Last night, the TV chef Rick Stein travelled around Northern and Western Germany with his son and popped in to see their relatives in Düsseldorf, Hochheim and Frankfurt (I know I play with words but the programme title Rick Stein's German Bite is a pun too far even for me).
Stein announced at the start of the programme that his mission is to get us thinking about German cuisine beyond beer and sausages. The only problem with that is that beer and sausages are the best thing about a trip to Germany, whether Alt and Rotwurst in Düsseldorf, Kölsch and Blutwurst in Cologne or Helles and Bratwurst in Munich. I must say though that Stein showed remarkably good taste in going to Zum Uerige in Düsseldorf which, along with Im Füchschen, is my favourite Altstadt pub. He also had Schweinhaxe, a massive pork knuckle encased in crackling that has defeated me both times I've attempted to eat one.
I can never finish a whole pork knucke despite being very hungry. The staff at Berlin's Brauhaus Mitte off Alexanderplatz smile knowingly when you order. - knowing you'll leave half. A super slim (8 stone ?) model ordered one 2 tables away from us and the crew all watched - it would have doubled (not literally obviously) her weight. Hmmm crackling. I'll try one with crackling next time.
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