What to Drink in Munich

Munich is a funny city in that you can drink pretty much wherever you want; there are stalls at train stations, in subways, on the street, in the museum, and in the parks. Actually, drinking with friends is done especially well in the parks at beer gardens. Now that I’ve left Germany, the thing I will most likely miss most is sitting under the wide fronds of a fragrant chestnut tree eating and drinking with friends in a manner which is more socially acceptable than here in America.

But what do you drink when you’re there?

Review: Spatenhaus

Spaten is one of my favorite Munich beers, and we had the oppurtunity to visit the Spaten braukeller to get food and drink. For my meal I shared a plate of ox, boar, lamb, and beef which had been grilled and placed over country potatoes (fried wedges) with a side of cheese spaetzle (a German pasta, when used in this dish a sort of German mac and cheese) and a salad.

The meats were some of the best I’ve had in Munich thus far, and the spatzle was almost too rich to eat–in fact, my order ended up being shared with many others. I’ve come to realise that spaetzle is something generally considered the ‘vegetarian option’ in Munich restaurents. Much better than a portobello mushroom, in my opinion.

The best sandwich in America?

As mentioned earlier, I’m a recent college grad. This lends itself to going to grad parties. Grad parties lend themselves to a few late night drinks. And a few late night drinks leads to sleeping on the floor and waking up sore, confused, and with a stomach that hates you.

Like most the best things in the USA, the solution comes in automobile form (more or less). The solution after the jump.

Trader Joe’s Pork Gyoza: Cheap and Filling

Mmm…Dumplings

Like any college student, I occasionally don’t have any money. On this particular occasion I also had a somewhat violent craving for Pork Gyoza, so I had my boyfriend Jim pick some up from Trader Joe’s on his way home. Way too many gyozas later, I was stuffed full, and all for about 1.75 a person. These dumplings are really good, especially for the price. While we had made a feeble attempted at ordering dumplings from our local horrible Chinese restaurant, they were horrible. And expensive, at 6.00 for much less food than we’d gotten from Trader Joes. To go alongside these I whipped up a quick dipping sauce from soy sauce, apple cider vinegar (I had no rice wine vinegar), and a tiny squirt of Hoisin sauce, plus some chives and red pepper flakes for color.

These make a filling, cheap, and delicious dinner, so I give them a 5/5.

Photo and Text by Jess.