the sparkling old dude had a great meal

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115715551

Oh my.

Stinky The Clown (47,535 posts)   Sat Oct 13, 2012, 10:40 PM

A wonderfully unique two-in-one restaurant.

Our neighbor suggested we all go a restaurant she's known for years that she recently "discovered."

The restaurant she's known for years is a nice enough, albeit nondescript, neighborhood place that serves breakfast and lunch Monday thru Friday. They've done this since at least the 1950s. Lots of small business places nearby, lots of people buying breakfast and lunch. Good, home cooked diner-sort of food. Nothing fancy.

The newly discovered place is run by a German woman who rents the kitchen for dinner seven nights a week and for brunch on Sundays. She serves wonderfully authentic German food that is completely unlike the daytime restaurant. She makes everything from scratch and uses no frozen ingredients. She also offers vegan alternatives to her entire menu. Substitutions (ex: spaetzle for dumplings) are not only allowed, but encouraged.

I've never heard of such an arrangement. Two businesses - two restaurants - operating out of the same space at different times. The long time owners of the building and the daytime business are renting the place to her for the evenings.

We had a great meal and made reservations for a larger group for next Saturday.

shireen (7,263 posts)   Sat Oct 13, 2012, 11:50 PM

2. tell us more about the German food menu

Is the menu limited and does she periodically change it? It sounds wonderful.

Stinky The Clown (47,535 posts)   Sun Oct 14, 2012, 09:06 AM

4. The menu is, as I said, the standards you'd expect in a German restaurant.

But it turns out they're suggestions. About 2/3 they way through our dinner, the chef/owner came out to speak to each table. When she stopped at ours, it was obvious from her thick German accent she was the real deal. Unlike some chefs or owners who just ask how you are, she engaged in a real conversation with each table. She was genuinely interested in how we felt, what we liked, what we didn't. We asked if she would cook a menu of her choosing for a party we wanted to bring and she says she does it often, for $15.00 per person. There would be one meat entree and one vegetarian. None would be menu regulars. We were intrigued and on that basis booked for next week.

Her menu construct is not at all unusual. She has a set menu and daily specials. She varies things about once a month. Right now she is serving an Oktoberfest menu that has been on for two weeks and goes to mid November, so that is about a 6 week cycle.

grasswire (35,482 posts)   Sun Oct 14, 2012, 01:50 PM

5. there are some dual restaurants in Portland

One of them is a very highly rated pizza place that has a totally different barbeque outfit in several nights a week. The bbq guys also run a food cart on the weekends. I've only gotten into this resto twice -- the lines are way too long.

Mmmm German food. I just saw a German cookbook at the thrift store; guess I'll go back and pick it up. There are authentic German restaurants in Portland, but the cuisine also lends itself well to home cooking in the winter. I've used the Craig Claiborne NYT recipe for sauerbraten in the past.

[Carl]

How is it that Mike Corleone is a 1 percenter slum lord and restaurant consultant but never heard of a nearby place like this?

Am thinking it may be in a darker part of town,hence fell under his radar.

[GOBUCKS]

The other possibility, far more likely, is that DUmmy Mike the culinary advisor is a liar.

[I_B_Perky]

The other possibility, far more likely, is that DUmmy Mike the culinary advisor is a liar.

Remember Frank's mantra:

Dummies lie. All the time dummies lie. Even when they don't have to. (OK, I added that last part.  )

[NHSparky]

Why am I reminded of that damned scene from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"?

[RobJohnson]

I was waiting for the fancy menu verbage from the German menu.

I leave this thread disappointed.

[AllosaursRus]

Stinky The Clown (47,535 posts)   Sun Oct 14, 2012, 09:06 AM

4. The menu is, as I said, the standards you'd expect in a German restaurant.

Okay, I give. What is standard in a German restaurant?

[RobJohnson]

quote]Stinky The Clown (47,535 posts)   Sun Oct 14, 2012, 09:06 AM

4. The menu is, as I said, the standards you'd expect in a German restaurant.

Okay, I give. What is standard in a German restaurant?

Black Forest cake?

[thundley4]

Black Forest cake?

German Chocolate Cake?

[BlueStateSaint]

I was waiting for the fancy menu verbage from the German menu.

I leave this thread disappointed.

He had "Catshit mit der Kätzchen-Sänfte."

[RobJohnson]

He had "Catshit mit der Kätzchen-Sänfte."

 

[AllosaursRus]

He had "Catshit mit der Kätzchen-Sänfte."

So the restaurant is in his basement bathroom?

[franksolich]

The other possibility, far more likely, is that DUmmy Mike the culinary advisor is a liar.

I posted this because I'm mystified as to why this is considered unusual or exceptional.

The bar in town has a kitchen opens at 5 a.m., an hour before the bar can open, until 12:30 a.m., when the bar has to close.

The morning cook, of mixed Swiss-German derivation, fries eggs and hash browns and stuff.

The day-time cook, of pure Irish derivation, specializes mostly in Italianate food.

The evening cook, of mixed Irish-Norwegian derivation, specializes in Teutonic chow.

The substitute cook, the husband of the owner, of pure Polish derivation, whips up French cuisine.

On certain nights, the day-time cook and the evening cook switch shifts.

So what is the big deal?  Is Baltimore so provincial that dineries serve only one ethnic sort of food?

[vesta111]

I posted this because I'm mystified as to why this is considered unusual or exceptional.

The bar in town has a kitchen opens at 5 a.m., an hour before the bar can open, until 12:30 a.m., when the bar has to close.

The morning cook, of mixed Swiss-German derivation, fries eggs and hash browns and stuff.

The day-time cook, of pure Irish derivation, specializes mostly in Italianate food.

The evening cook, of mixed Irish-Norwegian derivation, specializes in Teutonic chow.

The substitute cook, the husband of the owner, of pure Polish derivation, whips up French cuisine.

On certain nights, the day-time cook and the evening cook switch shifts.

So what is the big deal?  Is Baltimore so provincial that dineries serve only one ethnic sort of food?

New trend I believe, when a restaurant is closed for 8 hours that time looses money. The building has to have heat /air conditioning on for the hours it is closed.   People that want to run a cooking school as a side business can rent the kitchen for the time it is closed and not have to go through all the red tape of running a full time restaurant. 

So some restaurants RENT out their kitchens to others, cooking schools, street vender's, bakers etc. added benefit is the renters clean up better then the regular staff.   another benefit is for the renters, they see bugs or rodents, they move to another restaurant.

Interesting idea this is and profitable for all involved.   One can run a small bake shop with no kitchen but keep it stocked with fresh baked goods made the night before across the street.

   

[franksolich]

But vesta, dear, I still fail to see why the sparkling husband dude was so awed.

It's the cook in the kitchen who counts, not the employer of the cook.

So, what's so impressive about a building that has two tenants presenting different menus at different times, as compared with a building that has one tenant but offers differing cuisine at different times?

[RobJohnson]

I have seen shared resturants in about every town I have lived.

In my town there is one that is used by different semi-retired resturant owners that no longer wanted to work full time, or had enough business for a full week.  One night it's ran by a german woman, a couple nights it's mexican, the weekends it's pizza. It's right next to a drinking establishment and very close to a large area of homes.

The lady that does the german food said she is taking reservations now and likes having to only do it one day a week, as she makes most things from scratch. It was too much work and food waste to do it every day.