Do try the pork goulash from the giant skillet guy. I just did and it was fantastic. The sauce is complex and earthy.

The flame tart could not have been better. What a great snack. I had the pleasure of eating mine with some tourists from Berlin who said that they have heard of it, but had never tried(!)

The fried potatoes were a little undercooked, but the speck-like bacon was great.

These guys should all be invited back to the Taste.

Today's lunch sampler was disappointing. I didn't get those nice potato pancakes you took the photo of. Instead I got mine from the potato pancake place facing the fountain in front of the Daley Center. Not only not enough onion flavor, also not enough potato flavor. I don't know how they make them, but it might as well have been from a box. And then I got the pork goulosh from the stand near the Alsatian Flamed Tart people. My first couple of pieces of pork were pretty tough, and even though the rest was better, it was a long way from great. The goulosh soup I had the other day from the curry ball place across the way was much better. But I should have stuck with the bratkartoffeln and the great brats and saurkraut.

Interesting. You are talking about the giant skillet guy, right? My pork was falling apart in the goulash Then again, I got mine after 2:25, and it seems to have been cooking a long while. I thought the broth/sauce was excellent. I wish I'd taken a picture.


On the other hand, I looked at every fried potato vendor's product and went with the one that looked by far to be the most "well done" and the potatoes still were not nearly cooked through. Timing means a lot at those stands, as Antonius noted.

I had the goulash soup from the giant skillet stand on Saturday, and it was fantastic. My wife thought it was a touch sweet, and she's probably right, but it was still rich and earthy and good, as Jeff says, and the pork itself was tender and delicious. A great treat for a cold day. Plus, I love those giant skillets.

Potato pancakes from the stand on Block 37 between giant skillets and tart flambee were nothing special, and way too grease-drenched.

I agree with Mike on the brats--very good, but the I'd pick the kilometerwurst first.

Guess I'm going back tomorrow for goulash...

JeffB, I don't know what others consider proper, but the bratkartoffeln I had were not done to a hash brown brownness, just lightly so around the edges, and they still seemed pretty optimal to me. I don't know how to look for the perfect degree of doneness except, per Antonius' comment, I aimed for a little before the main lunch rush.

that's what i hated bout the chowhound site. i thot it would be different here. but no, no discussion---just me-me posts! said in early thread that the best goulash was the goulash soop just outside the main bier tent in daley plaza. no one tried it? went to "big skillet guy" last nite cuz ya'll raved about it and pork was tuff and soop?-meant-to-be-stew-sauce was watery, cold, and, yes, sweet and yucky tasting, at least to me. wrote best potato pancake was at sw corner of blk 37 so above went to the greasy nasty places instead. And, final rant, no one tried those fabulous warm candied nuts?--way to go folks!

I don't think that's a very fair or cogent analysis of the discourse. What I saw was a range of generally consistent comments, with some items described by everyone as great and a few things that clearly have their ups and downs and appeal to different people and different tastes. No one seems to have been generally disappointed.

Look, I have no doubt that any one of these vendors can have a bad batch of food. They are standing in shacks cooking on jerry-rigged equipment. It takes time to stew pork, and perhaps the skillet guy's desire to sell gets the better of him. He did try to offer me potatoes that he clearly had just started to fry. The goulash I had was very good, with a thick and complex sauce that started with very good paprika and was fortified with quite a bit of sour cream. Unlike what you had, obviously.

I'm not sure what your beef is. People write about their experiences, just like you did. Seems like people have overall been pretty happy with the stuff at the market. There's no chorus of agreement on just about anything here, whether it's pizza, corned beef, BBQ, etc.

I hope you brought your displeasure to the vendor's attention.

El Panzone wrote:last nite cuz ya'll raved about it and pork was tuff and soop?-meant-to-be-stew-sauce was watery, cold, and, yes, sweet and yucky tasting, at least to me. wrote best potato pancake was at sw corner of blk 37 so above went to the greasy nasty places instead. And, final rant, no one tried those fabulous warm candied nuts?--way to go folks!

El P,

I'm going in the next few days. Antonious, JeffB, Aaron along with Mike G's wonderfully evocative pictures, especially of the Alsatian flamed tart motivated me. If I find it as horrid as you what say we meet at the Berghoff for a few and then hunt them down.

Ann Fisher gets a pass as she ever so slightly equivocated on the Alsatian flamed tart.

By the way, if you think most posts on LTH are positive, just read my recent Hecky's of Chicago thread.

Enjoy,
Gary

El Panzone wrote:that's what i hated bout the chowhound site. i thot it would be different here. but no, no discussion---just me-me posts!

My apologies for writing about things I tried. I will try to write more about things I've only read about or seen pictures of...

But serially, folks, there seems to be a lot of evidence that you need to time your visit (as I've gone at 11:30-11:45) and maybe check things out on the grill before you order. I mean, after all, these are basically Taste o' Chicago conditions, it's a wonder things have generally been as fresh and good as they've been.

Gary and Mike,

I don't think Jim was criticizing the market, but the fact that I (and perhaps others; woe unto them) got goulash and a potato pancake from the wrong stand, not that recommended here by the great Panzone himself. My great and unpardonable sin was to get goulash soup from the stand near the bier tent on Block 37 rather than from the stand near the bier tent in Daley Plaza.

Jim's right--I hate Chowhound, I hate LTH, and most of all, I hate myself. Hereby and forthwith, I recuse myself of all discussions in this forum.



(Until I decide to post again.)

In the meantime, Panzone, how 'bout a vodka tasting? I'm working on a real good list...Smirnoff, Wolf, Smirnoff Ice, Smirnoff Citrus Twist, Smirnoff Orange Twist, Smirnoff Cranberry Twist...

Aaron Deacon wrote:and most of all, I hate myself.

Yeah, well, get in line, pal.

(It's the LTH Christmas spirit thread!)

Mike G wrote:Yeah, well, get in line, pal.

I hate standing in line.

Aaron Deacon wrote:

Mike G wrote:Yeah, well, get in line, pal.

I hate standing in line.

At least you didn't use the irritating East Coast colloquilism of "standing on line" - I'd totally hate you if you did.

El Panzone wrote:that's what i hated bout the chowhound site. i thot it would be different here. but no, no discussion---just me-me posts! ...

While you denounce this site as being no better than CH, the difference between the two seems quite apparent to most people I know. Have you somehow missed the many long threads that have entailed extensive and detailed discussions, discussions that would never be allowed in Leff's narrow world?

Short, cranky posts that inform only barely or not at all belong there, methinks. Reread your first post in this thread; it drew little reaction because it was unclear and offered no detail. Your second post is offensive. Now that reminds me of CH.

Antonius

Okay, everybody just go here and get back in the Christmas spirit, huh?

Let's not get personal about this, and instead of arguing about it, let's all go have tarte flambee, it's only here till the 22nd (I think). Further back and forth will be dealt with by ghosts clanking chains.

Great: now all I can thing about are really good carnitas.

Or some fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches!

Fig. 1-12. Goulash mit bratkartoffeln.

I took a day off but was back for more tarte flambee and this time to try the goulash from the stand with the big skillets.

Can't think of much to add that hasn't been said above-- I had a couple of gristly pieces but most of it was tender and had a hearty real-pork-not-just-other-white-meat flavor, and the sauce it was in was richly flavorful, wine and paprika and lots of other good things. I would rank it among the best things there.

I was less crazy about the potatoes from this stand, partly because they were thicker cut than the other place, but also because they weren't seasoned as interestingly. However, they served just fine as another vehicle for mopping up the sauce.

Four days left, folks!

I ran down to State Street late this afternoon via the Red Line to finish shopping and to have a bite to eat at the Christkindlmarkt before the temperatures dropped tomorrow. I was on the State Street side of Block 37 and the market was very crowded.

I had a delicious Hungarian spicy sausage sandwich with sauerkraut and thinly sliced fried potatoes with bits of bacon, the same as depicted in Mike G's photos. I had an applesauce crepe at the stand kitty corner to it, next door to the goulash vendor and near the Alsatian bread and tarte maker (the same young man dressed in the medieval costume in Mr. G's photos). I thought the crepe was kind of plain tasting, but really enjoyed the pleasant aftertaste it left in my mouth.

It seemed to me that most of the grilled sausage vendors on Block 37 were from Plauen. The potato pancake/crepe maker was from, I think, Shonwald (I may have misspelled this).

Flamme Küche un' Leberkäse

I stopped by today to try the Flamme Küche and it was really quite swell. Whereas others have reported getting only a little bacon, I can happily report that mine was quite generously adorned with Speck, with at least a bit turning up on each of the mini-squares into which the server cut the pie. Nevertheless, it is a relatively very expensive item ($5 for a rather small portion). I say this not so much as complaint, for a reasonable person should be willing to pay a little more for something so well made and in these parts uncommon. And they do have to keep working the dough and did schlepp the oven over. The point is just that at least for me and I would imagine for many other LTHers, the Flamme Küche alone doens't quite constitute a full lunch.

Having only whetted my appetite with the little Alsatian tart, I turned to some more substantial sustenance from one of the vendors from the Vogtland. This time, for epic variation, I thought I'd try the Leberkäse (on a bun with sauerkraut). Very nice... I would have perhaps preferred a slightly more pronounced liver-flavour but this was a nicely made loaf.

Just two more days...

Antonius

Character problems fixed.

I've had it three times and the quantity of bacon and onion varied substantially between the three different days. I agree it's a bit expensive (as are most things here) but again, it's a tourist event like the Taste, I expect things to be overpriced but I'm awfully happy with what I got (and glad that your post motivated me to go back three times as my pictures seem to have motivated others). I'm also glad someone tried the leberkase, I think that means we pretty much covered everything from the Plauen stands!

I found myself ... wandering the Christkindlmarkt in the square in front of the Daley center. This is a pure expression of authentically imported kitsch... Mainly it is traditional German geegaws, along with some German traditionalish food that might well be worth coming back down to try.

I had intended to post on the food at the Christkindlmarkt for some time in anticipation of its opening but, alas, the distractions on LTH are many. As things turned out, that task was put off in part by a discussion originally relating to the Berghoff, which ended with a note by another writer about the market. In light of the dismissal (cited hereabove), however, of the items for sale as imported kitsch and geegaws and the food as looking to be perhaps no more than 'traditionalish,' the need for another perspective seemed to present itself; clearly, the thread took off with many people offering useful tips and opinions and ultimately illustrative photos.

'Kitsch' "like beauty" is in the eye of the beholder. Though there surely are some items for sale at the market which we all might agree are 'kitsch', much or even most of the German stuff I've seen this year and in years past -- from beer-mugs to hand-painted tin soldiers to hand-made wooden toys to the myriad of Christmas ornaments -- seems to me to exemplify the German appreciation of craftsmanship and is to my mind quite the opposite of tasteless. (Incidentally, 'kitsch' is a German word meaning originally 'trash' and later, in the 19th century, taking on the extended application in denoting something 'tasteless' or 'tacky.')

For those who, like me, find many of those Christmas ornaments and other imported 'geegaws' appealing, these last days of the market can provide some handsome discounts. Yesterday I got a couple of very nicely made porcelain houses to add to the ever expanding presebe or creche for about 25% off.

Now, let's get back to the me-me posts, please.

Antonius

I finally got around to going for lunch today. Started out at Daly Plaza and had the potato pancakes (3 for $4.50), and threw them out after a few bites. I should have know once I saw her put some on the grill from a box.

Walked to the other side (ClarK I think) and had the brats and fried potatoes. Brats were good, but I like the Sheboygan ones that are bigger and juicier. These brats seemed lost in the bread somehow. The potatoes are great! They seemed to realize that the lunch rush was coming, so they had lots of them on standby.

Walked acrossed the street to Block 37, and had the Belgian Waffles at the Tarte Flambe place. Not bad. I really wanted the tarte, but I am not a fan of warm sour cream. but it did look good. Looked around some more, and came back to the skillet tent, and got a container of prok goulash to go. I really like the little bits at the bottom, which probably has been cooking since morning. There were "newer" pieces of pork on top that were firmer but still tender. The goulash is a little sweet. The aroma is tantalizing so much so that the cab driver was going to head back down there and get some for his lunch. I have the goulash mixed in with my potatoes now, and I will be chowing down my second lunch soon. =)

LTH,

Met Mike G and MAG at the Chirstkindlmarkt yesterday, it was my first time this year and, since the market closed yesterday, my last. We started with Soljanka, a soup containing "sausage, meat, pickled cucumber, pepper, onion spice" not to be confused with the much discussed Goulash soup. I quite enjoyed the slightly sweet flavor of the broth.


Mike G and MAG, who have both been multiple times, suggested starting with roasted potato, creamy mushroom and goulash. Goulash was very good, potatoes a bit blah until mixed with the goulash, as Mike G suggested, and the mushrooms, to quote MAG, "tasted like fresh mushrooms in really good, homemade, cream of mushroom soup"


Potato pancakes were crisp and delicious, German potatoes with caraway very good but my favorite of the day was Kilometerwurst


It was a bit chilly to eat outdoors, but enjoyable nonetheless.


As it was the last day of the market many things were discounted, Christmas ornaments were, not surprisingly, well represented. This is but one section, of 5, in a small crowded shop.


This has been a very enjoyable and informative thread. See you all there next year, though next year I intend to go early and often.

Enjoy,
Gary

Gary wrote:Soljanka, a soup containing "sausage, meat, pickled cucumber, pepper, onion spice"

Soljanka soup is Russian. They have a meat as well as a fish variant; both are more complex than this description. I've made the fish version with leftover frames from smoked salmon. There were pickles, pickled mushrooms, olives, capers, lemon, dill, peppercorns and now the memory fades in this fish soup. Usually when I went to restaurants in Moscow it was in the evening, I would always order this soup and get the last bits of the day. Late in my presence there, I learned why there was such a hassle obtaining this soup: it is served at lunch (supper) and not dinner.

I just did a quick google research to double check, because I never ever considered it German. I did find it on some German menus in Germany, though it was spelled out as being Russian.

As the calendar flips, I provide the Russian greeting: "New Year, New Luck!"

I strongly suspect that in this case the soljanka is intended as the recipient of yesterday's unsold brats and kilometerwursts. Nevertheless, though a bit sweet, it went down just fine on yesterday's chilly day.

Having pretty much tried everything at the Plauen stands (though we were defeated in our attempt to try the leberkase, since they had just sold out and put a bunch of new ones on the grill which wouldn't be ready for a while) and refusing to try the Schonwald Germanburger and hot dog stands as being there for the kiddies too afraid to eat a brat, we poked around some of the other food things available to buy. Helmut's strudel was perfectly okay but as Gary said, you could have the same thing in bakeries all over town. Much better was the assortment of sweets at the sweet and nut shop located on the east edge of Block 37. Freshly candied almonds were warm and tasty, and a bag of "frosted gingerbread" was sort of like the pfefernusse I make, but with a kind of cakey interior which was interesting. Nice bag graphics too, I'll post a pic shortly:



P.S. Well now that I actually bother to look at the words on the package rather than be thrown by their Americanized description, I recognize it. It's magenbrot, another traditional Christmas treat which is like gingerbread in the sense that it has lots of molasses flavor, but not like it in that it's not particularly gingery, and has that cakey texture rather than a ginger snap crunch.

Cathy2 wrote:Soljanka soup is Russian.

Cathy,

That may very well be, but at the Christkindlmarkt it's being offered by one of the Plauen stands.




Happy New Year.

Enjoy,
Gary

HI,

I've actually been to Plauen, when it was still East Germany.

Interesting how some food travels, I am certainly not opposed to borrowing good ideas.

Mike G wrote: Freshly candied almonds were warm and tasty, and a bag of "frosted gingerbread" was sort of like the pfefernusse I make, but with a kind of cakey interior which was interesting.

Mike,

I had an appointment after the the mart and after a couple of hours in the car my gingerbread partially froze. The frosting snapped as I bit in and the outer layer was frozen. This provided a nice contrast to the soft, unfrozen, interior. While I like the taste of the gingerbread at room temperature, I preferred partially frozen. Maybe I put the rest in the freezer.

Frankly, the best thing I ate at the mart were the cookies both you and MAG brought.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Met Mike G and MAG at the Chirstkindlmarkt yesterday, it was my first time this year and, since the market closed yesterday, my last

Alas and alack... Every year I try to make a point of getting back to the market on the last day and such was the plan Amata and I had for yesterday... Unfortunately, a sudden emergency kept me at my desk most of the day and we had to settle for a late lunch in La Villita... ... We might well have run into you all, which would have been fun...

Ah, Soljanka... Probably made popular under the influence of our Soviet comrades who had to be stationed in the real Germany, the DDR, as a bulwark against US imperialism... Now, were there any little pine-nut like things in it? Kiek mal hier!

I think it's kind of fortuitous that the core of the market and the main food-purveyors are from the Vogtland, which is the southern part of Sachsen, bordering on the northeast of Bavaria. For example, the Bratkartoffeln are made in a way that is much the same as is popular in Bavaria and, to my mind, especially good. But then there are the 'eastern' touches as well, such as the soljanka and goulasch (known of course throughout Germany but still, surely, more integrated into the diet of eastern Germany and Austria). But the addition of the boys from the aptly named town of Essen (in the central western part of Deutschland), the team that was churning out the Flamme Kuchen, was something new (I'm pretty sure) and fabulous.

It would be nice if there were one of those stands of the folks from Plauen downtown all year round but, on the other hand, I think it's also nice to have these purely seasonal institutions. Knowing that they're around for just a month, I think I might appreciate their presence more than I otherwise would.

Vielen dank und auf widersehen...

Antonius