The Schmankerl Stube Bavarian Restaurant, Hagerstown, MD

Where to start about this first meal stop on our trip to Texas...

We had a [presumably] new server.  So, things did not go well.  Enough said on that.

Amy had the Herzhafter Sauerbraten  Fall apart good, but a little more vinegar was needed, but that is just our taste.

I had the Wiener Schnitzel, great crust, with Spätzle:

And of course, BEER!

The house special this week is the: Grilled Tournedos of Beef Filet topped with Seasoned Lump Crab, served with Potato Snow and Vegetable of the Day - Not sure how German, but definitely Maryland.

Carlos Pizza, Middle Village, Queens NY

Carlos Pizza

This longtime Queens establishment where almost all the other customers knew each other and the staff, has a real friendly atmosphere.

National Lobster Day

Day three of the NYC Yarn Crawl. Today we were at the far North West store on the map:
Knitty City

Today's lunch was at the Upper West Side outlet of Luke's Lobster

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Today's Special for National Lobster Day is

This restaurant is just like the lobster shacks in Maine:  Small, has a line, has a limited seafood menu, and fresh lobster.

One of the hallmarks of these restaurants is responsibly sourced food stuffs, to that end they tell you where the seafood comes from:

This is the special tray, with the side of coleslaw.

The full menu looks like this:

Austrian Sauerbraten and Other Good Things in Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, at the far South East end of the Fall 2016 NYC Yarn Crawl is the Argyle Yarn Shop , 

After stopping in, entering the contest and finding the secret clue, we headed six blocks away to the Cafe Steinhof  for Austrian Comfort Food - specifically:  Sauerbraten.

We eat at the bar to take advantage of Happy Hour!  $5 draft and well drinks, $1 pretzels and...
Amy asked about an Oktoberfest Beer, and were told that was German, and they did Austrian.  But they had Belgian beer....

After the pretzel, we moved on to the chicken liver pate:

Finally, the main event:  Sauerbraten with red cabbage and mashed potatoes

It was an interesting recipe, not the German style we are very familiar with, but probably with an Austria - Hungarian style.

By vectorized by Sgt_bilko, change name by User:Actarux for use in same templates - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32119865

It was made with tomato and paprika, you could still taste the bite of the vinegar, but the heat of the paprika was quite pronounced.

We also had the cheese spaetzle, also quite good.

Trinity Alumni Happy Hour

This is the first Trinity Alumni event that I have attended in the past several years.  Attendance was six people, half the number that RSVPed.  We met at The Strand Smokehouse, 25-27 Broadway, Queens, NY.

They smoke their own meats out back.  I realize that I do not have photos of their incredible staff.  The basketball playing Greek at the grill was friendly and willing to talk and share all about the process.  The bar tender i did not spend as much time with, but she was polite and helpful.  The cashier also was friendly, smiling, and very helpful when i did my to-go order.

First think you see as you enter the building is the bar on the left.

They have a large selection of draft beers, moonshine drinks, and other house specialties.

Borrowed from their website 

Borrowed from their website 

Further up stage left beyond the bar is the grill and meat station.  Most of the meat is sold by the pound. Ribs are half or whole racks.  Sides are priced accordingly.

We had:  Beef Ribs, Spare Ribs, Baby Back Ribs, Brisket, Pork Loin, Kielbasa, Fried Mac and Cheese Balls, Cornbread, and Guac and chips.

There are several sauces to choose from:

At one point a band started to play live music.  Thank God that did not last long, as we were there to talk and visit with each other.

The meats were good is not exactly fall apart done.  The mac and cheese ball was great, the house pickles are sweet if you like that, and the cornbread was a bit smooth for my taste.  i like it a little more rustic.

I REALLY need to remember to take the photos with the real camera and not the camera in the phone, as these are really crappy.

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What is a Kolach anyway?

One of my assignments this trip to Texas was to bring home kolache (kolache is the plural of kolach).

Now we come to what actual are kolache?  Thanks to Wikipedia, we know:

A Kolach is a type of pastry that holds a dollop of fruit, rimmed by a puffy pillow of supple dough. Originating as a semisweet wedding dessert from Central Europe, they have become popular in parts of the United States.

By Lou Congelio; Photographer: Ralph Smith - Kolache Mama, Attribution,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8165624

Well that is not totally the way it is used at least in this area of Texas.  Here it is also a savory pocket of the puffy pillow of supple dough.  WOW!!

And there are is a chain of stores in this area of Texas called the Kolache Factory.  The one in/near The Woodlands is in the back building of a shopping plaza.

They have at least 2 dozen SAVORY kolache as well as ten to twelve sweet varieties.

I also made out like a bandit when i had signed up with my email and got a buy 3 get/3 free coupon.  THEN there was the sign about google reviews... so there were three more free

So NOW, i have bought three and have SIX free!!  Then I bought a some more.  In all I took home a dozen sweet and a half dozen savory.

The problem is i did not take any photos except this one of sausage, cheese and jalapeno, hot polish sausage, and sausage and gravy.

So here's one from their website: