Germany 2011: Zum Bauer, Zum Bauer..

Earlier this week, we took a short walk to a nearby farmer for lunch.  Kreuzhofbauer serves traditional German fare for lunch and dinner every day (Schnitzel, Frikadellen and so on), and every Wednesday they have a special Schlachtfestkarte, or a "Slaughter Menu".  When you walk past, it doesn't look like there's much there...

...however, there's a decent sized restaurant on the left, and a small farm shop on the right.  The farm shop sells thing like fresh fruit and vegetables, different milks and cheeses, and, of course, meat and smallgoods!

Being located in a nondescript residential area, I didn't think that there'd be many customers, and assumed that the patrons would all be locals.  However, the restaurant was full, and looking at the licence plates of the line of cars parked down the street, I could see that people came from loads of different cities to eat at the farm - Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Worms, Darmstadt and even Heidelberg!

You can either sit outside, under pretty yellow umbrellas, or inside, in the farmhouse.  We sat inside.  I should note, it was super-dark inside the restaurant, but our new compact camera (a Canon Powershot S95) seems to be doing really well in low light, without flash.  (We bought it at the start of this trip).  What do you guys think?

Beer - 0,5l - 1,80 €

When you order from the Schlachtfestkarte, you can get a free bowl of Metzelsuppe.  Metzelsuppe is very much an acquired taste - after the slaughter, they cook the various sausages (liver sausage, blood sausage etc.) in boiling water, and it is this water that forms the base of the soup.  They also slice open a few of the sausages to thicken the soup, and make some little noodle/dumplings to make it a little more substantial.

I actually loved it!  Although I must add that it was very rich, and I certainly couldn't eat it every day.  There are a few different farmers on the street, and the local residents all have their favourite farmer for Metzelsuppe.  The flavour of the soup also changes week to week depending on what the farmers have cooked.  When we tried it it was nice and spicy, but occasionally it can be bland.  Luck of the draw, I guess!

As for the meals, we all ordered Bratwurst or Wellfleisch.  Each came with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Ein paar Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 € 

Bratwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Simple, yet perfect.  The sausages were quite strongly spiced, and had a nice texture to them.  Why don't sausages taste like this in Melbourne?!

I ordered the Wellfleisch - different cuts of boiled pork.

Wellfleisch gemischt mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 €  

The Wellfleisch comprised a few slices of boiled pork belly, and a piece of pork cheek.  I was advised to sprinkle salt and pepper on the side of the plate, and dip the meat into each before eating.  Fabulous.

Can you believe each massive plate of food only cost 6 euro?  You can also get a "seniors' portion" for 2 euro less.  Love it!

Another thing you can do at the farm is bring a big pot for them to fill with Metzelsuppe.  I've heard that some farms do this for free (it is, essentially, a waste product), but Kreuzhofbauer charges 1€ for each portion you want to take with you.  We took a pot home for dinner, (and also bought a loaf of Bauern Brot - Farmer's loaf) as we didn't want to have anything too filling after that massive lunch!

Farmer's bread - like a light rye

I was happy to have the soup as it was, chunks and all, but Sandra prefers a clear broth.  So, she strained out all the bits, and made Mehlruebeln (flour noodles) to go with.  Mehlruebln are just a mixture of flour, egg, salt and a bit of water...

... which you drop into boiling broth.

And here is the finished product!

And here's my chunky version. Yum yum, lecker lecker.

Earlier this week, we took a short walk to a nearby farmer for lunch.  Kreuzhofbauer serves traditional German fare for lunch and dinner every day (Schnitzel, Frikadellen and so on), and every Wednesday they have a special Schlachtfestkarte, or a "Slaughter Menu".  When you walk past, it doesn't look like there's much there...

...however, there's a decent sized restaurant on the left, and a small farm shop on the right.  The farm shop sells thing like fresh fruit and vegetables, different milks and cheeses, and, of course, meat and smallgoods!

Being located in a nondescript residential area, I didn't think that there'd be many customers, and assumed that the patrons would all be locals.  However, the restaurant was full, and looking at the licence plates of the line of cars parked down the street, I could see that people came from loads of different cities to eat at the farm - Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Worms, Darmstadt and even Heidelberg!

You can either sit outside, under pretty yellow umbrellas, or inside, in the farmhouse.  We sat inside.  I should note, it was super-dark inside the restaurant, but our new compact camera (a Canon Powershot S95) seems to be doing really well in low light, without flash.  (We bought it at the start of this trip).  What do you guys think?

Beer - 0,5l - 1,80 €

When you order from the Schlachtfestkarte, you can get a free bowl of Metzelsuppe.  Metzelsuppe is very much an acquired taste - after the slaughter, they cook the various sausages (liver sausage, blood sausage etc.) in boiling water, and it is this water that forms the base of the soup.  They also slice open a few of the sausages to thicken the soup, and make some little noodle/dumplings to make it a little more substantial.

I actually loved it!  Although I must add that it was very rich, and I certainly couldn't eat it every day.  There are a few different farmers on the street, and the local residents all have their favourite farmer for Metzelsuppe.  The flavour of the soup also changes week to week depending on what the farmers have cooked.  When we tried it it was nice and spicy, but occasionally it can be bland.  Luck of the draw, I guess!

As for the meals, we all ordered Bratwurst or Wellfleisch.  Each came with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.

Ein paar Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 € 

Bratwurst, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes.  Simple, yet perfect.  The sausages were quite strongly spiced, and had a nice texture to them.  Why don't sausages taste like this in Melbourne?!

I ordered the Wellfleisch - different cuts of boiled pork.

Wellfleisch gemischt mit Sauerkraut, Kartoffelpüree oder Brot - 6,00 €  

The Wellfleisch comprised a few slices of boiled pork belly, and a piece of pork cheek.  I was advised to sprinkle salt and pepper on the side of the plate, and dip the meat into each before eating.  Fabulous.

Can you believe each massive plate of food only cost 6 euro?  You can also get a "seniors' portion" for 2 euro less.  Love it!

Another thing you can do at the farm is bring a big pot for them to fill with Metzelsuppe.  I've heard that some farms do this for free (it is, essentially, a waste product), but Kreuzhofbauer charges 1€ for each portion you want to take with you.  We took a pot home for dinner, (and also bought a loaf of Bauern Brot - Farmer's loaf) as we didn't want to have anything too filling after that massive lunch!

Farmer's bread - like a light rye

I was happy to have the soup as it was, chunks and all, but Sandra prefers a clear broth.  So, she strained out all the bits, and made Mehlruebeln (flour noodles) to go with.  Mehlruebln are just a mixture of flour, egg, salt and a bit of water...

... which you drop into boiling broth.

And here is the finished product!

And here's my chunky version. Yum yum, lecker lecker.