Hot Dish Review

Without Omi to make schweinebraten, me and my Mom had to be creative when it came to food. Meal times are reversed in Germany. They eat the bigger, hot meal for lunch and have a simple supper of bread, meats, and cheeses in the evening.

Having stocked up on camembert, schinken, und brot for dinner, we spotted a stack of prepared meals in the cupboard. Everything from beef rouladen to goulash. My Mom called them “fertig Gerichte”, which translates to “finished meal”. They weren’t exactly diet food, ranging from 430 to 520 calories each. So, we decided to split them on the days we were not eating out with family or friends.

The first one we tried was the sauerbraten. It was served with red cabbage and spaetzle. Leftover red cabbage from the day before made the meal complete. Although our overall opinion of the prepared meal was pretty good, we agreed the red cabbage contained too much nutmeg.

Schlemmergulasch was next, beef and onions in gravy served with spaetzle, peas and carrots. I bought a head of frissee at the market…I had never seen a whole head of frissee before! I made a big salad to go with the goulash. Again, pretty good.

Omi had one entree with fish, but we chose the rinderroulade as our final lunch at home. Similar to the first meal, it was beef slices with spaetzle and red cabbage.

At that point, we were running low on provisions so we split a yogurt for dessert. In Germany, the yogurt flavors are similar to the gelato flavors, with tempting options like “nuss”. There are actual bits of hazelnut in it, making for an interesting textural combo with the smooth yogurt. Why don’t we have hazelnut yogurt here? Not to mention my very favorite snack, quark, a whipped dairy dessert in between yogurt and sour cream that I have been wanting to import to the U.S. for years! I always get maracuja, which I just found out is passion fruit. Love it.

While I was in Germany, I thought I would rerun a few posts on Helen, North Georgia’s faux Bavarian village! Prost!
This restaurant is an old standby in Helen. I’ve eaten there dozens of times….with my Mom, with friends, take-out. Only today did I realize it is not Old Bavarian Inn, but rather Old Bavaria Inn. Robert, the latest owner, has maintained the highest standards of food quality. I think it’s the best German restaurant in Helen proper!

ST and I drove up to my parents’ place in Helen last weekend to continue his birthday celebration. We dined at Old Bavaria Inn Saturday night on authentic German fare. It had been a while since I had ribchen (smoked pork chops) und sauerkraut. I always loved it when my Mom made it when I was a kid.

I’ve often ordered the spaetzle with cream sauce and ham with a bratwurst for lunch. On this visit I couldn’t pass up this super fatty spaetzle appetizer. Rich, rich, rich.

Old Bavaria Inn offers all of your German favorites from Weiner schnitzel to sauerbraten. I opted for the schlachtplatte (meat plate)…..a selection of bratwurst, knockwurst, and ribchen served with red cabbage, sauerkraut and potato salad. ST ordered the rinder rouladen, thin beef filets rolled and stuffed with pickled veggies and served with red cabbage and spaetzle. Both entrees should come with a side of Gas X too!

The least authentic thing they serve is the potato salad. Not the traditional German style that is served warm, their version is decidedly American made with red skin-on potatoes and served chilled.

We washed it down with lots of beer….Warsteiner, Erdinger, Paulaner, anything that ended in -er.

Robert brought out a complimentary slice of apple strudel for ST’s birthday. They were out of the amazing hazelnut torte that me and my Mom always order….it is not to be missed!

We were stuffed! It was nice to be in Helen again.

A few days ago I found myself at Top Flr once again. TL met me at the bar where we shared some laughs and a few glasses of wine….Easton zin for me and a cab for her.

And, of course, we ate. Although the menu has undergone a few tweaks recently, I am still very familiar with most of the dishes from starters to entrees. We decided to share the white bean hummus. Served with toasted pita triangles and a dish of huge bright green olives and tiny nicoise, the hummus was a delicious start and remains one of their most popular menu items.

But I always forget how totally awesome their mussels are! I had them the very first time I visited with d years ago, and have had them on numerous occasions since. I ordered them as my entree Thursday with a side of crispy spaetzle with mushrooms. Bathed in a sublime coconut milk and soy broth, the mussels were particularly fat. A huge chunk of ciabatta waited to sop up every last drop of the broth.

It was hard not to order the mac ‘n’ cheese, but when asked, PLB recommended the spaetzle. Being a German chick I had to try it. A medley of mushrooms and roasted shallots lent an earthy element to the rich pasta.

TL chose light and healthy gazpacho and salmon.

As I polished off the last lonely shellfish, I finally handed over the long-awaited article to PLB, as promised, but not before he bet me a thousand dollars that I forgot to bring it. In lieu of the cash he offered two seats at the dinner party on May 1st in Piedmont Park. Even though they are technically only worth $190, they may prove to be priceless.