Food P*orn in HamburgStaying off the harbor in Hamburg, Germany (with the big Disney cruise within sight from the restaurant) we had one of the best breakfast buffets I've ever had. Steak tartare appeared only once the 4 days we were there but it was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. I have to limit eating raw meat in front of my husband too frequently (it grosses him out (and I don't get laid)) ...but risking happiness is sometimes worth other joys in life! Generous lox and cream became a superb morning ritual. A bright chopped beet cream sauce and relish were awesome accompaniments. The coffee and espresso in Europe was like extra strong CRACK, I dunno why. Dig the yogurt (yeah with muesli -- yes it's grain -- kick me off paleo-island?). German yogurt ROCKS and about 8 varieties were available. It appeared full fat to me. No where could I translate 'low fat' at the buffet bar. Look at the deep, carotenoid-rich-pumpkin-orange egg yolks!
On Thanksgiving eve of all places at the hotel restaurant, we had a traditionally roasted German duck which is only available seasonally during the fall/winter. WOW. Succulent, rich and earthy. Duck is one of the birds of I love because it is ALL LOVELY DARK MEAT. Wish I had pictures but the ducky didn't make the cut *haa* (my kids deleted).
P.S.
BTW Very rare did I see anyone IN EUROPE APPEAR OVERWEIGHT, OBESE, OR MORBIDLY OBESE COMPARED TO THE UNITED STATES. Just an empirical, clinical observation.
Funny, my parents just came back from a 3 week European cruise. I asked my dad if he saw any fat people. He said "Besides the tourists, I saw one." Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI'm a fat person in Europe!!!
ReplyDeleteOh wait, I'm not European. Ok, when I was in back in the States last summer I felt almost thin, but I'm definitely not there yet. The crack about not getting laid really cracked me up. The problem I have with steak tartare (other than the price) is that I often don't have to willpower to tell them not to bring the garlic toast it usually comes with. And when I do refuse it I always get strange looks strange looks from the wait staff, but I can live with those.
Yes, we are all slim in Europe ;) Looking at the photos on APharm, I thought you were a nation of classical roman sculptures brought to life. Any american without the genetics for abs like a washboard was left out on hillside at birth. Non? Actually the biggest culinary difference is the coffee - the coffee in your world-encircling chains is truly awful! Why do you drink, let alone export that stuff. You'll see what good coffee is in Germany, or in any restaurant in Europe, methinks
ReplyDeleteI live in Spain. It's true that our fat isn't to the same degree as what you see stateside but, thanks to all the "new" processed food, it's slowly becoming a problem.
ReplyDeletehey primal mami!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry -- yes we're spreading THE JOY... of diabetes and obesity!
Sean
YOU. CR*CK. ME. SO. UP. OMG R U f*ckin kiddi?? ur a totally s*xxy HIG -- hot intellectual guy. and paleo family man to boot!~
*ahh aha!!* I live with strange looks ALL THE TIME... GET USED TO IT.
pro patrea
Yes -- leave the babes on the hillside to be raised by wolves and strengthen their constitution! I concur -- the european coffee was out of this world!
Chuck,
SCARY ISN'T IT????? What is wrong with America??? (besides grain-baseds-USDA stupidity, Monsanto-manipulated corn/soy/wheat, pesticides/herbicides and other endocrine disruptors, long work hours, no siesta/naps, not enough PLAY PLAY PLAY, high fructose corn syrup, ok i'll stop... *haa*)
-G
I totally disagree about the coffee. Here in Prague the coffee really sucks, and it is mostly German, Austrian and Italian.
ReplyDeleteI'm talking about the coffee one buys at the store. Tchibo and Jacob (German) are really common, and they are the worst, Starbucks brand destroys them. Segafredo (Italian)is ok, nothing to get excited about. Sure, a nice restaurant in Italy will have great coffee, but I'm not impressed at all with the stuff they export, and that goes double for Germany.
Sweden has some really good coffee. When I'm there I'll pick up a bunch of it at the grocery store, and it is actually cheap, which is rather odd since most things aren't. I believe they are the world's highest per capita coffee drinkers so it makes sense.
Indeed - duck is god. I've secured three ducks and three goose already and they're waiting for me and my girlfriend to feast on them during the next year.
ReplyDeleteDutch coffee rocks hard, try one if you get the chance.
I start to see increasing numbers of obese kids in Germany. Seems to be mostly rural areas but also mid-sized towns
Sean,
ReplyDeleteGerman coffee was EXTREMELY STRONG which needed full fat cream to mellow out. The restaurant had excellent stuff but nothing compares to the French. I do have to say the French coffee had incredibly nice acidity and smoothness that I can drink straight (like a good cigar) no embellishments needed.
I am dying to go to Sweden and Switzerland. At one time my husband was travelling to Basel ever month. The kids were too little so I couldn't go...
Felix,
We were in Amsterdam one day and had lots of coffee (due to jet lag, it was the first day). You are right. It was awesome. The Amsterdam airport/train station btw is the best I've been too as well. (I can shop!!)
Notice the portions on the Hamburg picture -- NO ONE ATE AS MUCH AS US. *haa aH* The German businessmen and gals ate infinitely fractions of what was on my plate. (of course I didn't finish but all but had to try a lot)
Seriously. Even croissants (german or french) weighed like 2 grams. Mostly AIR. After the trip I was reading about lard and it turns out most trad'l bakers in France use butter+lard to make croissants! No wonder they were f*cking crazy creations of EDIBLE MIRACLES!!
Before I made um..candy cigarettes (almond flour chocochip cookies) with lard once. Ran out of ghee and brought them to the Palo alto paleo meetup. WOW. they were the best and so many people loved them. Butter was sub'd out for coconut oil and LEAF LARD. LARD. Such good stuff.
-G
Well, it's all about situation. My favorite coffee has been at hotels in Spain and Italy where they have a tankard of coffee and a tankard of super hot milk and you mix it half n half (or at least I do). Yum.
ReplyDeleteMMMmmmhh... That sounds absolutely divine. I was just talking to someone who wants to move to Spain and she described the breakfasts and coffee that she missed so much...
ReplyDelete