|Reibekuchen|

This year I don’t want to cruise through the Christmas season. I don’t want to enjoy just enough cheer and just enough holly-jollies to barely make it to February without already forgetting what happened in the month-long haze of meats, cheeses, desserts, and wine that we call the “Holiday Season” proper. So for posterity’s sake, my exploits this season will be captured in the form of this series: 14 Days of Weihnachtsmarkt, wherein each day of the first two weeks leading up to Christmas (I am taking a small trip on the 15th), I will try a different food at the local Christmas Market in Mainz, Germany where I am studying. So, let the indulging begin.

Day 1: The Grand Opening

People in Germany are different when the Christmas Markets open. They’re not just nicer, but nicer in an aggressive way. In fact, one could say they’re almost angry at how much they love Christmas. They’re Christmas Puritans, and their Jeremiad is one in which the apocalypse only occurs if citizens do not partake of enough Glühwein in the weeks preceding the holy day. Morning, noon and night the villagers find excuses to cut through whichever Market is closest to their work or homes. I have yet to stumble through a Market at any hour and not see somebody completely bombed out of their wits. For 24 days, this is the way of life. And this year, I’m seeing if I can handle it for even half that time.

I visited the Weihnachtsmarkt a little late on the 1st, utilizing it in the preferred local way: as a glorified pre-game. Knowing that the night ahead would be full of terrors and many liters of beer, I opted for Reibekuchen as the first Weihnachts-meal of the month. It’s a simple dish that has many names, “Potato Pancakes” being the one most Americans will have heard of. I made my way through the crowd (the nearness of the Reibekuchen hut being another factor in the choice) and up to the line. An exchange of currency here, a token there, and a trading of said token for three big potato pancakes and a choice of sauce. I inadvertently chose the garlic sauce – not a huge mistake but certainly a rookie move, and went on my way.

They were very, very good. These puppies were crispy on the outside, mushy on the inside, perfectly tear-able and insanely filling. They were the ideal rock of absorption for the night to come, and for a crazy cheap price. There were no surprises here, just a good thing done right. But, as everyone within a 10 foot radius told me (and as my grandma taught me), I really should have chosen the applesauce.

Reibekuchen Scores

Taste  🎄🎄🎄  

     Price 🎄🎄🎄🎄

Fullness  🎄🎄🎄🎄