# What Heppened to the German Restaurants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917 "2011-05-23T17:26:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/61 "2011-05-24T23:52:29Z")
> [@Candyman74](#): > > Why have Americans declined? I went out today and didn’t see a single one. It’s a damn shame Americans have declined. You mean American-cuisine-focused restaurants? They’re called ‘steakhouses’, and they exist at a range of price points all across the country. You might consider fast food places American restaurants, if you were inclined to consider them ‘restaurants’. Other than that, certain kinds of seafood restaurant are tied to American locales such as, say, Maine or the Gulf Coast, and then there’s various styles barbecue unique to various regions in America and they each have their respective restaurants. If you mean Americans as in the group of people, I have no clue what you’re talking about and would much enjoy your explication of your bizarre comment. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/62 "2011-05-25T00:25:43Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > You mean American-cuisine-focused restaurants? They’re called ‘steakhouses’, and they exist at a range of price points all across the country. > > You might consider fast food places American restaurants, if you were inclined to consider them ‘restaurants’. Other than that, certain kinds of seafood restaurant are tied to American locales such as, say, Maine or the Gulf Coast, and then there’s various styles barbecue unique to various regions in America and they each have their respective restaurants. > > If you mean Americans as in the group of people, I have no clue what you’re talking about and would much enjoy your explication of your bizarre comment. No, I meant Americans. The lack of Americans in my immediate vicinity is indication of their decline. My point is that German cuisine is doing just fine. Whether there is any in the OP’s local vicinity is as relevant as whether there are any Americans in my local vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/63 "2011-05-25T00:43:25Z")
FWIW, German restaurants also seem to be slowly disappearing from the Chicago area. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/64 "2011-05-25T01:04:27Z")
**Candyman74** : Oh, OK. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/65 "2011-05-25T01:07:15Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > When I was a kid, the Boston area had 4-5 good German restaurants. There is only one left in Boston now (Wirth’s), and it is not really german at all now-they serve knockwurst and sauekraut, but that’s about it. I really miss the Wursthaus. They had a great Saturday night bartender that took great care of my roommate and me many many many weekends. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/66 "2011-05-25T05:01:48Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m looking at the Polonia Restaurant menu and it looks like your standard Polish fare. So, what’s your opinion on the use of velveeta in their potato Pierogi? Didja notice that? I know there are some pretty divided opinions around here on Velveeta. Potato, Bacon, Velveeta Cheese, Fried Onion, Spices Because I’d like to know, could you maybe guess what the mysterious “spices” might be in that pierogi? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/67 "2011-05-25T05:21:18Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > So, what’s your opinion on the use of velveeta in their potato Pierogi? Didja notice that? I know there are some pretty divided opinions around here on Velveeta. Well, it certainly wasn’t traditional in _my_ family. 🙂 My favorite pierogi are the _ruskie pierogi_, or “Russian pierogi,” which these pierogi are based on, I assume. Ruskie pierogi are made with potatoes, onions, and a fresh white cheese, kind of like a farmer’s cheese/paneer/cottage/ricotta/quark thing. It’s a crumbly, unaged cheese that looks like [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hoGmB4gL0r8/SpCLCgltsuI/AAAAAAAADBs/Ln_0trJqjJ8/ser.jpg). > [@](#): > > Potato, Bacon, Velveeta Cheese, Fried Onion, Spices > > Because I’d like to know, could you maybe guess what the mysterious “spices” might be in that pierogi? I can’t say I’ve had a pierog of this type before. (ETA: Well, I have had the cheddar & potato variant. I prefer the original, to tell you the truth.) I’m guessing “spices” is at least salt and pepper, (and a pinch of paprika is always a possibility) of course, and then beyond that, given the Americanization of the end product, it’s anyone’s guess. Onion, garlic powder, MSG, etc., are all possibilities. The standard version of this dish is just potatoes, fresh cheese, onions, salt, pepper and pierogi dough. The bacon part comes later, when you optionally fry them in bacon. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/68 "2011-05-25T05:37:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, it certainly wasn’t traditional in _my_ family. 🙂 > > My favorite pierogi are the _ruskie pierogi_, or “Russian pierogi,” which these pierogi are based on, I assume. Ruskie pierogi are made with potatoes, onions, and a fresh white cheese, kind of like a farmer’s cheese/paneer/cottage/ricotta/quark thing. It’s a crumbly, unaged cheese that looks like [this](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hoGmB4gL0r8/SpCLCgltsuI/AAAAAAAADBs/Ln_0trJqjJ8/ser.jpg). Yea, the only potato pirogi I ever had was made with mashed potatoes, an egg yolk, and cottage cheese, maybe some salt and pepper, a pretty bland affair. Alskon they sometomes put fried onions and bacon over them instead of inside. At the Polonia restaurant they also serve you a ketchup squeezer of Sour Cream with their pierogies. I think that’s funny, awesome, smart, and perfect. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/69 "2011-05-25T07:16:03Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Yea, the only potato pirogi I ever had was made with mashed potatoes, an egg yolk, and cottage cheese, maybe some salt and pepper, a pretty bland affair. Alskon they sometomes put fried onions and bacon over them instead of inside. Yeah, those sound like the “Russian pierogi” that are my favorite. Mind you, they are different than straight-up potato pierogi. Regular potato pierogi do not have the slightly tangy white cheese in it–they’re just potato and onion, salt, pepper, and maybe butter. So it gets even blander. Still, I think they’re delicious boiled and fried up in bacon, or (my preference) served simply boiled with a dollop of sour cream (and perhaps some chopped chives or green onions if I’m feeling special.) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/70 "2011-05-25T07:41:37Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, those sound like the “Russian pierogi” that are my favorite. Mind you, they are different than straight-up potato pierogi. Regular potato pierogi do not have the slightly tangy white cheese in it–they’re just potato and onion, salt, pepper, and maybe butter. So it gets even blander. Still, I think they’re delicious boiled and fried up in bacon, or (my preference) served simply boiled with a dollop of sour cream (and perhaps some chopped chives or green onions if I’m feeling special.) Yea, the fresh, milky, and frankly wet cottage cheese that they substitiute here in the Heartland is no match for a good Bauernkäs. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/71 "2011-05-25T08:29:52Z")
A good Potato Pierogi is equivalent to a good lasagna or mussaka, if you want to do parallels. It;s a layered and simple dish at heart with the best ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/72 "2011-05-25T13:16:06Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I really miss the Wursthaus. Really? That was some of the worst (har har) German food that I’ve ever had. I’m glad that they closed. OK, not really. Even sucky German food is better than no German food. But man, that place sucked. I miss it too. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/73 "2011-05-25T14:42:54Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > Yea, the fresh, milky, and frankly wet cottage cheese that they substitiute here in the Heartland is no match for a good Bauernkäs. It’s actually closer to certain (non-creamy) kinds of _kwark_ ([quark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_%28cheese%29)). Anyhow, if you have Eastern European delis anywhere in your general vicinity, you can generally find the cheese (at least all the Polish delis here have it), but cottage cheese is indeed a poor substitute for the reasons you mention. It’s also possible to [make at home](http://cookingwithrosie.blogspot.com/2009/03/homemade-quark.html). ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/74 "2011-05-25T15:34:44Z")
Also you can make a lot of it yourself, and if you miss certain german groceries you can shop online, I get my german goodie hookup from German Deli [dot com] when I cant get in touch with one of my german buddies to send me something, or I need it in a hurry. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/75 "2011-05-25T17:17:25Z")
It has been years since I lived in Berlin, but even back then I found that German restaurants, in Germany, were becoming fewer and fewer. Most Germans I knew preferred going to Italian restaurants, or Chinese, or Thai or French or any number of other kinds of cuisine. Traditional German food is quite heavy and thick with sauces - something mothers and grandmothers would prepare once a week for Sunday dinner, or for holidays. Otherwise, salads and pastas and cold cuts = those were the usual things people I knew ate during the week. If anyone should be planning a trip to Las Vegas and feel the need for some traditional German food - Hofbrauhaus is pretty authentic, and directly kitty-corner from the Hard Rock Casino. They actually fly in the kegs of beer from Munich (don’t want to think what shipping that costs!) and the food is decent. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/76 "2011-05-27T23:23:39Z")
I recall that there was once sch a chain-Lum’s. They had frankfurters steamed in beer and roast chicken (that was pretty good). Alas, they disappeared a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/77 "2011-05-28T00:40:31Z")
**ralph124c** , did they migrate north? I know of one in Salem NH ([Green Barn](http://www.greenbarnrestaurant.com/)) and one in Portsmouth NH (Bratskellar). ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/78 "2011-05-30T18:27:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, you also have a very close personal connection with your grandmother’s cooking, so you may be setting yourself up for a little bit of disappointment if you’re expecting it to taste just like grandma’s food. That said, there are certain things I haven’t been able to find in the States that I miss from Germany. For example, a simple Thuringer Rostbratwurst (not to be confused with the smoked sausage known as a Thuringer.) God damn, if I could just find one place that makes [this fantastic](http://www.flickr.com/photos/19027848@N00/955711400/) sausage, I’d be in heaven. It’s gotten to the point that I’ve devised my own recipe and make my own Thuringer bratwurst based on my memories of it (which I’m sure have shifted over time), but it would be nice to find someone who sells them. That particular bratwurst has spoiled for all bratwursts. The sausage you describe sounds like (Polish) kielbasa (homemade, of course). If you can ever fing Lithuanian kielbasa, its even beter (the Lithuianian style includes fennel seeds and thyme). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917/79 "2011-05-30T19:52:57Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > The sausage you describe sounds like (Polish) kielbasa (homemade, of course). If you can ever fing Lithuanian kielbasa, its even beter (the Lithuianian style includes fennel seeds and thyme). Not really. It tastes quite distinct from Polish kielbasa (and I grew up with both the smoked and unsmoked variants, homemade and from the Polish deli, here in Chicago and in Poland.) There’s absolutely no mistaking the two. I’m not even entirely sure how you made the connection, as I didn’t even describe what the sausage tastes like. I’ve had Lithuanian sausage as well, although I’ve never seen a version of it with fennel and thyme. Around here, I’ve only seen onion and allspice as the main flavorings. If you could point me to a recipe with the fennel and thyme variant, I would be very much interested in making it myself. I could always use another sausage to add to the repertoire. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-heppened-to-the-german-restaurants/582917.md?page=3)