When I was a junior in college I spent a semester in Berlin. I studied German, lived with a host family, and traveled about as much as I could. It was a great experience, and I hope that one day I have the opportunity to go back to Germany. You might think that when people ask me what my favorite part about the country was, it may take me a little bit to come up with answer, but in fact, I am always quick to say: the food.
I. Love. German. Food. And often, this answer surprises people (especially people who just ask me directly, "What did you think of the food?"), which then surprises me because in my mind, what's not to love?! My host mom always made wonderful meals for me, and especially in Berlin, the imbiss food (street food) is pretty cheap, filling and delicious, which was a delight to my college wallet.
Since returning to the good ol' USA, I experience a serious hankering for German food from time to time. It's a craving that comes out of nowhere and leads to reminiscing about my time in Berlin. So as you could expect, I was quite pleased when I came across Old Europe in Glover Park, a restaurant that's been dishing out German food since 1948.
After doing a bit of research and finding that it had a good deal of solid reviews, the time had finally come to try it out for myself. And I was not disappointed. I wouldn't be surprised if the inside of the restaurant hasn't changed much since it originally opened, but I say this positively. Walking in, I definitely felt like "Old Europe" was an appropriate name, and I found the decorative ships and portraits quite entertaining to look at.
But anyway, the food. From Tuesday through Saturday, Old Europe offers a lunch special for $11, which comes with a meal, dessert and coffee -- great! I actually did not choose this option, but some friends that I went with did, and it seemed like a pretty good deal to me. For myself, I decided to get Kartoffelpuffer mit Apfelmus (potato pancakes with applesauce) and a Bauernwurst. I was incredibly pleased. To me, German food is a great mix of sweet and sour, and although I've been fighting the urge to say it this entire time, I'm going to say it: to me, German food is comfort food. I'm not sure if others would agree or think it's strange, but that's how I feel.
Needless to say, I was happy as a clam. So happy, in fact, that I returned to Old Europe a week later, enjoying some more Kartoffelpuffer and sausages along with steak tartar and quite a large piece of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake).
So if there are any fellow German food lovers out there, I highly recommend a visit to Old Europe. The scenery, pleasant staff and quality food are sure to provide you with an entertaining (and delicious) experience.
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