Derpy Score (Round 3)

Because Der Pschorr is our favorite restaurant, we went back for a third time tonight.  Once again, Zach got the Bavarian Ox medallions (no surprise there).  I, on the other hand, decided to try something new, so I ordered the Crispy Half of Bavarian Duck with a humongous potato dumpling and apple red cabbage.  The duck was amazing!  Definitely the best duck I've ever had, out of the one or two other times I've ever had it.  Take a look at the picture below too, because it was a ton of meat.  The potato dumpling and apple red cabbage were not very great though.  We finished off our meal, once again, with one of the best desserts in the known universe... the Der Pschorr apple pie.  To add to the description from last time, these are basically a circular slice of apple covered in donut batter and lots of sugar.  Frankly, the only thing that beats these for dessert is Hood's Moosehead Lake Fudge ice cream.  Seriously.

Der Pschorr Bavarian Duck

Der Pschorr Apple Pie

Seehaus (Round 2) and Spatenhaus

Last night Zach and I headed into the Englischer Garten to once again eat some great seafood at the Seehaus.  This time, we switched meals, him getting the Heilbutt and me the Skreifillet.  Again, both were delicious, which wasn't a big surprise.

Tonight we tried out a new place called Spatenhaus an der Oper (Spatenhaus at the Opera), which is on the western side of Max-Joseph-Platz on the opposite side from the Bayerisches Nationaltheater (Bavarian State Theater or National Theater).  This is the first time we'd been to Max-Joseph-Platz even though it's right between Marienplatz and Odeonplatz, and it was actually really pretty.  The square was designed in the 1820s to the south of the Residenz.  In the center stands a statue of Maximilian I Joseph, the first king of Bavaria, who wrote the Bavarian constitution in 1818, the first of its kind in Germany.  The National Theater is modeled after a Greek theater, which is evident in the columns lining the entrance-way.  I tried to get a good picture of the National Theater, but I only had my phone.  I'll have to get a better one with my DSLR later.

Max-Joseph-Platz and the National Theater

Anyway, the restaurant.  We went here specifically because we're trying to go to all of the different brewer's restaurants, and we hadn't yet been to Spaten.  The food was pretty good, we both had a Bavarian sausage plate, which had sausages similar to the ones we got on the sausage plate at the Ratskeller before, and a Spaten Dunkel.  We were both starving and the food really hit the spot.  The restaurant itself was really cool inside.  It had some wooden floors and ceilings, white walls, and lightly-stained wooden tables and chairs.  It felt like we were really in Bavaria, which is good because we were.  The ceiling in part of the restaurant also had a pretty mural painted on the ceiling.  I got a couple pictures but not of the whole thing because I feel awkward taking pictures over people's heads while they're eating.  Good place to eat though; we'll have to go back.

Spatenhaus an der Oper

Spatenhaus an der Oper

Link to Flickr album

Hofbräuhaus

The Hofbräuhaus is probably the most well-known tourist attraction in Munich.  We were told by every single person at work who'd been to Munich that we have to go there.  Period.  Knowing that it was such a touristy place, we kind of avoided it for the first two weeks, but eventually gave in because we felt obligated.  Well, let me just start by saying this was probably the most memorable, weird, funny, and amusing meal we've had yet in Munich.  It was definitely worth going this one time.

The Hofbräuhaus began as an inn and brewery founded by Wilhelm V, the Duke of Bavaria, in 1589.  The whole entire building is rather large, and the many rooms and halls can fit over 2000 people.  According to my guide book, they serve 10,000 litres (17,600 pints) of beer every day.  We were told by every co-worker that the painted ceiling in one of the halls was actually painted over an old swastika, and that you could see the swastika bleeding through the paint.  Zach and I couldn't see it, but maybe we were just looking at the wrong ceiling.

Interior of the Hofbräuhaus. (Not my photo.)

Saying this place is a tourist attraction is a bit of an understatement.  There are countless numbers of people dressed in traditional Bavarian garb.  Lederhosen and dirndl dresses were prevalent with staff and customers alike, but it didn't stop there.  There were many people also dressed in odd costumes of all sorts.  We even saw the Pope!  To set the ambiance, there was a nice band playing traditional Bavarian music who where rudely interrupted in the middle of the night by another band that marched in through the front door playing very loud music and chanting drinking songs.  This band was dressed like a mixture of hobos, former German military, and Mad Max characters.  We had absolutely no idea whether or not they were affiliated with the Hofbräuhaus, but it was entertaining.

All of the tables were long beer-hall style tables, so you had to sit next to people you don't know.  We ended up sitting next to two women who were from LA on a 24-hour layover in Munich.  They first started talking to us because Zach had a Michigan shirt on and one of the women loves Michigan a lot, as she told us many times.  She referred to us for the rest of the night as Michigan and Boston.  She, along with just about every other tourist, wanted lots of pictures with the people dressed up in the traditional Bavarian clothes.  At one point I had to actually get up out of my seat because people wanted to squeeze in on my bench to take pictures.  Thankfully I was already done eating, so it was amusing rather than disruptive.

Oh yeah, we had food there too.  I almost forgot.  I had the Brewmaster steak of pork with sautéed onions and Bavarian-style potatoes au gratin.  That meal, along with the gigantic soft pretzel and liter of Hofbräu Dunkel (that was the smallest size they sold after 6 pm), was actually pretty good.  Not sure if we'll actually go back there because it was a pretty crazy dinner, but at least the food was good!