Little Slice of Germany

Having spent a quarter of my life (wow, how time flies-- I remember when I used to refer to it as "a third" of my life!) in Germany, it comes as no surprise that I have a certain fondness for the country, the language, the culture, the people, and the food. If I had to pick another place to live besides where I currently am, it'd be Germany: http://blogs.grab.com/hellykwee/405964

And oh, the food. Having grown up as a meat-and-potatoes kind of girl, nothing suits my palate as well as German food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is without a doubt my favorite cuisine: http://heckledtrio.tumblr.com/post/92325897/guten-appetit

So you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover a wonderful, homey little slice of Germany right here in Santa Barbara-- in the form of Brummi's restaurant on upper State Street. Brummi's offered typical German fare: various kinds of schnitzel and wursts, rouladen and goulasch, with sides of spaetzle, sauerkraut and potato pancakes. Allan and I finally gave it a try last week, for lunch on New Year's Eve. He had the Bockwurst with sauerkraut and potato salad, while I had the Jaegerschnitzel with its familiar mushroom sauce. The dessert? Apfelkuechlein, a delightful concoction of sliced apples dipped in batter, deep-fried, and served in warm, creamy vanilla sauce. Whatever that batter was made of, it was to die for. Multiple mouth orgasms ensued.

We learned that during the holidays, the restaurant serves special dinners of fried duck, potatoes and red cabbage, with Stollen (and vanilla sauce) for dessert. We made reservations for dinner that following Saturday and invited a friend from work, who brought his girlfriend. Dinner was fantastic! I got to enjoy my much-loved spaetzle (homemade egg noodles), the duck was so tender it kept slipping off my fork as I tried to pull pieces off, and the potatoes were the most creamy, moist things I'd ever tasted! Normally I have to lather boiled potatoes with plenty of gravy, but these? These I could eat without any gravy whatsoever, and they still melted in my mouth and filled it with the most delicious flavors. Everything was clearly homemade and made with lots of love.

The food was fantastic, but the service was the icing on the cake :-) We were greeted, seated and served by the owner of the restaurant, whom many of the regulars dubbed "Mom". She was funny and spunky, and doted on us much like mom would. That really enhanced the homey feel of the place!

We managed to take some pictures of our food (alas, we neglected to take pictures of the duck!) and photos just don't do justice to the aroma and flavor concentrated on one plate:

Here is Allan's Bockwurst, sauerkraut and potato salad:



Here is Helly's Jaegerschnitzel with fries:



And here is that SINFULLY delicious Apfelkuechlein dessert, the most delicious things my mouth has ever had the pleasure of feasting on!



If you live in Santa Barbara, you must try Brummi's. If you're ever up this way for a visit, you must stop by Brummi's. It is hands-down my new favorite restaurant, and I look forward to more belly-pleasing, belly-filling visits there :-)

Guten Appetit!