What's for Lunch 2015 - 2016

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I am usually too knackered at the end of the day to post photos. Still have photos of several trips previously to sort through. The more I can do it now the less I have to deal with when the holiday is over.

According to studies, the planning stage is actually the happiest period of the holiday. Mostly due to anticipation and the process of learning (about a new place).

All the researching, planning, organising and finalising bookings are done long in advance. I’m a “master” researcher-planner-organiser. Everything has a system and structure. Efficiency is one of my top priorities. To take with me on my trip are:

• Printed calendar: I use MS Words to make this by adding “tables”. Add dates and days just like a normal calendar. In the date boxes I copy/paste places/lodgings and their addresses etc, transport or flight numbers/details and so on. This is meant as an overview of the trip just so that it’s easy to find things at a glance.

• Food and beer places to check out. In detail. Name/address/business hours/specialities/a note about the place i.e. tiny/music level/tourist friendly or not/touristy or not and so on.

• Specialities of the town/region/country and where to find them. In detail. Even if I bring a guide book I still do this as the guide book doesn’t list everything.

Read all about me here. I’m extreme in all cognitive fuctions and that’s not good. Most people are more or less in the middle. Why not take this test and learn more about yourself? (it’s the official test and a free one)

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

The nearest place, on my list to eat, from my lodging is 10 blocks away. Each block is big.

There was a queue just as I had expected.

We both took a moment and stared at the plate in silence wondering how we could possibly finish it. It’s montrous. The 2 Montrealers with whom we share the tiny table laughed and said we would need to get used to huge portions here. People don’t want small portions like in Europe.

The sandwich looks a bit better/smaller. They got the bread roll right.

The “custard” tarts are rubbish. Just sweetend floury paste and nothing more! Even worse than the kind in Asia. The partner ate the rest.

[naf]

@Presunto

The “custard” tarts are rubbish. Just sweetend floury paste and nothing more! Even worse than the kind in Asia. The partner ate the rest.

Haha, beware of what you said!! I think they are good for what they are. Sure they are no French pastries, but they are still good and is something you can eat a lot. The european ones are more sweet and taste concentrated. Even with Pierre Hermé cakes, I can only maximum eat 2 small ones if I were hungry. But Asian egg tarts, I can eat more without the feeling of sugar overdose.

[naf]

@Presunto

The more I can do it now the less I have to deal with when the holiday is over.

I can understand the organising and the discipline part, but still when one is in a foreign country, should be doing everything to have fun, I would prefer being in the place than downloading the pics, opening then in a photo application to change size, format, and a bit retouching and then upload to HO. Not to say that in some places internet connection sucks, sometimes I don’t bring computer, and doing all that with tablet is slowish…

I agree that the planning part is fun, but I found the after the trip posting in HO is fun too, prolonging the holiday!

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I upload the photos during my rest time. I have very little energy and am highly sensitive to noise and crowds so I can’t really be outside and being active for long.

Just got back from wonderful Jean Talon market and the pub and now I need some rest again

[Bookwich]

Wow, I don’t do any of that, even at home. I just upload straight from my iPhone. Maybe crop and/or brighten once in a while, but that’s about it.

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

I was too lazy to check my list for the name of a Vietnamese place and went in this one, just round the corner from Jean Talon market. Well, we were wandering round later after checking out the market and a brewpub nearby we saw the Vietnamese Banh Mi shop on my list. Hah! Next time for sure.

The nearest place for good Vietnamese food from where I live is Paris so you might scoff at Montreal’s Vietnamese food offerings. I live in food hell, almost everything tastes better abroad.

In Vancouver (Canada) I ate this where they made the rolls right in the shop.

Another favourite

The Banh Mi bread here is bigger than I remember eating in other cities

Hard to see the rice cakes but they are somewhere under there

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Nasi Goreng with extra Nam Plah and an egg:

You know Presunto if I am going to be posting behind you I may need invest in a new phone with a better camera…

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Brewpub lunch (yesterday). When will hipster food trend and food served on a board die? I thought this brewpub had decent food, turned out their beers were just standard. It was really hard eating from a piece of wood. I hated it.

I forgot to tell them I didn’t want any salad dressing again. Does coleslaw always always contain mayo? I can’t stand mayo.

Supposed to be “Bratwurst” but it’s actually Weisswurst. Has pistachio and sweetbread in the sausage.

The salmon is cooked and then smoked. Maple sauce.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

@Presunto

Supposed to be “Bratwurst” but it’s actually Weisswurst. Has pistachio and sweetbread in the sausage.

Sorry but that’s neither.

Weißwurst is a pure veal sausage with a little parsley. No pork, ever, and certainly no thymus and NO pistachios. They are not served after 10am in Munich. You get a pair with a brezen and maß for a second breakfast.

I have never, ever, gotten a real weißwurst on the North American continent. They are always effing it up with something.

And NO German or Wisconsin bratwurst that I have ever tasted has sweetbreads or PISTACHIO in it. Never. Ever. And I have eaten hundreds on both sides of the Atlantic.

Their are 6-7 main styles of bratwurst in Germany including Thüringer, Bavarian, Nürnberger, Rheinische, Hessiche, Schwäbische, etc. with perhaps as many as 40 different styles total including subvarieties.

German bratwürste all involve pork, sometimes veal or beef, and somewhat different seasonings. But no nuts and if there is thymus it is well ground into the mix and not advertised.

In Wisconsin the two main US brat manufacturers, Usingers and Johnsonville, only make a pure pork variety that is spiced a bit like a Thüringer, but does not have as much thyme.

So whatever in hell that was, it is not a bratwurst. And neither is it a Weißwurst.

Americans and Canadians are just awful at making German food in general. If you’ve ever had it in Germany, especially Schwaben and Baden, it is just as good as the food in Turin, Valencia, Strasbourg or Lyon. Absolutely delicious, subtile and fresh, with some of the best basic ingredients on the planet.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Btw, calling that thing a Weißwurst is the same as calling this Jamón Ibérico de belotta:

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Chill out. I know my Wurst. I holiday in Germany almost every year and am a fan of the country and the langluage.

I think they got the sausage from some butcher who adds weird stuff to it and they probably think nobody knows that it’s not “athentic”.

Btw, these days they do serve Weißwurst even after 10am. I did eat them later than 10am in Nürnberg and München.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Yes, that’s correct they do serve Weißwurst after 10am in Bavaria, but it’s mostly for tourists and non-locals.

Kind of like the afternoon or evening Cappuccino in Italy.

I have seen Weißwurst occasionally on the Vesper, or light evening menu in Southern Germany. But it’s rare.

So if you go to Germany frequently have you ever tried a genuine Schwarzwälder Schinken?

It’s the German version of air cured ham. And a good one is really delicious.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

@Presunto

I know my Wurst. I holiday in Germany almost every year and am a fan of the country and the langluage.

So just to be clear, a proper Weißwurst does not contain pistachios or sweetbreads.

Are we agreed on this point, mein Lieber?

You would be surprised how easily people get confused by these threads.

[joonjoon (Joon)]

Do you ever eat something not ridiculously delicious looking for lunch??? My lord.

I was recently in Munich for a few hours on layover and had a hell of a time finding a good place to eat (dead phone, no city knowledge). Any recommendations for next time?

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

There are a bunch of kebab stands and middle eastern places around the main station in Munich. They seem to change from year to year. Look for one that looks busy, it’s bound to be good for a quick bite.

In the city center I like the Spatenhaus am Oper and the restaurant Alter Hof. Both are a cut above the usual brauerei establishment. Fransiskaner is ok too, and is huge so it’s easy to get a seat there. All of the above have decent German food at € 15-25 per entree. Hofbrauhaus is terribly touristy and to be avoided at all costs.

As far as beer gardens, you need to go to Chinesicher Turm if you never been. A must do before you die. I also really like the Paulaner am Nockherberg which is more laid back and closer to the city center, just over the Isar.

Finally, while not strictly a biergarden, Hirschau has a nice outdoor area and really good food.

These are all kind of traditional places that I have gone to for years and are generally reliable. For anything more trendy I usually check with business colleagues in Munich. Next time I talk to them I’ll see if I can find out about anything newer.

[VikingKaj (Retired !)]

Finally if you have more than a day you need to get the bus or a rental car and go to Kloster Andechs.

Literally the best beer in the world and a huge open air German delicatessen to buy a picnic lunch at.

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Joonjoon, VikingKaj has some good recs. As a beer enthusiast I tend to eat at brewery restaurants when in Germany. They serve typical local/regional dishes at this kind of places. And the price-quality ratio is good. In Munich I really like Augustiner Keller restaurant and Schneider Weisse.

VikingKaj, I know what Weisswurst in Germany should taste like. But I’m on holiday in Canada at the moment. There are some photos of Weisswurst posted upthread.

[Presunto (--> Eating yoghurt in Athens .......... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])]

Soup for my sore throat. At Sansotei Ramen shop.

This one is especially nice, “Tonkotsu Black”.

Only in Canada…?

[joonjoon (Joon)]

@VikingKaj @Presunto thanks for the recs! I did pop into Hofbrauhaus and had me some weisswurst. Also found some glorious meat shops, but didn’t get to have any. Next time!