Wo ist mein Schnitzel?

"If I want a good schnitzel, I go home and make one," said my hair stylist Soeren Loeffler, who is from Germany and not about to waste his time on bad food, wine, beer, or cars. We were bemoaning the lack of a good German restaurant in Atlanta or environs. Like me, he has been to Helen (aka as "the fake German town") in northern Georgia and found the food as laughable as the town itself. Chattahoocheestrasse? Half-timbered Dairy Queen and SunTrust Bank? Live tarantula gallery?

So, when a new German restaurant, Der Biergarten, opened recently in downtown Atlanta by the Aquarium, I was eager to try it out. So, my friend Elaine and my daughter Alison and I went for lunch on a recent Sunday. We thought it was a good sign that several German-speaking groups were leaving as we arrived. The outside terrace was also promising--authentic German fest tables, flags, and signs. However, it was too hot to sit outside and so we went on in . . . to find a very non-authentic (but air-conditioned!) restaurant that looked like it might have been a minimalist Asian sports bar. Although they were out of several items, the service was friendly and fast, the beer was good (real German beer in real German beer glasses), the food was not bad. Alison thought probably the only authentic German person in the place might be the chef. We had decent O'batza (cheese ball) for an appetizer, wurst, red cabbage, potato salad, jaeger-schnitzel (with mushroom gravy), and spaetzle which were all good. No chance for dessert; they were all sold out. Our recommendations for them:

1. Get better outfits for the wait-staff than t-shirts and jeans.
2. Get someone to work there who at least looks like they might be German.
3. Teach them a few phrases in German or get someone who can speak it (we think they may bet a lot of German tourists).
   
4. Have available what's on the menu.
5. Get authentic beer coasters.
6. Get some German decor! (I have enough in boxes to decorate the place!)
7. Play oom-pah music instead of classical.
8. Put EuroSport on the big screen televisions.
9. Put the menu in both German and English with more explanation.
10. Sell souvenirs.
11. Hire Alison and/or me as a consultant.

So! (Popular German word!) Just one week later, I found myself going with my neighbor Patsy to a German Fest at her favorite local restaurant, Petite Auberge in our neighborhood. Although it has been there a million years and has a French name, it is owned by Germans and this fest was way better than Der Biergarten experience! It was jointly sponsored by the Atlanta German Cultural Center and they had games, decorations, German beer, great food (extensive menu), wonderful German band, a beer garden, souvenirs, and lots of people dressed in real German (Bavarian) clothing including lederhosen! It was wunderbar! Unfortunately, it lasts only two days in September each year, but they are hosting an Oktoberfest Buffet on October 23 ($35 for all you can eat, plus the band, cash for German beer and wine). It's got to be good if this night was any indication.

So, does Atlanta have a good German restaurant yet? No, but there is hope. One can always drive 130 miles to Augusta and eat at The Augsburg Haus. Now, there is real German food! They recently moved to a new location, so I don't know if it's as cute as the old one, but hopefully the food and beer are just as good. I've eaten there a couple of times and really love their Roulade (Beef steak roll stuffed with bacon, pickle, onion, and mustard and served with spaetzle and red cabbage).

Guten appetit! (Below, real Nuernberger bratwurt and kraut in Munich)

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em

How I ever got through almost six decades of life without playing poker, I just don't know, but the occasion arose recently for me to learn and to play. I was invited to a Ladies Only Poker Night at a friend's house, and the invitation came early enough for me to gather my resources and learn something about the game so as not to be a total beginner. So I cornered my friend Elaine into learning with me and going to the party. Between the internet and Poker for Dummies, we managed to learn enough to at least not be totally in the dark at Poker Night.

We did not know what to expect, although we had been assured that anyone who did not know how to play would be taught. There was a $20 buy-in and ten people playing. The first and second place winners would split the pot, 70/30%.

First of all, playing with ten people is crazy. Secondly, it is significantly different from the sources we'd used. Third, it takes guts and luck to win. Amazingly, I won the very first hand, which, of course, was only practice and so I didn't get any winnings! Ha! So the game began in earnest. It turned out that one family of a mother and two daughters clearly dominated the game and knew a whole lot more about it than the rest of us put together. After hours, one by one, players began to drop out because they lost all their chips. I actually had pretty good luck most of the time and ended up being one of the last three in the game! Unfortunately, at one o'clock A.M., I went out before the other two and thus didn't win any money, but I had a lot of fun trying!

And really, I at least didn't make a fool of myself . . . except one time, and we won't relate that story. I'm happy for my friend Dianna, whose house was the location of the party, because she staged a fantastic comeback from NO chips and won! I hope we play again sometime soon.

Who doesn't love Lenny?

I was a little fearful that I would be the oldest person (and the only old one) at the Lenny Kravitz concert yesterday when I got comment on Facebook from a former student who must be all of twenty years old, "you like lenny kravitz? lol." However, my fears were laid aside when I saw the audience at The Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta. There were many fans there as old and much older than me! It was a really interesting crowd for a rock icon like Lenny: no teenagers, but everything from twenties to eighties, I swear. It was also a very mixed audience, with the majority being white, which was surprising because Lenny is black. However, when I stopped to think about the number of other black rockers I knew, I couldn't think of any (although there must be some). All the black musicians seem to be into other genres, primarily rap, R&B, and jazz. Even Lenny's backup band was mixed racially.

I don't go to concerts anymore, so this was a step outside my comfort zone. The last I attended was Simply Red in Sicily. Before that, I can't even remember, but it had to be pre-Germany days, which began in 1987.

Lenny and band performed for a solid TWO HOURS, with a wide variety of songs, including my personal favorite, "American Woman," as well as "Mama Said," "Fly Away." "Are You Gonna Go My Way," "Let Love Rule," "Believe," "Mister Cab Driver," and much more. He has been performing for twenty years, so this tour, called Let Love Rule, is named after that album of twenty years ago. He personally played several instruments during the concert, including three different guitars, keyboards, tambourine, and drums. He highlighted all of his band at various times, especially the horn section. The guy next to me, who was a musician himself, told me that Lenny Kravitz performed every instrument on every album he's made up until the last one, when he finally let someone else play the lead guitar. His lead guitarist used to play with the Black Crows of Atlanta fame. It was a very lively, loud, light-crazy show and Lenny was all over the place with his presence and his music. It was incredibly entertaining. At one point, he even left the stage and walked all across the floor in front of it making direct contact with his fans. His message throughout the night was one of peace, love, brotherhood, and "we're in this together, so make it work." Refreshing and recharging all around! The audience LOVED him.

A Touch of Turkey

Who would have thought there were so many Turks in Atlanta? But, I guess in a city of 4.5 million, there is a hardly a nationality that isn't represented. But I only know of one (and maybe a half) Turkish restaurants, and that hasn't changed much in quite a few years. So, it was very pleasant surprise to find the Atlanta Turkish Fest well-organized and attended this weekend at the Gwinnett Convention Center in Duluth, GA.

It was strange, and yet comfortably familiar to see the faces and clothing, to smell and taste the food and drink, to hear the music and language, and to see the unique Turkish items such as Evil Eyes and tea sets. I have been to Turkey at least five times, and it is a place that is truly magical. Everyone should go there at least once. Also, there is a huge Turkish presence in Germany, and it was very easy to find restaurants, stores, travel agencies, mosques, and other indicators there.

The first, and most important thing, to do at the Turkish Fest was eat! I was starved, but I took time to look at all the options, about ten vendors, to see what was available. Did I want a doner kabob, shish kabob, the honey-dripping desserts, salads, or what? It all looked and smelled great. I settled on something I had never had before: Gozleme ve Manti (Turkish Crepes and Dumplings), which the servers told me was from the middle part of Turkey. The crepe was very thin and filled with a spicy meat. The dumplings were actually more like tiny tortellini covered with a garlic yogurt sauce, a thin tomato sauce, and a sprinkling of dried mint. I ordered a traditional Turkish yogurt drink, something like buttermilk, to go with it. It seemed like way too much food, but guess what? I ate it all with no problem and even had a few bites of my friend's chicken doner! Afterwards we had real Turkish coffee (sweet and strong with grounds on the bottom) with hazelnuts to munch on.

Finally satisfied with the food fix, we spent time looking through all the vendors' booths, probably two dozen or so, which including tourism, services, souvenirs, foods, copper, scarves, jewelry, music, food, language school, religious information, books, calligraphy, marbling, cooking classes, and more. The entire time, various musical performers were on stage. Nothing makes me happier than Turkish music! Many people were in folk costumes, obviously part of a later presentation.

The people were their usual hospitable Turkish selves. Everyone was very anxious that we should find what we wanted, be happy, etc. Here, take this, take this--a pocketful of Jordan almonds, maps, postcards, brochures, a CD, a folder. Can I help you? Smiling families and children. The entire event was happy and interesting. My only phrase in Turkish, "Tesekkür ederim" (thank you), was understood everywhere and met with surprise and smiles. It's a good one is know if you only know one thing in Turkish! I can't wait for next year's fest.