Frankfurt Food

When people say that Germany is the land of swine, they are not kidding you. Pork, beer and potatoes seem to be all I was seeing during our week in Frankfurt and Munich. For hubby, all he was seeing was schweinshaxe (pork knuckle) and he ate that pretty much every day.

So when in Germany, do as the Germans do. We tried to eat their diet and had pork knuckle, pork belly, pork-filled sausages, giant pork schnitzels, sauerkraut, potatoes and beer during our time there only to escape Germany thinking - "no more pork for at least a month!". Not that it was bad... all their pork and potato dishes were absolutely mouth-wateringly deliciousness!!! Only complaint would probably be their potato knodel (which is a really dense potato dumpling ... which really, is bordering an inedible tasteless starchy hard gloop). Ooo... and the lack of fresh veges... it took us a while to become vege deficient in order to cotton on to the need to order a salad with every meal. Nonetheless, it was a tasty country indeed.

Snacks much needed after working a whole day then flying a whole day (sleep deprived muchly).We snacked (like Germans) on sausages in buns from Hans Wurzt (around the corner from Romerberg). As you can imagine, our sleep-deprived state (much like a hung-over state) welcomed these tasty fatty carby things a lot! It gave us the energy to plow on with the day.

Original Rindswurzt

Original Thuringer

 After exploring a lot of the city, and hence, again in our exhausted state, we were able to find ourselves a place which served "original Frankfurt food". In our defense, when we first entered Steinernes Haus, there were not a lot of patrons. It was only after we finished our meal and observed our environment did we realise that 95% of the patrons were Asian... tourist trapped :( Nonetheless, the meals were yummy enough and matched my expectations of "Frankfurt cuisine". Hubby ordered the Romer Pilsener Special - which apparently is the "Frankfurt" beer-to-drink. His pork schnitzel was covered with cream and delicious mushies... loads of golden deep fried chips, and a side salad. And my 'green sauce' was actually very yummy - herby, vinegary, creamy, mayo-y and extremely extremely filling when matched with hard boiled eggs and potatoes. How do the locals finish such a dish!?!?!

Pork Schnitzel "Vienna Style" with fried potatoes (ie. chips) and salad

4/2 Eggs with Frankfurt Green Sauce and Potatoes

 The next day was a bit more successful in our hunt for where locals seem to eat (or at least a little more so). At Leib & Seele, we got our first tastings of German Pork Knuckle... and it absolutely puts any pork knuckle served in "bavarian restaurants" in Sydney to shame. It was super succulent fall-off-the-bone kind of meat, flavoursome and coupled with crunchy crackling! I, having forgotten what hubby ordered the previous night, absent-mindedly ordered a pork schnitzel with mushrooms sauce... tasty enough though!

Pork knuckle with sauerkraut and roast potatoes

pork schnitzel with mushrooms sauce and chips

Food in Frankfurt had been all rosy and to my liking until we encountered the knodeln at Das Wirtshaus. After seeing the knodeln once, it was like a bad friend we couldn't get rid of (and we ended up seeing it everywhere! in Vienna, Prague, Munich, the whole lot!). The knodeln is like a really really really dense glump of potato and flour. Virtually tasteless but extremely heavy stuff. The sauce which came with this knodeln, however, was absolutely heavenly! The best mushroom sauce we had in Frankfurt. Different types of mushies were used, making it super aromatically delicious! I eyed someone in the markets having a "spam" looking thing in a bread (and I love spam :P). Hence, I took the opportunity to order their pork meat loaf which came with a gorgeous fried egg and some tasty pan-tossed potatoes. YUM!

Semmelknodeln

Pork meat loaf with fried egg and pan-fried potatoes

We couldn't resist a waltz down Fressgass, a street with plentiful cafes and delis. Loads of cheese, hams, and traditional salads lined the street. We chose the busiest cafe at the time, which happened to be Center Park Corner for our breakfasts. We had wonderfully delicious coffee and loads of yummy cheeses, hams and bread. Mmmm :) [hint: don't come here on a Sunday... it's like ghost town]

Cappuccino

Rucola, Parmesan, buffalo mozzarella, tomato, prosciutto and bread

Ham and cheese with tomato, marmalade, jam and bread

pork crackling just lying there!

sausages and other tasty morsels

What more, we couldn't resist the markets. There was Kleinmarkthalle, which was fabulous! AND it just so happened that on the weekend we were there, there was the Museum Festival - which meant that on both sides up and down the main river, there were loads and loads of stalls - arts and crafts, product stalls, and of course, LOADS of food!!! We visited the market daily, just oogling at the delicious sausages, pork knuckles, chips and other tasty snacks (which were largely either pork or potato).

 

And as a sweet finish to Frankfurt... my favourite! Haagen Dazs! "Around the World" series with Salted Caramel, Strawberries & Cream, Macadamia nut brittle, and Dulce de Leche. YUM!



"Around the World" Haagen Dazs series

 Hans Wurzt : http://www.hanswurzt.com/

Steinernes Haus : www.steinernes-haus.de 
Braubachstraße 35 60311 Frankfurt, Germany
Tel: 069 2834-91  

Leib & Seele : www.leibundseele-frankfurt.de  
Kornmarkt 11 60311 Frankfurt, Germany  
Tel: 069 2815-29    

Das Wirtshaus : www.wirtshaus-frankfurt.de  
Große Bockenheimer Straße 29 60313 Frankfurt, Germany  
Tel: 069 284399    

Center Park Corner :  
Große Bockenheimer Straße 52, Frankfurt  
Tel: 069 29802679

Rhinedorf - Beverly Hills

Rhinedorf German Restaurant

After working on a Saturday (which is a truly horrible experience), I was craving meat - and LOTS of it. So in my mind, our dinner choices were either HUGE ribs or HUGE pork knuckle. Seeing that the Mardi Gras was in the city, we chose to avoid that area and opted instead, on going to Beverly Hills for German food at Rhinedorf.

Although the entrees were truly very tempting, my partner and I decided to save our stomach space for the huge mains we were choosing.

Drink-wise, this is the only place where lemon-lime bitters came as bitters in a glass and a glass bottle of schweppes. Mixed together - it became an interesting colour and an interesting taste, which, unfortunately, was not the taste I was used to or after. LOL

Lemon Lime Bitters - $3.50

In terms of food, my partner chose the Kalbshaxen ($26). This was HUGE HUGE HUGE HUGE veal knuckle slow roasted with herbs and spices. The meat was so super tender and simply fell off the bone. This was accompanied with red cabbage, roast potatoes and drizzled with gravy. Very tasty but slightly oily and very filling.

Kalbshaxen - $26

I wanted pork crackling. Hence, I ordered the Schweinehaxen ($23). This was a big chunk of pork knuckle, slow roasted with beer and herbs. Although there wasn't an abundant of crackling, there was still enough to satisfy my cravings. The crackling was really good - really crunchy and crackly. It is such a guilty pleasure though - as each bit of crackling is dripping in fat. Definately not for the faint-hearted. The meat however, was slightly varied. Some bits were a bit dry whereas other bits were really tender and juicy. Mmm... It was accompanied with sauerkraut, which was good but not excellent, and roasted potatoes which were sooo herby, fluffy soft and pork-oil tasting. The "gravy" that it came with was a dissappointing patch of oil. But if you were brave enough to soak the meat in this gravy patch, good rewards ensued - you get extremely flavoursome, almost aromatic, juicy pork which enriches your tastebuds but clogs your arteries. LOL Try if you dare.

Schweinehaxen - $23

Unfortunately, although I was so hungry and thought I could eat a horse, I failed miserably. I managed to gobble down all the crackling and probably around a third to a half of the pork. I think that next time, we can just order one knuckle between the two of us and that will probably fill us up. But for this time - the buy one get one free voucher from the E-book meant that we got away with paying less than $35. Bargain! :)

Amazingly, the rowdy, lively diners around us seemed almost capable of gobbling their large portioned meals. This is truly a German restaurant. (I think it's authentic, but I've never actually been to Germany so I probably wouldn't know)

Ratings:
Food - 8/10
Service - 6.5/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Value for money - 7.5/10
Overall - 29/40

Rhinedorf German Restaurant
485 King Georges Road
Beverly Hills
NSW 2209
Tel: (02) 9570 6763

Una's - Darlinghurst

Una's Darlinghurst

After a hectically bad day at uni, I felt like a huge hearty meal to cheer me up. And hence, to huge giant schnitzel's we went! (the spontaneity means you have to cope with my mob pics)

Exciting blackboard menu

Looking at the blackboard and the menu, there were so many things I wanted. But being conservative, I went for the Chicken Jaeger ($19.90) served with yummy Rosti and somewhat oily cabbage salad.

When my Chicken Jaeger came out (ie. drenched in mushroom sauce), I was dumbfounded by the size. Yes, I wanted a huge hearty meal... but to get two big pieces of freshly deep-fried super crispy chicken schnitzel drenched in mushie sauce... dream come true! (not that I could finish it) It was soooo deliciousness! My partner believed that it too, was a top-rate chicken schnitzel (comparable to Tin Kee on Lvl 1 foodcourt, Westfield Parramatta), and for him to give that rating, that is definately saying something! The mushie sauce also had an unexpected kick to it~ mmm... so yummy!

The cabbage salad was a bit more oily and peppery than expected, but still makes me feel healthier than the schnitzel. And the rosti??? Heavenly! Kind of like a hashbrown - only better!

Chicken Jaeger with rosti and cabbage salad - $19.90

Cabbage salad (with meal)

My partner had a difficult time choosing between the pork knuckle and the blackboard special - Pork Schnitzel with rosti and cabbage salad ($19.90).

I loved my mushroom sauce - but to experience such tenderness (and hugeness) of pork schnitzel... how do they do it??? The pork was succulent and tasty, tender with every bite yet perfectly crunchy and crumbly. Wow! Amazingness! (althought I still stand by my mushie sauce).

Pork Schnitzel with rosti and cabbage salad - $19.90

The waiters were nice and friendly, and the atmosphere was cozy and warm. Una's is truely hospitality from the heart - and I heart giant schnitzels!

Ratings:
food - 9/10
service - 7/10
ambiance - 7/10
value for money - 7/10
overall - 30/40

Una's Darlinghurst
340 Victoria Street
Darlinghurst 2010
Tel: (02) 9360 6885