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Germans really are great cooks with a delicious cuisine! I never really knew this before hubby and I visited the little German mountain village in Georgia, named "
Helen". There are just too few German restaurants to allow us to experience the delicious way in which their dishes are prepared. Since October is the official month for celebrating the German Oktoberfest, I thought I'd take you to the closest similarity to Germany that I could. About four hours away from us in the northeastern corner of Georgia is this little German town (well it is really quite fake) that engaged in a marketing campaign to increase tourism. To achieve this goal, every building exterior was converted to resemble old-style German architecture. The strategy worked and Helen is a tourist trap extraordinaire. But we visited during the week and not on the weekend when the crowds arrive. This made a huge difference in the experience satisfaction scale. An annual month-long Oktoberfest takes place and hotels fill up very early in advance.
So you my be asking, why would two people like ourselves, who try to enjoy the quiet, pastoral life on an acreage, venture off to a Blue Ridge Mountain town filled with bumper-to-bumper traffic and hundreds of beer-drinking, motor cycle riding tourists? Well, for one thing, we went there in the high heat of August when the temperature in the mountains is quite literally 10 degrees cooler than in South Carolina. And in August, I'll take 90 degrees any day over 100 degrees! We found an inexpensive lodge tucked far away from the noise that had a freezing air conditioner unit and an equally freezing outdoor pool for me to swim in daily. Just what the Southern heat doctor ordered! So we thought, 'what the heck, we've never been there, so let's go check it out'. And truly the key to enjoying Helen, is to get the heck out of Dodge and stay on the outskirts of town.
From our lodge, we ventured in only a few times to 'get our fill' of what the town had to offer and were really quite pleasantly surprised. It truly was hotter than "h", so we spent as little time as possible outdoors on concrete sidewalks (other than in the swimming pool and sitting by the mountain stream rushing by our room).
So here's my little pictorial tour of our experience of Germany in Georgia for Oktoberfest!
"
Willkommen" means 'welcome' in German (I'm sure that you knew that though) and this greeting was scrolled over the entrance to a marvelous, wonderful, delicious, quaint little 10-table German eatery called "The Vines". This is where I tasted my very first bite of authentically prepared German food. My husband is part German, but his family never prepared German fare. As a result he had absolutely no idea what he was about to put in his mouth. All he was familiar with was German Apple Strudel; but there was much more to be had in this little restaurant . . . oh so much more that my tummy expanded 3 sizes in one sitting!
The Vines restaurant is on the first level of the
Edelweiss Country Inn (about 6 rooms are upstairs) located in Sautee, Georgia, just a few miles drive south of Helen. Check out the web-site to see some lovely photos! This little establishment embraces the philosophy and sensibility of using locally grown, seasonal and sustainably harvested ingredients in their simple farm-fresh-to-table agrarian cuisine. Only brunch and dinner are served, including a "Tyrolean Farmers' Breakfast" with potato pancakes, sausages, fried potatoes, "Schnitzel ala Holstein", and other Alpine dishes from Germany for those guests who lodge upstairs and come down with large appetites!
We chose to go to The Vines for dinner because it truly is their major attraction. For appetizers, we began with "Smoked Salmon Potato Pancakes with Creme Fraiche". For our entrees, each of us chose a traditional 'Schnitzel' with potato dumplings. Schnitzels are truly Germany's most famous food specialty, which are flattened slices of veal that are breaded and fried. For dessert we shared a decadent apple strudel creation that left us waddling out the door. We highly recommend this restaurant, although the menu has become decidedly more French and Italian and very minimally German. When we spoke to the owner/manager, he told us that he was going to make this change due to consumer preferences and therefore, you won't find the "Schnitzel" on the menu any longer. That is truly sad, because what we tasted in the town of Helen was extremely poor in comparison.
Wine is becoming a major player in the Georgia mountains and the vineyards are beginning to receive national recognition. Here is a
map and list of the growing number of vineyards to visit, sample and purchase local wine and a link to
Georgia's Wine Country, a tiny version of Napa Valley. German wine offers some of the best varietals for
pairing with Thanksgiving turkey, such as Gewurztraminer, a white wine with subtle fruit flavors. Along with Rieslings, you can't go wrong with a delicious German wine at this time of year for a fall picnic of artisanal bread and cheese!
Just a few snapshots of the quaint German and Alpine architecture in town.
Since I'm a gardening fanatic, I had to take photos of the lush landscaping
that was meticulously taken care of.
There are so many more great photos of this trip to the little German town of Helen, Georgia in this full post, complete with restaurant reviews for foodies to view and read, so please click on "READ MORE" below my signature, especially if you plan on visiting Helen or if you have ever been there.
The buildings had a lot of three-dimensional adornment depicting German life. I thought these were darling and made the town more quaint. The shops are filled with imported German products and crafts, such as meticulously carved cuckoo clocks. The store windows are filled with enticing items to tempt you inside.
And then there was this most incredible candy and chocolate factory called "
Hansel and Gretel" where the most silky-smooth, melt-in-your-mouth, richly decadent slab fudge is made fresh daily. The fudge is prepared in loaves that are cut into half pound chunks. Together hubby and I easily put down a pound while there. As I said, plan on gaining some weight in this little town. This chocolate shop also has mail order available to take care of your your cocoa cravings.
And what would a visit (although not authentic) to Germany be without a few beers?
even if it's with a few painted pals on a mural! That's hubby on the right (below).
Can't you just see the "German" in him?
One other restaurant that I wanted to point out and highlight which also receives high praise is "
Hofer's Bakery and Cafe". This place is located in the hustle and bustle of downtown Helen, so expect traffic on the weekends when the bikers and other tourists swarm in. There is also a new 'biergarten' (Bavarian beer garden) on site.
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If you are like us, and go to Hofer's for breakfast, expect to stand in line BEFORE the cafe opens; it is that popular. This little place has been voted the #1 best bakery in Atlanta and NE Georgia combined. Wow! When you enter the door, you are teased by the bakery's German pastry showcase that you can't pass up! There are also numerous German grocery items that are already canned or packaged to take a little bit of Germany home with you from your visit.
(photo above is from Hofer's web-site and not my own)
Once seated, a German menu like no other that I've ever seen is presented. Listed are dishes such as "schwarzwald", "jagershnitzel", "apfelkkuechle", Belgian waffles, goulash, more "schnitzels", German pancakes, European pastries, Black Forest and German Chocolate cakes, apple strudels and other Bavarian delights! Just read this
menu and see if you can pronounce the German names! Here is just a tease of the
German specialty breads baked at Hofer's (click on link). Can you say "wendelsteiner landbrot, schinkenbrot, sauerteigbrot and sonnenblumenbrot" three times without getting tongue tied? This is truly German food! One last comment about Hofer's: where in the U.S. can you sit down and read German magazines mailed directly to the States . . . but they are all written in German, so if you don't know the language, you just have to look at the pictures!
On our last evening in Helen, my German husband was in the mood for just a simple pizza. We had some fabulous pizza at a place called
Bigg Daddy's Tavern and Music Club that has its own vegetable and herb garden outside. The fresh-from-the garden Margherita Neapolitan pizza with fresh basil and tomatoes was out of this world. The beer selection, as you can imagine, is huge and extensive. Anthony Bourdin of "No Reservations" food show has also patronized this pub. On any day besides Friday and Saturday when the bikers take over the place, we give this little place a high thumb's up.
In addition to the food and wine of Helen, there is a community theatre, an original and still operating grist mill where you can purchase wonderful stone-ground grits and flours, some antique stores, hiking trails, white water rafting outfitters, a folk-art pottery museum and more.
If you're still in need of more German spaetzle, red cabbage, sauerkraut or strudels to take home with you from Helen, plan to stop at the famous
Betty's Country Store full of gourmet specialties that will make your foodie heart sing like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music! (They also have mail-order services for hard-to-find German delicacies).
So from your Italian food bloggin' friend to all of you: Happy Oktoberfest! Auf Wiedersehen!
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