Thursday, July 14, 2011

culture clash

Tonight is the first night of the Oktoberfest in July festival! The Catholic church has games, rides, a little biergarten and plenty of German food - all in the hopes of raising money for the upcoming year. It's a popular event in Willoughby and since it's about a block from our house, we walk down in the evenings for supper. (which sometimes consists solely of the best onion rings in the known universe)

Anyway, I was describing this to a certain Texan recently and discovered that certain foods, well...they don't really translate.

Me: "Mike and I always go to the festival for the schnitzel, but we try to get there early because the line for it is usually so long."

Alan: "What's schnitzel?"

I describe schnitzel.

Alan: "So it's like chicken fried steak?"

Me: "Uhm. Not exactly, but sure...we'll go with that."

(Ask my mother about the time she got Alan to eat his first potato pancake. With applesauce. I have never seen a man look more skeptical in my life.)

28 comments:

Mike W. said...

Alan's a southerner, you're a northerner. what did you expect?

Oktoberfest in July.... do they have beer or is it BYOB?

Alan said...

Never in a million years would I have thought that potato pancakes and applesauce would be a good combination.

Turns out it's a great combination.

Now, come down to Texas and get some real TexMex and BBQ in you.

breda said...

Oh, no! Not the BBQ debate!

Tasso said...

The are lots of German speaking communities in Texas, and restaurants where you have to order in German. It's the same dish with the name translated into native cow puncher.

Weer'd Beard said...

Didn't Chicken Fried Steak originate with those culinary masters, the Amish?

How can you argue with the makers of Scrapple?

Bubblehead Les. said...

Beans. Chili must have Beans. ; )

Matt W said...

Actually, funny thing is that schnitzel inspired chicken fried steak when large amounts of german immigrants moved to Texas.

Lissa said...

I like ketchup on my schnitzel. You can stone me now.

Rev. Paul said...

Try potato pancakes with apple butter, instead of sauce. Even doubler more awesome-er. Or something. But it's GOOD.

Jason said...

How can you be Texan and not know schnitzel? Texas was a major destination for German immigrants. It's why Texas has good beer. As an ex-Ohioan, schnitzel is one of the things my ex-Texan friends and I can bond over. I suspect this Alan person is an imposter.

Bradley said...

Wait Texas has good beer, this must be a new thing.

and typing from Germany, Schnitzel is not like chicken fried steak. but if thats his closes reference then hope that works.

New Jovian Thunderbolt said...

More pepper in Chicken Fried Steak, better cutlet in the Schnitzel.

Less sausage gravy with der Schnitzel, too.

Borepatch said...

I must confess that Alan's BBQ, while barbarous, is delicious.

NotClauswitz said...

We have a Japanese Buddhist temple down the street that is gearing-up to celebrate the Obon Festival, with a Midway of Bingo and tossing pennies at fish-in-bowls -- and sushi and sashimi and Bar-b-q chicken and Saki.
I got spoiled on real schnitzle while living in Vienna. Chicken-fried steak is an utter abomination, probably copied from the Mexican's Milanesa which came over from Europe while Maximilian (a Hapsburg) was emperor.

Ed Rasimus said...

Y'all be careful about stereotyping Texans. Some of us are a bit more traveled than others. Und ders schnitzel and ders schnitzel. Ya got your jaeger schnitzel, yer rahm schnitzel, yer weiner schnitzel und even yer zigeuner schnitzel.

No excuse for a Texan not having at least a bit of German culture in his background. About a third of the state was originally settled by German immigrants.

Of course, I'm not a "real" Texan--just a lucky transplant.

DaddyBear said...

MMMM, schnitzel, spaetzle, kartoffel puffer mit apfel, fest hahnchen. All washed down with a mug of good beer.

damn, I'm hungry now.

Chris said...

OOh! I can just smell all the yummy mid-west real german sausage. :)

Sabra said...

How can you be Texan and not know schnitzel?

That was EXACTLY my thought. Kartoffelpuffern auch.

New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Gruene, Schertz, Niederwald, Shiner, und so weiter...

breda said...

Poor Alan, not a foodie.

Heath J said...

How the hell does a dweller of Texas, the place that makes Shiner Bock, not know of schnitzel??

Wiener Schnitzel FTW, if you can find a place that does it proper.

Old NFO said...

Schnitzel IS chicken fried steak :-)

Glenn B said...

Chicken fried steak is immitation schintzel but a darned good immitation when pork or veal is not available. After several good biers and a Kirschwasser or three, you might not realize the difference.

Glenn B said...

Did I just write schintzel??? Das ist nicht richtig!

Laura said...

"So it's like chicken fried steak?" has me CACKLING.

Alan, you're silly. find yourself a good sausage purveyor and indulge, man!

Sabra said...

Jaegerschnitzel is my favorite. Schmeckts sehr gut.

Zendo Deb said...

Everyone is so excited about schnitzel, but the way it is often prepared makes me think of chicken-fried-steak.

Much prefer hassenpfeffer, but you never see that on the menu.

Mike W. said...

Did someone say Shiner Bock!? Good beer, especially for the price.

JC said...

Dirtcrshr has it half-right. Milenesa is closer to the traditional schnitzel thsan is CFS, and both have their merits. And don't ruhn down old Maxi, either. He brought in a lot of good brewers, and his last words were "Viva Mexico".

When the Boiz were younger, they loved anything breaded and fried - genre schnitzel. Chicken, beef, pork, alligator...

As a matter of fact, they still do!

WV: inglis
No comment