Grüner Restaurant, Portland, OR

I stopped into Portland restaurant, Grüner, for lunch. They describe themselves as 'alpine' European cuisine.
I had heard a lot about their burger, but trying to pace myself, I opted for the spätzle with pieces of riesling braised chicken, Crimini mushrooms, crème fraîche, tarragon & thyme, sprinkled with crispy shallots. It was a beautiful, simple, and delicious dish. I had an elderflower soda as my refreshing beverage.
For dessert, the Bavarian cream trifle with rhubarb sauce was rich and wonderful.

My check came in a book by Nietzsche.

527 Southwest 12th Avenue
Portland, OR
(503)241-7163

Schmankerl Stube Bavarian Restaurant in Hagerstown, MD

This weekend, Fougoo, Redneckhunter & I drove out to Hagerstown in western Maryland near the Antietam Civil War battlefield to have lunch at Schmankerl Stube, a Bavarian restaurant. Our friends, Olironstomach & Gubeen arranged this lunch with a large party of friends because of a certain dish made at the restaurant, the Knusperige Schweinshaxe, a Bavarian style pork shank, which needed to be ordered at least a day in advance to get.

When we arrived, the decor and atmosphere of Schmankerl Stube was Bavarian through and through. There was a bar with steins hanging on the ceiling, the waitresses wore German style dresses, and German music was playing.

We started with liters and half liters of Spaten Münchner Hell lager. We were given bread at the table: a dry sunflower seed rye served with butter and a cream cheese mixed with anchovy, capers & pickles.







We ordered several plates of appetizers. First was the Wurst sampler that came with a selection of strong mustards for dipping. It included Weisswurst, Bratwurst, Knackwurst, and Debrezinerwurst. Fougoo and I agreed that our favorite was the Weisswurst.

We got a plate of Herring a’la Hausfrauenart, or pickled herring with sour cream sauce and onion.
We also shared the day's Gefülltes Brot, a wintertime dish that was a crispy sourdough bowl filled with roast pork and Hunter's sauce.






After appetizers, they brought out the Knusperige Schweinshaxe. It was a massive piece of pork, about the size of my head. The pork was amazing. It had a wonderful crispy skin. The fat just under it was gelatinous and flavorful, and the meat itself just fell off the bone. It was served with sauerkraut, an apple flavored red cabbage, and a bread dumpling. It was such a large portion, I could only eat about a third of my plate.

Fougoo ordered the Herzhafter Sauerbraten, the sweet & sour pot roast. It was also quite delicious.
Our table passed around a side of their tasty Spätzle.
After so much fatty goodness, it was a relief to have a little digestif of gooseberry schnapps.

Certainly, we could not leave without some dessert. Our end of the table shared two items. The first was Schwarzwälder Kirsh Torte, or Black Forest cake.
The second was Apfel Strudel, or apple strudel with a vanilla sauce. Both were made in house and both were delicious.
After this impressive luncheon, I did not eat any more meals for the rest of the day, and I even felt full ths next morning.
I would love to go back to try other items off their menu.




58 South Potomac Street
Hagerstown, MD
(301)797-3354

Susan Feniger's Street in Hollywood, CA

While visiting LA, we went to Street in Hollywood, chef Susan Feniger's restaurant that is an upscale place makes multi-ethnic street food.
I went in a bit skeptical about the concept. It reminded me of the one-off No Reservations with Tony Bourdain where he had the "At the Table" format and for some reason had some "nightlife queen of NY" participate. She mentioned that she would never eat food from a cart. Well the idea of this restaurant made me think that this restaurant is catered to her prissy type of eating.


After my dinner here though, I think more highly of the restaurant- I like the idea of a meal that is a mashup of cuisines from around the world.
We were first given Millet Puffs. These tasted like rice krispie treats met with Indian spices. A really pleasant starter.

Since we had a large party, we ordered a large number of diverse appetizers.
I picked the Sauteed Black Kale with Refried White Beans. It was served with an anchovy butter and olive bread. I liked the take on beans and greens, plus the anchovy butter.
Our table also like the Lamb Kafta Meatballs. They were really spicy and they had, on the side, cheese in grape leaves smothered in a date sauce.

The Argentine Ricotta Ñoquis simmered in brown butter on a celery root puree were light and heavenly.
We also tried the Smoked Whitefish Salad, the Ono Sashimi, and the disappointing Burmese Lettuce Wraps. All in all, the appetizers alone could be enough for a good meal.


For a main course, I ordered the Tastutage Fried Chicken. It was chicken marinated in soy, miso, & sake, fried up in a rice batter and topped with spicy kewpie mayo. It was basically Japanese fried chicken.

By far, the best entree, was Coprock's Beef Tenderloin Schnitzel. He described as probably the best schnitzel he ever had. It was beautifully pan fried in a wonderfully seasoned breading. The meat was I would say a nice medium. It came with sweet & sour cabbage, a parsnip puree, mustard cream sauce and fried cornichon pickles.

Just prior to dessert, we were served glasses of Vietnamese style coffee, and then we got Turkish doughnuts. They were soaked in a cardomon rose syrup and served with a dollop of sour cream.
Street was a fun dining experience, and definitely worth a trip back to LA.

742 N. Highland
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 203-0500