Churrasco Shop breezes through Germany, Austria, and Belgium.
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Germany
Talk about a land where people seem hungry for churrasco, the German palatinate seems so primed to explore good Brazilian bbq.
The German word for meat is fleisch, literally translated, flesh. A Fleisher is a butcher. So if you know anyone with that last name, that’s most likely what their great-great grandfather did back in the Rhineland. Before hopping on a boat over to the new world.
The Germans love meat. They consume it for nearly every meal, and vegetables and fruits are consigned to a cursory role in the kitchen and on the plate. I’m just recently coming back from a vacation over in Germany, driving a new car around with my father that we picked up at the factory. Everywhere we went, we saw roasted meat. Usually, pig knuckles, or plenty of meat dished either roasted or fried. Dripping in a heavy cream sauce usually with mushrooms.
Not that these aren’t good things, they’re delicious! But after a week of pork or beef medallions in a mushroom cream sauce, the palate begins to cry out for change.
Austria
Austria, on the other hand, does not offer a real diversity of food choices. They basically are between traditional Austrian and a little Italian food for flair.
One can see the food of other ethnicities on display, but they’re relatively rare. What these countries seem to need is a more basic and raw approach to the same ingredients they’re already using. And Brazilian bbq might just be the way to get there. I saw several restaurants roasting pork on spits, and had a delicious although overly brined roasted suckling pig in Antwerp as our trip concluded.
I saw several restaurants roasting pork on spits. Also had a delicious although overly brined roasted suckling pig in Antwerp as our trip concluded. Along our entire route, I only witnessed one Argentinian steakhouse using a parilla grill, not a proper churrascaria.
Belgium
One of the nights of our travel, we ended up at a steakhouse in Belgium. It was delicious to have a basic steak seasoned with nothing more than salt. Not treading water in a thick heavy sauce. It was grilled on a large grate in front of a roaring fireplace. I could taste the meat for the first time yet again, and it was delicious.
As Churrasco Shop breezes through Germany, it reminded me so much of churrasco and how much I missed its basic simple nature.
I know Europe is slow to change. But I’m curious as to what it will take to change minds on this continent to wake up to what they’re missing.
No Fields Found.