Local dishes?

[ExSoccerMom]

If cruising the Rhine, is the food typical of the region? Not a fan of German food.

[CPT Trips]

Which cruise line?

[ExSoccerMom]

Any

[caviargal]

All cruise lines are not the same so "any" does not apply.

[papa B me]

Just got off the Amsterdam to Basel Castles on The Rhine with Uniworld's Ss Antoinette. They do offer some regional dishes(probably Americanized) but always plenty of other alternatives featured as well as Salmon, Sirloin Steak and chicken offered at every meal as well as garden or greek salad always offered as an alternative for starter

[Got2Cruise]

On my recent Avalon Romantic Rhine itinerary, there was one lunch where some of the choices were German food (sausages and pretzels, sauerkraut,), and one dinner one of the choices was sauerbraten. But even when these choices were offered there were plenty of other choices. At the Captain's farewell dinner, there was lobster tail and risotto. Definitely not German.:D

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Sausages are great there ..

[Floridiana]

If I knew German food only as it is served in the United States, I wouldn't like it either. It's much more delicious than Sauerkraut, Sauerbraten and sausages served with disgusting brown gravy. I wouldn't worry if I were you. Food on ships for the American cruisers is prepared for American tastes.

[steamboats]

Sorry to say, but the so called German food I encountered in the US was far away from real German food (even in the Hofbräuhaus in Newport, KY, - sorry, folks, we Germans have never heard of fried pickles!!) :rolleyes:.

 

steamboats

[Got2Cruise]

Sorry to say, but the so called German food I encountered in the US was far away from real German food (even in the Hofbräuhaus in Newport, KY, - sorry, folks, we Germans have never heard of fried pickles!!) :rolleyes:.

 

steamboats

 

 

I live in nyc and my grandparents came over from Germany. The food is authentic in many local restaurants. But it is a reflection of the region that the German immigrants came from. I have to disagree with another poster above. Sauerbraten was a staple in grandmas kitchen but you are correct the Avalon version was bland. But the sausages were grilled not in a brown gravy and the pretzels were bought in Speyer where pretzels were invented. When we went to the special German dinner the entree was roasted pork and dumplings another staple of grandmas. If you don't eat pork you can request roast chicken.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We were disappointed that the food on our AMA Rhine cruise didn't reflect that much German influence. Even on "German night" you can always order the anytime items like steak and chicken -- that shouldn't happen often enough that you get tired of them. The rest of the cooking was a good standard of continental cuisine.

[rudeman]

We had several "authentic" nights on our Avalon cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam and they were good. We like sampling local foods - one reason we travel. Still can always order steak, chicken or salmon.

 

 

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[Floridiana]

I live in nyc and my grandparents came over from Germany. The food is authentic in many local restaurants. But it is a reflection of the region that the German immigrants came from.

 

The dishes may sound German and regional but the preparation is not. Supposedly there are good German restaurants somewhere in the US. If you know of a good German restaurant, tell me and I will try it next time I am in the city.

 

ExSoccerMom,

With that in mind, river cruises marketed to American customers cater to American tastes. Others said it before me, you will always find non-German choices.

[whatnot]

If you really want local food, then go to lunch in a local restaurant. We did that on our Danube cruise. We were on Uniworld . They had a wonderful buffet lunch with typical German cuisine when we were sailing through Germany. We had Hungarian food in Hungary, etc. I thought it was very good. They also had some dinner entrees that were locally themed by the country you were sailing through, but you could also get steak, salmon, or chicken. They also featured the wines of the area you were sailing through. Some were good and some were not so good. Just depends upon what you like.

[steamboats]

The food is authentic in many local restaurants. But it is a reflection of the region that the German immigrants came from.

 

That´s why I´ve mentioned the Hofbräuhaus in Newport, KY, as it´s been the first official Hofbräuhaus outside of my hometown (Munich). And I hardly found any authentic German dishes on their menu.

 

German food is very regional and Sauerbraten is nothing typical for Bavaria as an example (anyway you will find it on some menus over here). The main problem is that you simply don´t get the needed ingredients. Try to buy Quark (curd - that´s what my online dictionary offers as translation) in the US. It´s the same for me over here. I do have a lot of US cookbooks but some stuff I can´t cook because I can´t buy the ingredients over here. An example: We can´t buy corn syrup here in Germany.

 

Another example: Meat is cut totally different in Germany than in the US. If you do not have a German butcher who knows how to cut meat the German way you won´t get the proper piece of meat for the German dish and you have to improvise. For me it´s pretty difficult to find well cut steaks or baby back ribs.

 

One more: Try a plan yoghurt out of the supermarket in Germany - it´s real yoghurt and not the stuff you have which has lots of artificial ingredients added.

 

steamboats

[caviargal]

If you really want local food, then go to lunch in a local restaurant. We did that on our Danube cruise. We were on Uniworld . They had a wonder

 

We do that very often, choosing not to return to the boat for lunch.

 

We have enjoyed some lovely regional (Austrian and German) dishes on our various cruises. But we really enjoy the vibe and flavors of local spots; food and wine are two of the main reasons we travel.

[ExSoccerMom]

Thanks everyone, I feel better. Just not a fan of heavy sauces, sauerkraut and sausages.

 

 

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