Kortumstube

The more I travel, the least curious I became. I'm no longer adventurous, I eat mostly at the same restaurant, visit the same pub/ bar, going to the same coffee house, sitting at the same spot and shop at the same place I no longer fancy myself in trying out new places unless it is being vouched by someone and they swear on the names of their ancestor.

I guess the main reason being, I figure that I no longer had much time in the day to try things and figure out if I like it or not. The responsibilities from work takes a toll, and that little time left afterwards has to be split between taking care of your health, and self-enrichment activities e.g. reading a book, online classes, Netflix or even some time for gaming or switching off your brain, in order not to feel like a Zombie.

Hence, when I got an invitation to have a meal at a German restaurant, I was pretty much reluctant and hesitant to say yes. I even pause to try and figure out a good excuse to say no.

Well I'm glad I didn't.. because the food is great and on top of that getting to know new people and socializing. I'm not saying that this did not tired me out.. I basically spent the next 3 days being alone as my quotas are fully used up, and I got so tired of potatoes.

The Restaurant that I went to is called ' Kortumstube' , if that even mean something I'm not sure I tried to google but I found nothing. Anyways.. The restaurant sits in the middle of the old town 'Altstadt' of Muelheim an der Ruhr, and is a 17th century old house, with the interior decor out with wood and it feels cozy and warm... a bit too warm on a summer month, and has no air-conditioning which is a fucking disaster when there's no direct breeze and is hot outside. Of course you could always choose to be seated outside, to enjoy the sun and the breeze but not that day, not for us, we had a table indoor. Hence I'm sweating bucket and I can feel sweat dripping down my butt crack.

So do bear in mind, if you are ever in Europe, there's still plenty of places that are not air-conditioned, and in case they do, they will specifically highlight it, when you check them out on Google. And do ask for a really chilled beer to take the heat off. In my case a Radler (1 part beer and 1 part of lemon soda) was a good choice as I'm not planning on getting drunk, knowing the size of their glass here in Germany.

The restaurant serves authentic and traditional German cuisine, which is great as my German food knowledge stops at Currywurst, Schnitzel, Kartoffelbrei and Döner (which is more of Turkish btw). I don't know most of the items on the menu, I can read some German and I practically understand what they are trying to say but as someone foreign, I don't really know how they would taste like and if is too my liking e.g. too salty, too sweet, too sour, too gravy, too dry, or just too gross.. all this are not well written or describe in the menu. As we are the only dumbass that seated indoor, hence I couldn't peak on what the next table is ordering, so yeah.. let's role the dice, and I surrender my fade to the kindness of my German friends, whom I whole heartedly believe is not trying to serve me with some mystery meat. For the very least, I know there's the comforting potatoes that you could count on in the event the other food doesn't cut out for you.

For starters, we had ordered onion soup (Zwiebelsuppe), the top of the soup is covered with grated cheese and bread crumbs and was then baked in the oven. The soup is thick and the onion is sweet with slight peppery taste. I felt even warmer after the soup in that already warm room.

For sharing we have a platter of potato pancakes (Reibekuchen) that serves along with smoked salmon and cream horseradish. The potato pancakes smells real good, the moment it was out, the smell fills up the air immediately. Reibekuchen also known as Kartoffelpuffer is a comfort food for the Germans, is crispy on the outside and savory on the inside, you can hardly get enough of it. The smoked salmon and horseradish makes it a good pairing as it gives layer of texture and the horseradish gives an acidic zing to it and neutralize oiliness.

Since I'm the foreigner there, I'm like the perfect excuse for them to over order, hence come another plate of Mushroom (Champignons), the mushrooms are stuffed with spinach and top with grated cheese and baked in the oven. Which in simple term, a fat bomb. The moment you slice it, the fat just oozes and you felt like you swallow a stick of butter when you put in your mouth, don't get me wrong it taste great! But just way too much fats for me, and my brain was immediately giving me the signal that I'm done!

For my main, I ordered the same as my friend. Schnitzel with sesame panade with Kronstadt style ( fresh mushroom, bacons, onions and garlic). Oh Boy... the amount of potatoes is definitely not for the faint-hearted. I couldn't finish my food, the pork schnitzel is great but is just too dry, I ended up liking the bacon with asparagus wrapping the most, the champignons is moist and is definitely a good pairing with the super dry schnitzel, however after the FAT BOMB I just had, the after taste of mushroom and butter was just too much for me and is definitely a game over. I hardly touched the potatoes. I basically order a coke to wash it down.

One worthy mentioned was the dish that the other friend ordered called heave and earth (Himmel und Erde)…. the only fancy name on the menu that gives you no fucking clue about what it was if you don't read the description. The dish is made out of mash potatoes, blood sausage aka black pudding, apple wedges, braised onion and brown sauce (which is a demi-glace from browning bones and vegetables). The black pudding is something that I would recommend, the taste is sophisticated and is hard to describe, it taste like mud, metallic, meaty, bitter and rich. We had similar blood related type foods in Asia that's cooked in different ways. I guess I could understand where the earth part is coming from on the name now, and I guess the heaven part would mean the apple wedges then which is pluck from the trees.

And here's a snap of the menu, of all the items listed which has a literal meaning except for 'heaven and earth'.

All in all, the place has a good vibe and feels cozy, despite the mild discomfort due to the unavailability of AC during a summer month, the place is genuine, serves great food and drinks which is perfect for people to hangout and catch up and most likely packed during the winter months. I would go there again if I am ever back in Muelheim and my quotas for potatoes, cheese, butter has been reset.