Anniversary Dinner-- guess where?

Well, Day 1 of NaBoPloMo should be easy to break in, for every Nov 1 brings something easy to write about: our anniversary!

Todd, Allan and I went to our favorite restaurant in the whole wide world-- Brummi's! Tonight's visit marked the 9th or 10th time we've been there throughout the course of nearly a year. Why is it our favorite? Well, read all about the divine food here: http://heckledtrio.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/little-slice-of-germany/ And read about Brummi's wonderful, quirky, friendly owner Veronika here: http://probablytabitha.com/2010/01/08/veronika/

Twice a year Veronika makes her special "Schweineshaxen" -- pork shank, I believe is the English term. But what do I know about cuts of meat. We first got a taste of it on Valentine's Day this year, when we joined our friends Leah, John Paul, Jeff and Laura for a Valentine's dinner special. Reservations must be made at least 2 days in advance, to allow Veronika to begin the marinating process. The end result is a little slice of heaven: crispy skin and soft, tender meat that slips right off the bones.

Every October, for the entire month (in honor of Oktoberfest), Veronika again features her Schweineshaxen special. Since our anniversary fell on the day after October ended, we asked if we could still make reservations with a couple orders of the special. Turns out she still had some, so we could! :-)

And if I thought all the food was delicious before, well... it was, but tonight's dinner was something else!

The pork, as usual, was delightfully crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. But best of all were the crisp bits of fat near the edge of the bone-- I popped a piece into my mouth, and oh my. I finally learned firsthand what it means for a crisp bit of fat to "melt in your mouth". It was divine. Allan got a side of spaetzle and I got a side of potato dumplings. It was all very delicious, but then! Then the pretzels arrived.

Now, I've never been a really huge fan of pretzels. I mean, they're okay, and I'll eat them for snacks now and again, but they're not amongst the "OMG, must have!" list. Usually they are too salty and/or too dry. When Veronika brought out a bag of fresh pretzels, I grabbed Allan's and took a bite, fully expecting to put it down again without a second thought.

Wrong.

Another slice of mouth heaven! The pretzel was not only perfectly salted, it was soooo soft and moist! I don't think I've ever eaten fresh BREAD that was that moist and delicious and flavorful. We later found out that the baker who made those pretzels was the husband of one of Allan's former professors/grad colleagues! Small world!

Of course, no meal at Brummi's is complete without dessert. I got my usual Apfelkuechlein with homemade vanilla sauce, and we also got an order of one of Veronika's latest creations-- crepes. As if the authentic German food wasn't delicious enough, she gives the French a run for their money! See, most crepes are too sweet for me. I don't know if it's because they put too much Nutella filling in it, or if the "dough" itself was already too sweet to begin with, but usually after eating about 2/3 of your average crepe, I've had enough. Veronika's crepes, on the other hand? I couldn't get enough. Just the right amount of sweetness. One was filled with Nutella, and the other filled with plum jam. Topped with ice cream, whipped cream and a splash of chocolate sauce, and my taste buds were yet again in heaven.

At the end of the evening we got our picture taken with Veronika for her wall, filled with photos of her and her regular customers. Yay for being immortalized amongst the other folks who have come to love Veronika and her restaurant filled with love.

What a wonderful evening. Most couples prefer to spend their anniversaries alone, but not us. For us, the celebration isn't complete without the little man. It's a true family celebration! And now we can all waddle off to bed, tummies full and taste buds satisfied :-)