are special.

You will notice two things: 1) They are all hand written. And if that is not impressive enough, the menu changes every two weeks or so. You do the math. That is a lot of writing. 2) They are all in German. The only word I recognize is “Dessert” on the top of the third page.

Luckily, Wolfgang translated for us with the help of an unfortunate dictionary. In fact, the dictionary was of little help. No matter. We all ordered our respective dishes, some of us a little more certain about what we were going to get than others.

To start off, we had a German Riesling. Thanks to Wolfgang, I know that German Rieslings are aged in steal drums, so there is not that oaky taste characteristic of wines aged in wood. There were notes of vanilla involved too. It was very good. Probably the favorite of my stay in Europe so far (and therefore life).

And then the amuse bouche came.

I love a good amuse bouche – a treat from the chef to warm up the pallet and appetite. From left: a salmon pâté on top of some vegetable (possibly leeks) and salmon roe; a pumpernickel cracker with foie gras mousse and cranberries; tomato soup (with fish if I remember correctly). I think we all loved the presentation.

My favorite was the salmon pâté. It paired really well with that mystery vegetable, and the roe (salmon egg) added a nice pop (literally). The foie gras mousse was chilled and smooth. The soup was also very good. Better than Campbell’s (if you can believe that).

Our bouches now amused, we apticipate the first course. And here it comes.

Veal sweetbreads with black truffle. Initial response: sweetbreads (organs) are actually sweet. Secondary response: sweetbreads are actually delicious. Fried just so and with those black truffles, that right there is a recipe for success. The pink cubes around the outside are tongue. I expected them to be tough, but they were actually quite tender. Go figure.

Other first courses at the table.

Salmon with whiskey mayonnaise and vegetables.

Fish soup.

Fish carpaccio.

They were all very good, but mine was the best.

The cleaned plates are taken away and there is a nice break before the second course to digest. But wait. They are bringing us a dish we didn’t order. What is happening?

This one was a surprise: a gift from the chef to his guests of honor. I’m… honored. And what a nice gift? Pork cheek on a bed of mashed potatoes and gravy. I’d take a gift from this guy any day.

Another break between courses. At this point, we need time to recoup and prepare for the main course. Speaking of which…

Lamb with mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables (maybe those are the leeks). Perfectly cooked lamb with puréed potatoes and oddly good vegetables. I may have licked the plate.

Other second courses.

Filet of beef with mushrooms, asparagus, and risotto (the risotto was the talk of the table).

Fish with mushrooms in a burre blanc sauce.

And so we find ourselves on another rest. This one more desperate than the one before. Completely full from what essentially comprises four courses, three bottles of wine (two of those German Rieslings and a red wine from Spain) plus bread. Oh yes. There was bread.

I’m still unsure of what that spread on the right was (sun dried tomato maybe), but it was absolutely fantastic.

And then dessert came. Suddenly, we weren’t so full.

I went with the strawberries and champagne: fresh strawberries, champagne ice cream (there is nothing wrong with champagne ice cream, ever), and a mint-like jelly. But that’s not all. They poured Champagne on top and it put on a bubbly show right in front of me! Strawberries and champagne. It was incredibly refreshing and light. Just what I wanted.

There was also crème brulée with honey ice cream and peaches.

And there was chocolate. Five ways.

A certain sister of mine loves chocolate. She got her fill here. Clockwise from top-left: whipped cream (no chocolate), chocolate cake (1), chocolate mousse (2), chocolate ice cream – with chocolate chips/chunks – (3), chocolate cookie (4), and hot chocolate (5). The paint streak was more for decoration, but that sister I was talking about turned it into her sixth helping of chocolate. Ain’t no shame.

And the dessert plates were taken away looking like they came right out of the dishwasher.

That was a good meal.

But wait… there’s more.

Cookies!

And then we took a tour of the kitchen. Hey, I know the chef’s brother-in-law. I’m important.

That is Chef Herbert in his tiny, tiny kitchen. And that is pretty much the entire kitchen. I’d guess its dimensions were something like 12ftx12ft equipped with…

…this many burners. That is not a lot considering there are fifty or so diners eating multiple courses every evening. Also, there are probably around four or five people working in this tiny, tiny area. That is not a lot at all.

There was also a downstairs with a prep-room, laundry room, pantry (which was more like a closet), and two separate cellars for red and white wines. I don’t think I can overstate just how small (tiny?) the workspace is for such an impressive restaurant. These are very talented chefs. Very talented, indeed.

And here they are now: the couple that owns the 'gasthaus.'

Astrid and Chef Herbert.

We had an unforgettable time thanks to these two and their family. Thanks!

And all of us.

From left: Me, Mom, Astrid, Chef Herbert, and Katie (sister)

Gasthaus Kräutergarten