German Healthy vs. German Bad - Starring OATMEAL!

You know, we headed out to a super-happenin' German restaurant last night in search of some good German eats. We attempted the same during Wednesday's All Saints Holiday, but this dive only served drinks - go figure. I mean, if *I* were a saint, I'd only want a nip of whiskey instead of some heavy potatoes on my holiday. Anyway, I'm going to dub one restaurant "Murphy's" - named after Murphy's Pub in Champaign which means the food is greasy and bad, bad, bad for you. The second I'll name Tiny Goodness, because the food was relentlessly German yet NOT greasey, the presentation was awesome - plus they did all of this from an incredibly small bar. I think there were three tables aside from the bar (think small).

Murphys: For kicks we ordered food that neither of us really understood. I picked out the word "berger" (koenigberger) and she picked out .. actually I have no idea how she chose her dinner. I usually give her a hard time about what she picks either way, so her choice being another unknown German option essentially put us on an even playing field. When we received our plates, we were both surprised. There was nothing resembling my idea of a "berger," only three meatballs, rice, and a gravy. She ended up with two fried eggs and potatoes. Our friend Shravi reminds us that potatoes are an intentional "butter delivery mechanism." Hats off to her, as these were fried potatoes with butter (but they were goooooood!). We went home in search of oatmeal to purge our bodies of the dangerous fats and cholesterols, only there's no stinkin oatmeal anywhere around here. For those of you that are new around here, I love oatmeal. Just ask Russ M. and Michael from CCH.. I probably told them my favorite oatmeal recipie three times over the past year and a half of working there.

...And now I'll tell you:

Mix together:
1 cup of Quakers Oats normal oatmeal (not the quick stuff)
1 cup of water
2 raw eggs

Cook in the microwave for 1.5 minutes, stirr, then another 30 seconds

Add ground flaxseed, walnuts, a little bit of clover honey, stir.

EAT.

It will keep you satisfied until lunch.. guaranteed. Maybe toss in some yogurt around 10:30AM if you finish your breakfast at 8:30AM. But YMMV.

Okay, now about Tiny Goodness: The food was really good - definitely my first choice for you many visitors who come our way over the next few years. About 6 euros bought me two bratwurst with a whoppin salad (it was served on a normal sized plate). German salads are usually layered. The bottom is composed of German potatoes (what else?), then lettuce, then thinly sliced sweet onion and tomato wedges. Toss in some special oils and spices, and it's really tasty. The two bratwurst were red (rotbratwurst) and sat alongside a small helping of German yellow mustard and horseradish, but I don't believe it because I've never had sweet horseradish. Good Good Good. She ended up with a soup with dumpling-like (or maybe ravioli-like?) things called Maltasche. Basically they are pasta with meat + spices on the inside. Very nice! All in all a bit salty, but for her 5 euros they gave her three or four huge ones. We shared our dinners as usual, and complimented our plates with some large Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Dunkels. Ahh, Guten Apetite!

Until next time, when I continue giving strange monikers to our visited restaurants to protect the innocent.