Bierkeller: An Enjoyable Visit

It was around the beginning of November when I was meeting up with various friends to tell them about my adventures in Spain and beyond. As one does when telling 'those' kinds of stories, when arranging to meet one of these friends, I told my friend we needed beer and a quiet warm environment. My friend suggested going to 'Bierkeller' which he had not tried since it had turned from being called 'Mozart'.

The place was pretty empty when we went in (not a surprise on a weekday evening) and just as we were about to get a table, I remembered the good times in Madrid and thought to myself, 'nothing bad ever came from sitting at the bar', so I suggested it, and that's where we sat.

We started off with a snack, just to go with the beer (I was dreaming of a light dinner). I was immediately drawn to the 'ΣΑΛΤΣΙΤΣΕ' (a play on the Greek word for 'sauce' made to sound German) because of its promise of chilli heat. My friend was otherwise inclined but after having a conversation with a guy dressed in chef whites (we got the feeling he was the owner), who warned us about the heat, we decided to go for it.

ΣΑΛΤΣΙΤΣΕ: Pork Sausage with a Thyme, Honey, Chilli, Garlic and Red Wine Sauce

Home Made Bread

Though tasty, I can't really say that it was special and there definitely wasn't, in any way, shape or form, any chilli heat. A bit of a disappointment really, but not that I was really expecting much at the time.

My friend however did have an expectation: to fill the empty hole in his stomach! I couldn't keep him under control and no sooner had we finished this snack than he was ordering a Currywurst and a Pretzel!

Currywurst: Berlin Sausage with Curry sauce

Pretzel

The currywurst was better, but by the time we had finished it we were more taken by the barmaid with whom we had become friendly, and had been exchanging stories and general chit-chat. When I pointed out that she had no alcohol in the coke she was sipping on and that that prevented us from cheers-ing her, she was swift to pour herself a half pint. 

We were having good fun, the beer had been flowing and the story telling had got me nostalgic. I had forgotten any notions of a light dinner and was craving the 'Hunters Schnitzel". It didn't take much persuading my friend and off was the barmaid to the till to place the order!

Hunters Schnitzel: Schnitzel with a Mushrooms, Onions, Cream and White Wine Sauce.

The guy in chef whites and waiter took it in turns to come talk to us, ask us about the food and tell us the story of what they've tried to 'create' in this place. We told them we were happy and my friend made a point that the Schnitzel was much better than when he had tried it while the place was still 'Mozart'. Meanwhile I wondered if me snapping away with my camera here and there had anything to do with the attention we were getting or if all customers were getting this kind of treatment. Either way I wasn't complaining, enjoying it more like it!

By now we were having too much fun ordering one thing at a time. For novelty value if nothing else we asked what was recommend. They said generally the 'Pork of the Cellar' or 'Frankische Schaufele' for those who 'know' (according to their website), was highly recommend but given we'd already eaten, and that it was for two to three people, it would be a waste because we wouldn't be able to finish it. I was tempted to try as was my friend, but we decided to keep things civil. 

The next recommendation was a selection of sausages which we went for. (And for whoever is thinking we over did it on the food front: two starters and two mains: not that much food! It's the beer we had that you should be wondering about).

Three Sausage Selection

The sausages were as one would expect. We happily went though them continuously chatting with the barmaid, generally having a nice time. And then it was time for desert. On the house!

Palatschinken: Classic Austrian Crepes with Jam, Chocolate, Nuts and Icing Sugar

Simple, almost childish (the jam dominated in terms of taste), but decadent and delicious!

Front of the bar

Entrance

Overall, the food was good. Nothing wrong, but nothing that brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn't go out of my way just for that. The people on the other hand were amazing, and for that alone I would highly recommend a visit! At the end of the day, we really enjoyed our visit and hope to visit again soon in order to try the Pork dish!

http://www.bierkeller.gr/
http://www.athinorama.gr/restaurants/data/places/?id=10000092
http://athensmagazine.gr/portal/restaurants/businesses/3745
http://athensmagazine.gr/portal/reviews/10320
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BierKeller/247504368618590
http://www.beer.gr/beerhouse/579-bierkeller

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Bierhaus: Confused but Good

A good post deserves a good title. It took me a while to pick one, and the only way I managed was by promising myself I'd post the alternatives I considered, so here goes:

An Italian restaurant with German Beers?
An Italian Beer House?
An German-Italian Beer House?
An International Beer House?
An Italian restaurant with Larger Selection of Beer?

Anyway, I could go on forever, but I think the point is made: any beer house with a German name that serves "Carpacio Di Beef",  "Spaghetti Pomodoro" and the days Risotto has some serious explaining to do. But first the story of how I got there!

Now I don't have a thing with beer houses. Honestly! I don't know how I've ended up going to another one so soon. Friday was a national holiday and I had picked the short straw in deciding where to go for lunch. Traditionally on this holiday people eat "Bakaliaro Skordalia", basically deep fried battered cod with a garlicky potato and oil purée. That's not what we were going for, but given the brilliantly sunny day, we were thinking along the lines of a fish tavern by the sea. Unfortunately so was everyone else.

We took the car and trekked all the way to the south, out of the city and to an area called 'Agia Marina' only to discover tables packed with people practically going into the sea! We could see the desperation of the customers who gave up trying to get something from the panicked waiter (yes, singular - one waiter) and eventually doing their own waiting! We decided to pass.

So plan B was to go where no one else would have thought of going on this particular day. Where better than a beer house not too far away, in Varkiza, called Bier Haus. I'd done my research earlier and it wasn't too hard to find, situated not on the shore line but hidden away in the residential area above the main sea side road.

On entering Bier Haus, my first thought was "Wow, this is an amazing place to come in the summer after a swim in the sea to enjoy an ice cold beer"! It had a three levelled terrace with seating that was perfect for letting the summer sea breeze in. My second though was "Why are these people eating pasta?".

We sat down and started going through the menu which you can check out for yourself online, and please leave me a comment, let me know that I'm not crazy in saying that about ten percent of it featured remotely German food. I mean I'm reading 'Carpacio', 'Prosciutto', 'Balsamic Vinaigrette', 'Roasted Vegetables with Haloumi', 'Rocket Salad', 'Spagetti Pomodoro', 'Risotto', and the list goes on. Their site does give a little hint though in their description of the place: "German cuisine, adjusted to Mediterranean-Greek demand". Note so self: open a restaurant with "Chinese cuisine, adjusted to Mediterranean-Greek demand". It'll serve duck gyros with ginger tzatziki.

OK, mocking aside, the food we ordered was decent for what is was, the waiter was very pleasant and I did take photos this time (though my photography skills have yet to catch up with my cooking skills), so I am going to put in the effort to tell you about it.We ordered a salad with, among other things, strawberries (better to be in fashion than in season?), roasted vegetables with grilled Haloumi, a mushroom pie, a mixed grill and a roasted pork shank.

The Salad was different. I think the strawberry didn't really belong and the dressing was too sweet for my liking (maybe some acid would have done it justice).

The mushroom pie was tasty, but I would have described it as a cheesy mushroom quiche. 

The gilled vegetables were nicely cooked and had a pleasant crunch to them. However, any possible char grilled taste was covered with the otherwise bland and neutral sauce they were served in. Am I the only one who has never before been served grilled vegetables in a sauce before (which by the way may have well been the same sauce that the shank was covered with).

Now this was, as far a mixed grills goes, a good mixed grill. The chicken was wonderfully tender and juicy, the veal was perfectly cooked medium (that was very nice surprise), the pancetta grilled just right to melt the fat without drying the meat, and everything had that grilled smokiness one expects from a mixed grill. The sausage... eh... I could have done without. And the chips, oh the chips! I admit, I have a soft spot for fries, but these were really really good fries. Fresh, thin, crispy to the ear on the outside and moist and soft inside!

Finally the centrepiece, the roast shank.On the one had it was pointlessly served covered in a sauce of unknown origin and chopped pieces of tomato, on the other hand, the inside was so so meltingly tender and it was served with those amazing fries. I would have liked the skin to be more crispy - but not if that would have meant loosing that juicy interior.

Bottom line, I would go again; in the summer, after a swim. To enjoy a cold beer (though what I didn't mention was that the beer selection wasn't really as large as you'd expect from a beer house) and definitely some food to share, but it's not really somewhere I'd go out of my way to visit.

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Ritterburg: Thumbs Up

Last weekend I had a dream. To spend a sunny day vegetating in the beer garden of a country pub I had read and been told many good things about. My understanding was that this place was practically picked out of the British country side and placed into the Greek one.

The weather on Sunday was perfect. The sun was out and the temperature was one click cooler than a warm spring day: perfect for a motorbike ride into the country. I had assembled up the gang and we were ready to hit the road when it occurred to someone to phone up - just in case. Turns out, what I hadn't been informed was that it was closed on Sundays and Mondays, and only open after 7pm on other days of the week. Seriously now, no British country pub would be caught dead closed on a sunny day, even more so if that day was Sunday? FAIL!

So instead we turned our attention to a German Beer House with a beer Garden called Ritterburg - and how glad am I that things turn out this way, because if they hadn't I would't have discovered a contender for the heavy weight title of best German food in Athens.

Staring from the outside and working our way inside one can tell that effort has been put into creating a rustic warm environment using wood and stone to create a welcoming feeling. The result is different than I have seen in other beer houses and gives more of a cozy family feel. I liked this, but I can understand that someone with their mind set on the novelty of drinking 5 litres of bear out of a tall plastic tube with a tap attached to it may not - but honestly they're tourists and I'm a foodie. Either way really, the ambience of the place was just a side bonus to me compared to the main course which was the food.

On the down side the bear garden (actually it was more of a patio- not a bad thing, just as a matter of fact), wasn't set up. However I can't really blame them: the good weather was just a freak day after a week or so of bad weather that included snow!

We ordered our beer (out of a very good selection) to start with while we looked through the food menu. Everything looked amazing so it was to our good fortune that the service of the place was also up to scratch! Our waiter was very useful in helping us decide what to get! We concluded on fried breaded mushrooms, a selection of sausages and a pork schnitzel with mushroom sauce to start with and then we all had a veal schnitzel for a main (I know - we should have had more mains and shared in order to try different things - but no one was willing to give up THEIR schnitzel).

And then, the food arrived, and to be honest it wasn't what I had hoped for - it was a whole lot more! I mean I have tried allot of German sausages and I like them all - so much so that never have I stopped after a bite to say 'mmmm that sausage was special'. That happened with the cheese filled bacon wrapped fried sausage: it was seriously good. And the fried breaded mushrooms: they were so crunch on the outside and so juicy on the inside! They made me think that it's not a recipe I'm missing out on, but that there exists a whole cooking technique that I'm clueless about! The pork schnitzel was slightly on the thin side in relation to the breadcrumbs that covered it, but just as delicious - especially once it had been given time to absorb the sauce! And these positive delicious vibes I was getting weren't even because I was hungry, because I wasn't! Not counting the Brazilian Churrascaria I had been to the night before, I'd already scuffed down two delicious warm bread rolls with whipped butter spread all over their delicate interiors.

And then the veal schnitzels arrived. You think your taste buds are on the verge of a orgasmic extravaganza when something comes along and sends them into a rampant frenzy! I'm not talking gourmet nonsense. None of that sauces made from stocks and 50 different ingredients reduced for two days with fifteen kilos of bones going into one serving the size of a ping pong ball. I'm talking real, fresh, authentic hearty food. There's no other way to describe it - except of that the schnitzel was about the size of a baby cow (just an added bonus!).


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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beer-Garden-Ritterburg/50184221210
http://www.ritterburg.gr

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