Food Day
Leavenworth, Washington:
The weather turned overnight and we woke to clouds, cold and a little rain.
But still, first this morning, we took a scenic drive. There is a loop that
follows the Wenatchee River west on Highway 2, then heads north up to
Wenatchee Lake State Park, through Plain, Washington and then returns to
Leavenworth. The forest is very pretty now as the vine maples are brilliant
colors. I did not snap photos because the weather was so dreary!
Early afternoon we returned to Leavenworth and had lunch at
Munchen Haus
(Munich House). The restaurant absolutely drips with fresh flower baskets
and vines - very pretty! They serve one thing - German-style sausages. A
great selection too (even a vegetarian sausage), with all the trimmings
available, including over a dozen mustards. Beer and wine are served in the
beer garden. Our sausages were delicious and only $5.50!
Munchen Haus Beer Garden in Leavenworth, Washington
Huhnwurst mit bier: chicken sausage with a German beer.
One of the condiments is sauerkraut simmered in apple cider.
After lunch, we visited a chocolate shop that has recently
opened in Leavenworth,
Schocolat, where the owners hand-make fine artisan European-style
chocolates. Okay, we did more than visit; we bought a few chocolates. Just
trying to stimulate the local economy.
A little treat from
Schocolat
Next we visited a
The Cheesemonger,
a local cheese and gourmet food shop, and talked cheese with the owner. They
offer free samples, and we bought more of the Rogue Creamery Rosemary
Cheddar that we have been enjoying since our stop in Dayton, Washington.
As long as we were in the area, we drove east to Cashmere to tour through
the Aplets &
Cotlets candy factory. Though not a big fan of jelly candies, it was
still an interesting detour. The candy company was started by two Armenian
immigrants making a traditional middle-eastern candy from the apples grown
on their own Liberty Orchards. During World War II, they made a similar
product for US soldiers and also dried apples for our troops. Now the
factory, which produces over two million pounds of confection annually, is
still family-owned and operated by one of the grandsons.
The girls in white are placing individual pieces of jellied candy
(strawberry today) into plastic trays. The trays are then placed in a box,
someone puts a lid on the box and...
...then it heads down the line to be sealed in plastic.
Here's a photo for the family scrapbook! DT and I in hairnets required for
the factory tour.
On our way back to the RV, we stopped at
Prey's Fruit Barn
to taste apples. They had a few varieties we were unfamiliar with - and one,
the Sekai-ichi - is the largest apple I have ever seen. The Sekai-ichi is as
large as a softball and very sweet. The apples average between one and two
pounds EACH. It is an apple to share. One side of the Fruit Barn is occupied
by Linda Flick's
Homefires Bakery. Fresh breads, pies, cakes and cookies are baked fresh
daily. On Thursday Linda bakes a dark German Rye - what better bread to go
with our cheese and apples?
And just for fun, here is a photo of the local Safeway supermarket -
everything in Leavenworth looks Bavarian, plastic signs are not allowed.
Even the Golden Arches and the 76 Union signs are made of wood and painted.
New Safeway in Leavenworth, Washington
Wish you could have heard our conversation today about what it would be like
if a city in Bavaria decided to make a tourist destination by recreating a
small American town.
After purchasing all that food, would you believe we went out to dinner? DT
knows one of my favorite things is wiener schnitzel, so he drove me back
into town as this dish is served at nearly every restaurant in Leavenworth!
Unfortunately, we chose the worst restaurant because our meals were simply
terrible! What bad luck. It is rare I give a restaurant such a poor review,
but King Ludwig's
Restaurant in Leavenworth was just awful. My breaded veal cutlet was
gummy and doughy, and the red cabbage was cooked to death. While tasting the
cutlet I could taste something "funny", but could not figure out what it
was. By the third bite, I realized it was that same fake-butter taste in
microwave popcorn - margarine! Gross! I was finished. DT's chicken was
over-cooked and dry. The spatzle was dried-out and gooey. Plus the
waitress asked if we would like "dessert or just the check" just after our
meals were delivered! (Barf bag, please.) That is what you get for naming
your restaurant after a nut-job King. Wait, the beer was good. We had a fun
time anyway (we always have a good time) because the two guys seated next to
us chatted us up during our "meal" and they were quite entertaining. Luckily
we have wonderful foods back in the bus.
Looks can be deceiving
Perfectly good chicken, murdered
We are being evicted tomorrow due to the crowds expected for Oktoberfest...
we have no idea where we are going, so check back tomorrow.
Until my next update, I remain your hungry correspondent.