Sehr Gut (very good)

This post kicks off what usually turns out to be an On The Street summertime trend — food. Nearly every summer event involves or revolves around food. There’s St. Jude’s corn festival, Blairstown and Lisbon’s Sauerkraut Days, Atkins and Fayette’s Watermelon Days, Solon Beef Days, Walker’s Pickle Days, Strawberry Fest in Strawberry Point and St. Ludmilla’s Kolach Festival. Not to mention the picnics at Jazz Under the Stars, Marion By Moonlight and Friday night movies in Iowa City.

I learned early on in this gig, to bring cash to these events, or something to nibble. It’s that or leave with a grumbling tummy.

In the case of the Amana Colonies Maifest, I just made sure to eat a big breakfast so I wasn’t starving. It would have been hard to ask people about their favorite German food without salivating otherwise.

Or maybe not. When I really think about it, I’m not so sure that I’m a big fan of German food. Shh. Don’t tell my grandma. My maiden name is Bossert, German for “the burner” (apparently way back when my ancestors got a kick out of burning and pillaging villages). And my dad’s side of the family took a lot a pride in their German heritage. But, not the extent that we ate a lot of German food. To be honest, I can’t really name many German dishes. All that comes to mind right now are brats and sauerkraut. And I can tell you I’m not a big fan of either.

A quick Google search reveals that there is more to the country’s dinner plate than just those two items though. And turns out I like a lot of them. According to a Web site called Travels through Germany foods that I think of as American got their start in Germany. Deviled eggs for example. I LOVE deviled eggs (it’s an odd exception to my anti-mayonnaise stance). Apparently hamburgers and meatloaf have Germanic roots. Then there’s potato pancakes, German chocolate cake, soft pretzels …

OK. I better stop. My stomach is starting to growl.

- Carly