Thanksgiving 2012

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. Here in Munich, most people who do celebrate Thanksgiving either have a dinner after work or postpone the celebration until the weekend. We opted to celebrate it on Thanksgiving Day, but to go out for an American dinner. 

A couple of places here offer Thanksgiving menus, and we decided to go to Hard Rock, where they were showing the NFL games. 

We started off with some beer and wings.

 

Since they offered both a Thanksgiving set menu and a selection off the normal menu, we decided to have the best of both American food worlds:

Turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cornbread, and cranberry jelly. The turkey was surprisingly moist and perfectly cooked, the gravy tasty like a pot roast or zwiebelrostbraten gravy, and the stuffing was pretty good too.  The cornbread was a little dry, but tasted good enough that it reminded us how much we love cornbread. We'll be making some soon!


And for the other meal, we ordered a cheeseburger and fries. Maybe not traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but classic American and so good.


And the Thanksgiving menu included "pumpkin pie," which really was more of a pumpkin cheesecake. Very nicely done. The funny thing is that crust on the bottom seemed to be uncooked storebought pie dough. Not that it tasted bad or that I expect Hard Rock to have experience baking pies, but it was kind of funny that they seem to have forgotten to cook the crust. Of course, the pumpkin cheesecake part was so good that we ate the raw dough anyway. 



Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels from Schnitzelbahn! 

Munich Hamburgers: Cosmo Grill

We took a hiatus from trying new burger places while we were getting in shape for the wedding. But a few Sundays ago we did finally try the much-hyped Cosmo Grill. 

The first thing you notice is that it doesn't look like your average burger bar....it's small, white, and minimalist, but with a nice open kitchen where you can see the food preparation.  

Judging from the menu - a wide variety of meats and toppings and everything organic - it was clearly more of a gourmet burger styled place.

This is actually a burger place fit for everyone...if beef or meat aren't your thing, there are multiple veggie burgers, tuna burgers, and chicken burgers. We haven't ordered those yet, but will be curious to see if the "chicken burger" really is a burger made of chicken or more like a grilled chicken sandwich. Sometimes you just never know....

The burgers are cooked up fresh on the grill and they do not skimp on the cheese. It was a nice surprise to get some good orange cheddar, but the burger/bun ratio needs some work. Check out my burger below....the burger is half the size of the bun...not so good.  

But more importantly, what about the taste? This was the biggest surprise to me - a non-greasy cheeseburger. The meat wasn't really seasoned at all, but was clearly top quality and all beef. And after eating the burger, I felt pretty good and not at all like I'd just eaten a cheeseburger. It's definitely a great burger option when you want to still eat healthy.  Probably a big contributor to that is their lack of french fries. They do serve roasted potatoes (your choice of spices - we had the sea salt and the Provence ones, and there's also a rosemary one as well). I have mixed emotions about the potatoes. One one hand, they weren't great. Not bad, but a bit boring and not cooked thoroughly. On the other hand, I'm kind of happy they weren't irresistable because I feel like I could go back to Cosmo Grill, just have a burger, and leave having had a healthy meal. Perhaps we caught them on an off day, so we'll give the potatoes one more try next time. 

Overall, we'd have to give it a mixed review. We'll definitely go back and try it again. I really liked how fresh everything was and it's a great option for getting a burger and not feeling bad afterwards.  And I'd like to try some of the other menu items. They definitely have a lot of options to try and Herr J was a big fan of their guacamole.

But the buns were way to big for the burgers and everything could use a little pepper. One tip - unless you love your burgers with marinara sauce, you may want to ask them to hold the tomato salsa. It was quite good, but it overwhelmed all other tastes, so that it tasted like a burger with marinara sauce. Not bad, but I'm more of a burger purist...I like my burger plain, or with cheese when I'm really feeling crazy.   Just my preference. 

Cosmo Grill's address is Maximilianstrasse 10, however it's actually located on the back side of the building, more on Falkenturmstrasse.  Another big plus in its favor is that they're open late night if you're out at the clubs and need a 2am burger (or a 5am burger on the weekends)!  If you're searching for a big greasy burger and fries, this is not the place for you. But if you like the gourmet burgers or you want a more guilt-free burger, definitely go to Cosmo Grill. 

So far in our quest for Munich Hamburgers, we've visited the following restaurants:

Hard Rock, Zum Goldenen Kalb, Kennedy's, and now Cosmo Grill.  Hard Rock remains the clear front runner, but we're enjoying trying the new places and welcome any suggestions!  

Munich Hamburgers: Kennedy's Irish Pub

Our quest to find the best burgers in town took us recently to Kennedy's, a new Irish pub that the Killian's team (another Irish pub in Munichopened in the former Lamm's space at Sendlinger Tor.  Lamm's was unique: it was open 24 hours/day, VERY unusual here.  

Kennedy's doesn't exactly replace Lamm's, since, well...it actually closes..but there is another 24-hour restaurant now in the same building. Wirsthaus am Sendlinger Tor if you're in desperate need of somewhere to go after 3am. (We haven't tried it, but would be curious to know how it stacks up to Lamm's if anyone has been yet.)

Kennedy's have done a nice job with the interior -  it's a good, solid Irish pub atmosphere.  We were happy to find another hamburger to try - and one that really could be our corner bar (it's so close by!).

According to the menu, their burgers are 100% Irish beef, and of course with Irish cheddar.

Be advised, however, that they come medium-well and that there is a "special sauce" on both sides of the bun. (I don't like such spreads, and specifically asked for mayo "on the side", but the German waiter being German, he only carried out the order as stated.  The spread is something similar to, but not exactly mayo.  Not a nice surprice, but nothing that couldn't be fixed.  So, if you don't like mayo-type sauces, make sure to ask for yours without sauce.)

Aside from the unwanted sauce, it was a decent burger, though nothing spectacular. A little too much bun and the bun was a little on the boring side. The steak fries, on the other hand, are excellent. True steak fries, they're a bit thicker cut than the ones at other burger places.  And there are all kinds of tasty Irish and German beers on tap to wash it down. They do serve Augustiner, as well as Guinness, Kilkenny, and the other Irish pub standards.

We'll definitely go back to Kennedy's often (can't beat the proximity in a cold winter season!), and I'm looking forward to trying the Guinness Goulasch, Irish Stew, and a few other menu items.  If you just want classic pub food, they also have the same kind of baskets as they serve at Killian's bar near Marienplatz.

As far as the search for Munich's best burger goes, Hard Rock still is on top, though we need to return to Zum Goldenen Kalb to try the Wagyu Burger (we only tried their regular burger).  We did revist Hard Rock a few weeks ago and they've upped their game. The burger was perfectly cooked and seasoned - with a little pink in the middle - plus they changed from the sesame buns to one that reminds me a bit of the potato bread buns you find in the US. It was a much softer and finer bun than the sometimes dry sesame buns, and was a little less bread. Really a perfect balance and combination!

Next up will be the highly recommended Cosmo Grill. 

Munich Hamburgers: Zum Goldenen Kalb

After reading Emily of Servus München's New Food Options in Munich article, we decided to try a restaurant we had often seen, but passed by on our route to tried and true options Pizza Nero, Yum, or Milagros.  We're always on the hunt for good burgers in Munich, and she recommended the Wagyu burger as one of the best burgers in Munich.

Zum Goldenen Kalb ("The Golden Calf").  We were always amused by the name but thought it was another typical Bavarian restaurant. Not true, at all.  This, folks, is the closest thing we've found in Munich to a real steakhouse.  It's relatively casual but upscale, and seemed to be popular with the business dinner crowd (always good for a steakhouse!).  There definitely is an Italian influence, but the menu is typical good steakhouse fare - meat, seafood, potatos, and more meat (there's even a Tartare menu, if you like it that way).  And the service begins with a trip to check out the cuts in the meat fridge (which they age themselves).  Always a good sign that they're serious about their beef!

We went for the normal burger (comes standard with cheese and bacon) and fries, rather than the Wagyu burger.  It's served on butcher paper on a huge tray, with the condiments on the side (yay!!) and a pile of perfectly fried and salted fries.  

I opted for one without the bacon.  They're HUGE, by the way....

The beef was clearly top quality beef and the toppings all were fresh and crisp.  First of all, you'll definitely enjoy this burger.  We would have preferred a little more seasoning (a bit of the sea salt from the table made a huge difference) and the burger-to-bun ratio was a tiny bit bun-heavy.  However, it's a really good burger and one you shouldn't hesitate to order.  But on the Munich Burger Rating Scale, we have to put it as a second to Hard Rock's burgers due to the light seasoning, burger-to-bun ratio, and the fact that Hard Rock really cooks it medium, with a little pink in the middle.  It's really a preference, and if you enjoy the pure taste the beef, you'll probably prefer this one to Hard Rock's.  But in terms of atmosphere and just being a nicer, less chaotic restaurant in general, Zum Goldenen Kalb wins by a mile.  And we rank it ahead of other burgers, such as MC Mueller, Feuerberg, and Killian's.

We'll definitely go back and try the Wagyu burger. It looked really good, and appeared to be thicker and smaller...normal hamburger diameter....I wasn't able to finish this huge one!  Then we'll see if the rankings change.

Forgetting about hamburgers for a minute, we'd definitely recommend this as a good option for a nice dinner out.  The caesar salad was by far the best we've had in Munich.  The lettuce is perfectly cut to fit on the fork, the dressing is excellent (lemony, not too fishy), everything is well-mixed, and it's an incredibly well balanced mix of tastes.  Nothing stands out too much; instead you get a forkfull of many great flavors. And did I mention there's BACON??!!

(One word of warning - either get the salad as your meal, or share it as an appetizer...it's large!)

Zum Goldenen Kalb is on Utzschneiderstr. 1, across from the Schrannenhalle. There are daily specials, but the menu can be found here:  

Hamburgers

One of the best parts of living abroad is that I find myself doing things I never would do at home...most notably meeting people (including other Americans) with whom my path never would have crossed at home.

On the more mundane side of things, are food and entertainment. In most US towns (excluding NYC and Miami), I would probably never go out for dinner or drinks at a hotel bar. Or spend the afternoon at the mall. Yet, in Germany, there are many great restaurants located in hotels that don't rely on hotel guests. In SE Asia, you can easily escape the heat or monsoon by spending a very pleasant day in a megamall - seeing a movie, having a pedicure, eating a great lunch, and having coffee and not necessarily ever shopping at all.

But there's one thing I've realized I do abroad that I would NEVER do at home: Go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Sure, when we were kids, it was cool to collect HRC t-shirts or pins from locations far away. But as an adult I never would choose to go to one in my hometown or while on holiday in another US city.

That, my friends, has changed.

 

Because, some days, you just need a good burger.

Hard Rock is one of the few places worldwide where you can reliably get a good, American-style burger, ice-tea, and even American-style salads or decent pulled-pork sandwiches. There's something valuable about that!

It started in Bangkok, where we Americans in the office would go every few weeks for lunch (usually pulled pork sandwiches). We even found it was a fun place to go out at night, always with good coverbands playing crowd favorites.

In Munich, Herr J and I have found it to have the best burgers so far. We've found that the best cure to a bad week often is a burger and some ice cream (Hagen Dazs is on the walk home).

It's also one of the few places we've found yet in Munich that will cook your burger medium. Though Germans happily eat tartar (on an open-faced sandwich in many delis), many restaurants refuse to let the burger be pink in the middle.  Many burgers here also are a mixture of beef and pork, so they just aren't the same.

We've had a few other decent burgers (MC Mueller, Killian's Irish pub, Feuerberg, and the kangaroo burger at Outland) here, but haven't made an official survey. If you anyone has recommendations for good burgers in Munich, let us know. We're ready to branch out and find the best burger in Munich

(As for other Bangkok burgers, I highly recommend the Elvis Burger at any Greyhound Cafe. They're in a few shopping centers, including Emporium and Central Chitlom)