Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Fun Find - Bavarian food... at the mall?

The other day while walking around a local mall, my boyfriend and I decided to stop at this quaint little Bavarian deli just across the main food court.  We've seen this place before, and it looked intriguing, but we had never popped in until now.  Amongst the stale, plaster walls of the mall, this little brick-lined deli is cozily tucked in between a Radio Shack and a Journey's shoe store.  Just one step in, and you don't feel like you're in a mall any more.  There are Bavarian goodies, such as cookies, cake mixes, and canned goods, lining the shelves, and dried meats and cheeses hang from the ceiling.  There are a few tables and a counter where you can order food from their Bavarian menu (with a few non-Bavarian items, such as a Cuban sandwich... Only in South Florida....)  Items include knockwurst, bratwurst, bockwurst, leberkase, German-style potato salad, and an array of sandwiches including a classic reuben and egg salad, and of course, apple strudel.  At the counter, you can order a nice cold glass of Warsteiner beer, which pours out from a pretty large and elaborate tap.  Across the dining counter is a deli counter from which you can buy an array of Bavarian deli meats and cheeses.  There were deli meats (including various wursts) and cheeses that I'd never seen before, but that I would love to try some day.

So as we sat down to eat, we decided to order some traditional fair -- bockwurst and leberkase with a side of sauerkraut, German potato salad, and fresh pumpernickel bread.  We'd never tried bockwurst and leberkase, so we were very interested to taste them.  The bockwurst is veal sausage, and it was very juicy and flavorful, especially with some thick, grainy mustard and the freshest sauerkraut I've ever tasted.  The leberkase was good to try, but not my cup of tea.  It's really just like a less salty version of spam.  The potato salad was good, too - thin slices of potato in a sweet, vinegar-based dressing, with little bits of bacon or some other smoked meat.  And the bread.... OH, the bread!  The pumpernickel was so fresh and just the perfect texture!  I think it might have been some of the best "regular" sliced bread I've ever tasted -- I wanted to marry that bread.  Unfortunately, they ran out of apple strudel.  I'll definitely have to try that next time.

So if you're ever in the Boynton Beach area and just happen to be at the Boynton Beach mall, you should definitely check out Bavarian Colony.  Don't be put off by the deli's strange location.  It's a unique & pleasant surprise amongst commercial, factory-made surroundings.

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