A Little More Opa!

South Street Souvlaki

509 South Street

Philadelphia, PA 19147

www.southstreetsouvlaki.com/ 

My fiance's parents came into town for a weekend in the fall, and we had planned to take them out for dinner one evening. While walking around South Street, they decided they wanted to walk over to the Souvlaki restaurant they had seen the day before and give it a try. I was all for it because I hadn’t been there yet, so we wondered over and grabbed a table. 

We had delved into a lot of Greek cuisine while we were in Cyprus last summer, so we knew what to expect from the menu walking in. This place isn’t far from our apartment, so we have walked past the delicious aromas emanating from the open windows many times. I was very excited to finally dig into one of their gyros. 

The gyro's taste was even better than the smell. It was stuffed full of delicious meat and vegetables and doused in tzatziki sauce. The meat was seasoned deeply and had the perfect amount of crust on it from roasting on the standing spit that they have up front in the restaurant. I really love the combination of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and tzatziki, and this was a darn good gyro. It's definitely one of the better gyros I have had.

We all decided to split a baklava for dessert and I was pretty happy that we did. I love the flaky crust of the baklava and the sweet, syrupy filling. The dessert is so delicious, I love having it when we get out to a place that offers it on the menu.  

  

Three pints for South Street Souvlaki. I loved the Greek fare that they offered and I love the way that the restaurant is set up. The window is usually open wide and you can smell the deliciousness wafting out of the window. It’s a casual spot, and the music is traditional and fun. Check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Spice Heaven...

Indeblue

205 South 13th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107

www.indebluerestaurant.com/ 

I am sure by now you all know that my love of Indian food began after my trip to India in '09. It has increased since then, I just really wish I found the time to eat it more often. I am always trying new places, so sometimes I forget about hitting favorites up again. This time was yet another newbie, but it was something a little bit familiar because it was a Philly outpost of a restaurant that I had heard a lot about living in Jersey called Indeblue. I had gotten my brother to try Indian food as well and he had also come to thoroughly enjoy it, so my fiancé and I took him out in Philly to try the new space while he was home from college. The space was very modern, but it definitely had an Indian vibe to it. We ordered up a few Indian brews while we examined the menu. They had some of my favorites, and some others I had never seen before. Some of it was very traditional, while some of it was very adapted to American tastes. We wound up ordering some of each; the stuffed long hot peppers, a duo of samosas, one with pork and one with spinach, dal makhani, chicken tandoori, paneer tikka makhani and lasooni bread.

I was having a bit of a tough time while eating when we went to Indeblue because I had a huge ulcer, so it probably wasn’t the smartest time for me to order something so spicy, but the stuffed long hot pepper called a deghi chili, was on point. It was fiery, much more so than I expected it to be, but the cheese on the inside was really helpful in making it cool off a bit. It had a nice tomato sauce undernearth of it as well. The samosas were a bit of a misstep for me. Definitely not traditional. They lacked the depth of flavor I have come to expect from Indian cuisine. Also the combinations really didn’t work for me. It was a little too Americanized for me. I like my somosas traditional, filled with potatoes and veggies. 

All of the main course pieces came out at the same time. They were a bit smaller portions, which at first look didn’t seem to be big enough for the three of us, but it wound up being the perfect amount of food for us to share. I loved the dal, the bbq spicy lentils. It was the perfect dish to accompany the lasooni, a disc of herby, garlic deliciousness. The bread was buttery and smeared with garlic and cilantro. It was really a heavenly piece of bread. I love lentils, and the way they are prepared in this dish is unparalleld in any other way I have seen it. The chicken tikka was a very good rendition. In my opinion I think it had a bit too much sauce, but the flavor was very traditional. I love to order paneer as well. The sauce is usually full of flavor, as most Indian sauces tend to be, but I love finding the delicious little cubes of cheese inside of it. The best part amount Indian cuisine to me is the ability of every dish to be scooped over some rice and combined into tasty little mixtures.

Three pints for Indeblue. I love what they did with the food, and even though they had the misstep with the samosas, everything else was very on point. The flavors were traditional and inventive and the ambiance is really great. I think Philly is going to come to love what Indeblue is all about. It’s a great spot, so check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!

Eurotrip 2013...The Final Stop!

Austrian Cuisine

Since we were only a few hours away from Salzburg, Austria, we traveled there for two days to check it out. It is the birthplace of Wolfgang Mozart, so we were inundated with Mozart the entire time we were there. We saw his home, but it was a little crazy how many things were Mozart themed. They had candies and rubber duckies and all kinds of little trinkets. Austria is a very interesting place because it not only has a large German influence, but there is also some Italian influence because of the proximity to Italy. That being said, we didn’t indulge in much Italian cuisine, but we did find some delicious plates of Austrian cuisine. 

One of my favorite things about Austrian cuisine was the beer. We had the local beer from Salzburg called Steigel. It actually mixed really well with fanta limonata for their version of a shandy called a Radler. I was downing them left and right every evening at dinner because it was so hot and they were so very refreshing.  It is definitely something that does not taste the same outside of the real place. 

I hadn’t had any schnitzel while we were it Munich, so I decided to have some when we were in Austria. I love schnitzel. The crispy crust that is formed on the outside of the veal is amazing and it brings a really nice crunch factor to the incredibly tender and flavorful meat. It was served with crispy oven roasted potatoes and they were seasoned to perfection. 

The next day we were starving while we were walking around the city, and we happened upon a small little restaurant that served a German specialty called knodel. It is a potato dumpling that is usually either poached or boiled that can be plain or stuffed with filling. Most countries have their own version of them. This particular restaurant had an entire menu devoted to them, so it was a pretty cool experience for me. There were a few that caught my eye, but I decided to pick something that sounded a little lighter so that I could fully enjoy my dinner and the many Radlers I knew would come later. I ordered Knodel stuffed with trout and served in a chive cream sauce. What a combination of flavor. A heavy potato dumpling like this would never be expected to taste this light and fresh. The trout was very prominent and it was cooked perfectly. I loved dipping the potato and fish mixture into the cream sauce. I love chives in everything so they were very welcome in my palate. My fiancé had a traditional apple soda for her drink and it was very interesting. It wasn’t sweet like most sodas. It was fruity and bubbly, and also just a touch sweet. It was a really nice meal to have before we had a bigger dinner later.

For our final meal in Salzburg, we ate in the same beer garden we had dined in the night before at the hotel. I wanted to switch it up a little bit, and have something a little different, so I started with a cup of potato soup and moved on to a thinly pounded beef with onion gravy, I think it was called zwiebl rostbraten, and potato croquettes. It was quite a homey meal. It was so deliciously flavored, and it was exactly what I was looking for. The beef was very delicious and it was smothered in this delicious onion gravy. It was warm and tasty and the potato croquettes only complemented the meal. Their crispy exterior and fluffy interior were amazing, especially when dipped into the leftover gravy. Who knew something that seemed so simple could be executed so scrumptiously. 

They have a dessert in Austria that they are known for serving called Salzburger Nockln. It is pillows of meringue, toasted deeply. It actually looks like brown clouds protruding from the dish that they are baked in. They served it over a bed of jam of some sort, but unfortunately it was not our favorite thing. As is the issue with eggy desserts like that, it tasted too much like eggs. It wasn’t quite sweet enough, and the fruit wasn’t enough to pick up the slack. The rest of the meal was so delicious though we weren’t overly upset about the dessert misfire. 

Salzburg was a really nice place to visit, and the food was just as good as it had been in Germany. It was different in its own right, but it still seemed so familiar. The flavors were powerful and comforting. I would go back in a heartbeat for some of that delicious Knodel and a few Steigl Radlers. You should check it out sometime! Cheers!

Eurotrip Stop 2 Continued...

Continued…

One thing that my fiancé has always talked about was a traditional thing to do in Germany called kaffee und kuchen, or coffee and cake. Its something that takes place in the afternoon after your lunch when you need a refreshing bit of caffeine and a sweet something to savor. We did this one day at a small café. We ordered a few traditional German desserts and a round of espressos and cappuccinos for everyone. The cakes that we ordered were the apfel strudel and a hazelnut and chocolate cake. Both were very good, and it was a nice treat to have in the middle of the afternoon. Life in Germany is very easy going and the people just seem to be so happy.

When we traveled to Salzburg, Austria for a few days, we stopped in the mountains on the way back as once we crossed back into the German border for some lunch. It was a beautiful setting in the base of the mountains, with more greenery than you can possibly imagine. We grabbed a seat outside and took a look at the menu. The menu had a very mountain region feel to it. Things were very rustic, and I liked the different look of the food style in this particular part of Munich. I wound up ordering venison goulash with juniper berries, potato croquettes and smoky bacon. This was hands down the best meal I had in Germany. The venison was incredibly tender, and the gravy it was served in was sublime. I never would have thought of potato croquettes to be associated with German food, but these were as good as any that I have had and they paired amazingly well with the warm and homey Venison. The bacon blew my socks off. It was nice and thick cut and probably the smokiest bacon I have ever had. I wanted to take some home with me it was so good. Not to be outdone, we ordered some coffee and dessert and they turned out to be just as good as our main courses. We ordered the apfel strudel, rhabarbakuchen and heidelbeere streusel. These three are some very traditional german dishes. They love rhubarb, blueberries and apples, so they make really nice desserts out of them. They were all senestational. They were fresh without being overpoweringly sweet. You really gotta try them all!

On our last evening out in Munich before we headed home, we decided to hit the locals favorite brewhouse…the Augustiner brewery. We had heard that the food was best here, and that they did not export their beer to very many places, so we would be getting local beer that we may not be able to get back home. Again we started the evening with the Augustiner Helles and proceeded our ways through to the Pilsner and the Dunkel. As if I hadn’t had enough sausage on the trip, I decided to go all in for our final meal out and order the sausage platter, a platter full of bockwurst, knackwurst, bratwurst and nurmberger sausages, as well as sauerkraut. I ordered some Spaetzel with my meal because I had yet to have it on our trip. We started each meal with the German staple of pretzels, and these were definitely the best that we had on the trip. That crunchy exterior was dreamy. There just isn’t anything to compare it to here other than heaven. I tried not to eat too much pretzel because I knew how much food I was getting later and I was definitely ready when it came out. A beautiful plate full of sausages and sauerkraut landed in front of me and I dug in without hesitation. Bockwurst is a traditional German sausage made from veal and pork. Knackwurst is a traditional fatter sausage with a lot of seasonings, a pork and veal mixture and a nice smoky flavor. These are really tasty sausages in additional to the bratwust which I found very different from the American varieties I have had before. It is much more finely ground and a much smoother texture. It's very nicely seasoned and the casing has an amazing snap to it.

The sauerkraut was so amazingly tasty. Easily some of the most flavorful I have ever had. It was very fresh and then it had the pickled flavor I was looking for with just the perfect amount of seasoning to it. It was perfect with each and every bite of the sausages. I was really disappointed in the spaetzel though. I was expecting it to be buttery and rich and just a little bit toasted like my favorite spaetzel here in Philly, but it was a little dry and pretty cold by the time it got to me. I didn’t really eat a lot of it, but there was more than enough sausage and sauerkraut for me to fill up on.

It was plum season in Germany, and my fiancé was hoping that she would be able to have some plumkuchen while we were there. Luckily we found some at the Augustiner meal and she ordered it up. It was very tasty. Plums aren’t something that I grew up eating very often, but I have become very fond of them recently. They are full of flavor and they make incredible desserts because of their sweetness and tartness. This particular cake was just that and had a light airy crust to it, the perfect ending to an amazing meal.

Munich felt like home to me from the second that we arrived. It was my favorite place that we visited last year, and I would go back in a heartbeat. I could totally see myself living there at some point. The food is beyond delicious, even though you definitely cant eat like that all the time. Its very heavy sometimes, but other times it was just right. Munich is an amazing place for a food and beer fan, and you should definitely check it our sometime soon! Prost!