1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List (72 page)

Bauernbrot
(also known as
roggenbrot
, or rye bread) or farmer’s bread is huge and rugged, a slightly gray, round loaf of sourdough-based rye; among Ashkenazic Jews and Eastern Europeans, it is known as corn bread, meaning that the dough has been corned, or soured. Its crust is dark, crackly, and certain to give jawbones a good workout, and its moist, yeast-heavy body proves a tantalizing revelation on the palate. The huge oval slices should be cut in half or quarters for serving. Delicious spread with butter, they reach their apotheosis when topped with some of the rendered fat, or schmaltz, of ducks, chickens, or geese, and a sprinkling of coarse salt. Bauernbrot is a bit too heavy for closed sandwiches unless sliced very thin, which is a challenge.

Salzstangen,
salt sticks, are the first pieces of bread to be eaten out of any bread basket, and small wonder. The golden brown crusts of these long, thin, crisply curled rolls are crunchy with sprinklings of coarse salt and caraway seeds, an addictive contrast to the soft white bread inside. Broken off in pieces and buttered for the most soul-satisfying results, salzstangen have probably spoiled more appetites than any other bread. Hungry diners innocently snacking on them, beware! They are particularly good with strong cheeses and crisp, cold appetizer vegetables such as cucumbers or black, red, or white radishes.

Mauerlöwerlei,
or bricklayer’s loaves, are small, neat white-flour rolls whose rounded tops and oblong shape do indeed give them a somewhat bricklike aspect. A specialty of Bavaria, they are particularly good when used for lusty sandwiches, spread with both butter and mustard and filled with cured or cooked ham, liverwurst, rare roast beef, roast pork, or ripe cheeses and thin slices of pungent radishes. Coarse salt and a grinding of black pepper are all that’s needed for optimum sandwich enjoyment.

Where:
In Berlin
, Weichardt-Brot, tel 49/30-873-8099,
weichardt.de
;
in New York
, Schaller and Weber, tel 212-879-3047,
schallerweber.com
;
in Las Vegas
, German Bread Bakery, tel 702-233-2733,
germanbreadbakerylasvegas.com
;
in Santa Monica, Venice, and Culver City/Mar Vista, CA
, Röckenwagner,
rockenwagner.com
.
Retail and mail order:
In Portland, OR
, German Bakery Inc., tel 503-252-1881,
the-german-bakery.com
;
in Helen, GA
, Hofer’s of Helen, tel 706-878-8200,
hofers.com
.
Further information and recipes:
The Cooking of Germany
by Nika Standen Hazelton (1969);
h2g2.com
(search german bread);
germanfood.about.com
(search buying german bread outside of germany; 10 german bread recipes).

What Fauchon is to the French and Harrods or Fortnum & Mason to the English, this sprawling, gorgeous
feinkost
—fine food—shop in Munich is to the Bavarians, and to the rest of Germany as well. Dallmayr, in the center of Munich
may just be the most beautiful of the bunch. Giant coffee bean dispensers of Nymphenburg porcelain, hand-painted with birds and flowers in soft pastels, hold the shop’s impeccable blends. Live crayfish swim in marble fountains, and the accommodating staff wears shirts and aprons in the blue and white of the Bavarian flag. Everywhere a glowing neatness reassures as it tempts shoppers toward delicacies that can only be described as the best, the most luxurious, and, unsurprisingly, the most expensive.

Opened in 1700 by Christian Reitter, since 1870 the shop has borne the name of its second owner (but not its last proprietor), Alois Dallmayr. Destroyed by fire in 1940 during World War II, the shop rose again between the city’s lively Marienplatz and Odeonsplatz squares in an even more lavish iteration—and the owners haven’t looked back since.

Which department is the most overwhelming? Hard to say. It might be the caviar section, where the best customers for triple-zero beluga are allowed to taste before making their selections. Or it could be the counter for smoked fish and fish salads, resplendent with golden-skinned smoked pike and carp; roseate salmon; silvery herring in at least a dozen sauces and marinades; and tiny ribbons of smoked fish known as
Schillerlocken
because they imitate the long curls worn by the poet Schiller. Also on offer are pâtés in jewel-like aspics, wursts, and all of the smoked or air-cured hams Germany is famous for.

In a sweeter corner, shelves are stocked with nosegays made of colorfully wrapped hard candies, Cartier-like chocolate bijous, and pretty jars of every sort of jam and confiture imaginable. Here, too, you’ll find the rich, winey bottled berry juices—black currant, raspberry, blackberry—that Germans so love in winter, whether lightened with a spritz of cold sparkling water or mixed with spirits for a holiday punch.

The pride of the house is its own coffee: rich, complex blends that can be packed in lovely and reliably airtight canisters repeating the Nymphenburg motifs, or enjoyed in the shop, along with some of the equally beguiling pastries. If browsing in this shopful of temptations leaves you hungry, consider tea at the instore Lukullus Bar, or a lovely meal in the Restaurant Dallmayr.

Where:
Dienerstrasse 14–15, Munich, tel 49/89-213-5100,
dallmayr.com
.
Mail order:
For ground and whole bean coffee, Enjoy Better Coffee, tel 800-582-6617,
enjoybettercoffee.com
; amazon.com (search dallmayr coffee).

Every piece of the bird can be used for a variety of delicacies.

A goose, it is said, is a bird that is either too big or too small—the determining factor being the amount of fat that melts away as it cooks, leaving what is generally considered to be either too much or too little meat on its bones. Hence, roasting a goose requires close attention, the goal being to eliminate the heavy golden layer of fat between skin and flesh, keeping the latter moist and luxuriously flavorful while leaving the former tantalizingly crisp. Pouring boiling water over the skin of the slow-roasting bird and piercing it intermittently to allow fat to drain off are standard practices, but these techniques are just the start.

First, there is the matter of timing. In many
European countries, especially in the north, geese are slaughtered on St. Martin’s Day (Martinmas in England), November 11. They are the unlucky symbol of one Saint Martin of Tours, who hid from adversaries in a barn until the birds’ cackling betrayed him. In early November, young geese are just right. Large enough to have depth of flavor, yet still young enough to have a good proportion of meat to fat, they cook up golden brown and crackling crisp, mouthwateringly fragrant and rich with savory juices.

In Germany, the goose is prized not only for its flesh and skin but also as a vehicle for marvelously complex stuffings that become delectable sops for the meat’s juices. Fresh apples accent sauerkraut, while dried apple slices combine with raisins, prunes, and brandy in chestnut or grated pumpernickel stuffings. On the savory side, popular stuffings are based on mashed potatoes flecked with diced grilled goose liver, or perhaps nuggets of crumbled bratwurst along with golden brown onions. The result is so delicious, one might almost forget to eat the goose itself.

And indeed, in Germany the goose is only the beginning. There’s also
gänseklein schwarzauer
, sour black giblets—a dish that tastes a lot better than it sounds. A small sweet-and-sour soup-stew served as an intimate between-courses treat at family meals, it mellows the gaminess of chopped giblets with dried apples and prunes, onions, celery, cloves, marjoram, and a dash of vinegar. Goose blood, if on hand, binds the rich combination, accented by a garnish of potato dumplings.

Even loose, tubular neck skin is prized as
gefüllter gänsehals
, for which the skin is stuffed with diced goose liver, bacon, drippings, bread, lemon zest, and onion for a sausagelike creation that is gilded in its own unctuous fat. Remaining livers will be pan-browned and topped with sautéed apple and onion rings served beside mashed potatoes.

Although a roast is the usual form in which this noisy bird is enjoyed, its breast meat may be commandeered for other uses. Delicately cold-smoked over hardwood while still protected by a layer of skin, the firm, mahogany-colored meat is thinly sliced. The result, with its silky, supple texture and antique flavor, rivals the best prosciutto.

All of which leaves only the feathers that go into pillows as a traditional, prized filling—and the cackle that betrayed Saint Martin.

Where:
In Salzburg
, during the Christmas season, Goldener Hirsch, tel 43/662-80-84-861,
goldenerhirsch.com
;
in New York
, at Christmas and on advance order for 4 to 6 guests, Wallsé, tel 212-352-2300,
kg-ny.com/wallse
; Blaue Gans, tel 212-571-8880,
kg-ny.com/blaue-gans
;
in Milwaukee
, Karl Ratzsch’s, tel 414-276-2720,
karlratzsch.com
.
Mail order:
D’Artagnan, tel 800-327-8246,
dartagnan.com
(search goose).
Further information and recipes:
The Cuisines of Germany
by Horst Scharfenberg (1989);
Neue Cuisine: The Elegant Tastes of Vienna
by Kurt Gutenbrunner (2011);
germanfood.about.com
(search christmas goose).
See also:
Roast Goose with Sage-Onion Stuffing
.

The menu changes according to what’s fresh in the morning fish market.

Great local seafood, traditionally and impeccably prepared. A dramatic view of a lively working harbor. Nearby, an operatic fish market in a historically raffish part of town. These are the hallmarks of the Fischereihafen Restaurant, situated in Hamburg’s bustling harbor on the Elbe river. En route, you’ll pass by the fish market, just off the infamous nighttime red-light district called the Reeperbahn.

While the menu offers many well-made international seafood specialties, serious travelers out to maximize their local experiences will stick with the classic fare of Hamburg, as well as the Hamburg province of Schleswig-Holstein, which once belonged to Denmark. This historical note accounts for some similarities in taste, most especially those for dill, eel, and sailors’ hash. The latter is called
labskaus
, a term that literally translates as “scow refreshment” or “hash for sailors,” and is common to the cities that were once part of the Hanseatic League, a once-dominant trade alliance: Hamburg, Bremen, Lübeck, Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and London. A stewed hash, it is composed of finely chopped herring, anchovies, corned beef or pickled pork, potatoes, onions, and pickled beets, and topped with one fried egg per portion and a slice or two of sour pickle.

The hitch? Almost all of the ingredients are preserved—salted or pickled—as they once needed to be so they would keep for months aboard ship.

Before the hash, you’ll want to stop at the Fischereihafen oyster bar to sample the big, plump Sylt Royals, one of which can weigh as much as a quarter pound. Farmed in clear, icy North Sea waters off the North Frisian island of Sylt, they are satiny in texture and only mildly salty, allowing warmly nutty, coppery undertones to emerge. Perhaps if you ask, you can follow an old Hamburg custom and have a slice of Cheshire cheese alongside, as well as a glass of red wine or a sunny white Riesling or Moselle.

Among the local specialties are silky, saline fillets of rosy
maatjes
herring with several sauces; and eel, fresh in a dill sauce, jellied in aspic, or smoked and served with apple-horseradish relish and toasted whole grain rye bread. Zander, or pike perch, from the Elbe is firm and meaty, classically served with a caper sauce, spinach, and boiled potatoes. More
delicate little perch—
goldbarsch
—are sautéed and topped with a perky rémoulade; the pearly North Atlantic turbot—
steinbutt
—is delicious fried and garnished with hot golden mustard. The menu does have a few meat dishes as well, and these are helpfully grouped under the label
Nicht-Fischesser
: For Non-Fish Eaters.