Gas Prices Are Down, So We Are On the Road Again!

Published 6/6/2011

Gas Prices Are Down, So We Are

On the Road Again!

The Retired Cooks Diary

By Suzette Pennington Munson

We love to “drive around” on a lazy evening and try and find new places to visit. We have been to Munster, Texas many, many times to, May Fest, or October Fest but have never explored Munster restaurants. Saturday night we decided to go check out some authentic German food at the Center on Hwy 82 in downtown Munster.

Now I have had sudo Texized ethnic food of many origins. Some of it in other areas of the state, we have had klatches in West, Sauer Batten in Fredricksburg and now Ager Schnitzel in Munster.

We love to shop at Fishers Market in Munster and have sampled many of the sausages that are made fresh in their meat market so we were prepared for some of the authentic tastes but we were not expecting the food to be as authentic as it was. That was a wonderful surprise.

Doug ordered a sausage combo plate with German potato salad and sauerkraut. I decided on the Ager Schnitzel.

Now there are many kinds of Schnitzel, which consists of either a pork chop, pork loin or pork shoulder that is cut thin then breaded and pan fried crisp.

Ager Schnitzel is a pork cutlet with mushroom gravy. The pork was crisp but so tender it cut easily with a fork. I too had the potato salad which is served warm. The potato salad is basically coarsely mashed potatoes with either chopped bacon or ham in a vinegar based sauce.

This may be a heavy meal especially in the summer. I think I would have appreciated it more in the winter as it is what we like to refer to as “comfort food”.

Doug had to bring home some of his sausage which he said he wants to put barbeque sauce on for his next meal. The sausage was a simple meal and very rich in flavor it was not served with anything but a brown mustard. That is what made it authentic. We sometimes expect more complex recipes when the “real thing” is anything other than what we expect.

Sometimes we forget that our ancestors of whatever origin were simple folks. They worked hard and ate hardy. We work differently and eat much differently so whenever you try “authentic” anything remember that we have changed our tastes from our ancestors and what is authentic may not be palatable to our taste. One good example of the changes is Chinese Food. If the local “Asian” restaurant really cooked

authentic recipes we probably would turn our noses up! In large metro areas where ethnic restaurants are more prevalent we can experience those taste. They are not dependent on our recurring business so they cater to their ethnic taste and we can have the experience in small doses.

I encourage everyone to try new things. When our youngest son, JR joined the Navy, I told him only two major things. Try and see the sites of the countries you visit and try the authentic food. He ate his way thru Malaysia, Australia, the Persian Gulf and American cities of the east coast and west coast. He often sends me pictures of the food he is eating. It has become a tradition to forward the oddities that he tries on a regular basis.

I hope everyone gets on the road around our area and find those hidden treasures that you have never experienced. You never know who you will see out there on the road with you.