|Dinnele|
There was one question floating through my mind the night of December 8th. As I approached the counter of the Dinnele stand, I wondered, “can anything be worth this wait?” The Weihnachtsmarkt is about quick release, instant gratification, and snap indulgences. The Dinnele hut, however, routinely has lines stretching throughout the market. Some poor souls have, according to legend, even waited for longer than an hour to receive the pizza-like delicacy. Indeed, Dinnele is merely a thin bread dough topped with a sour cream-type sauce as the first layer, followed by onions and Appenzeller cheese (an herbal brine cheese originating in Switzerland). This dish is of course not to be confused with Flammkuchen, another thin-crust pizza variation (to be tried later). So, as the timer on my phone passed the 24 minute mark and I finally approached the counter, I was very curious about the hype. The counter looked like this:
There was a large bell the workers would ring the moment a new batch was ready. They would shout at each person in front of the counter, begging each citizen to accept whatever variation of Dinnele had just emerged from the oven. It was chaos. Finally, after 26 ice cold minutes, I emerged into the Market, Dinnele in hand, ready to experience the magic. Was it worth it?
It was. The dough was certainly unique enough that I could understand why it has a name of its own, and the combination of the white sauce with the nutty cheese and onions was a taste I had never experienced before. It tasted like Germany in a bite. If I could do it all over again (which I can) I would have ordered two or three Dinnele and tried some additional variations, perhaps with potatoes or bacon. All in all, 26 minutes in sub-zero temperature is a lot to ask of a person, but when the result is a genuinely unique experience – unique enough for me to accept that it has any name other than “pizza” – it’s certainly worth the wait.
Dinnele Scores
Taste 🎄🎄🎄🎄
Price 🎄🎄🎄
Fullness 🎄🎄🎄
Nick Denardi 