Every once in a while, something out of the ordinary is can spark some fun and excitement. A few years ago, we discovered a quaint German restaurant in Waverly, Iowa called Martin's Brandenburg, which served authentic German cuisine. Now as Iowans and German Lutherans, we think we know about German cooking.   If we do not know, we fall back on the Amana Colonies as an example of German cooking. However, the Amana Colonies with their shops and restaurant, while a flavor of German life and cooking, is very commercialized and Americanized.

Martin Vollmer (photo on right) and his wife Beverly ran their small Waverly restaurant for 10 years and then retired about 18 months ago. However, Martin, who is from German and immigrated in the 1970s to Iowa, could not get the cooking bug out of his system. So once every month or so, Martin hosts a wonderful authentic German meal by email invitation. Since so many of our Christian friends at Grace Lutheran have a German background, we wanted to share the dates and menu items with you.

In fact, it had been 3 years since we visited Martin's Brandenburg and so Julie, Erik and I took advantage of the March 5th invite to go to the Landmark Commons on the southern edge of Waterloo via highway 21 and enjoyed some delicious German cooking on a Friday evening. We left at 5:00 pm for a 7:00 pm meal and were back home at 10:00 pm. Reservations do starts as early as 6:00 pm.

The next two dates for Martin's German meals will be April 6th, a Tuesday evening and May 15th, which is a Saturday evening. If people would be interested, we could car pool a group up to Waterloo, leaving as early as 4:00 pm for a 6:00 pm meal and be back by 9:30 pm. Tables typically sit 4 to 6 persons, but there is a room with seating for 10 people that might be reserved if early enough.

Here are some of the menu choices from the February and March meals listed below.  Julie and I can say the Saurebraten and Rinderroulade were very good. Nonalcoholic beverages are included in the price. The dinner prices include gratuity and are nontaxable. Dinner includes soup, salad, choice of entree, side dishes, dessert, and nonalcoholic beverage. Payment may be made by cash or check (they don't do credit cards).

The menu for March 5 included:

Soup: Schwarzwälder Brotsuppe - Black Forest-style Bread Soup

Salad: Bohnensalat mit Paperikaschoten -Bean Salad with Peppers

Choice of Entrees:

Gefüllte Rinderroulade -Stuffed Beef Roll with sautéed fresh vegetables in a rich red wine sauce $19

Wiener Schnitzel - Hand pounded and breaded, pan fried Veal Cutlet $18

Rheinischer Sauerbraten - Marinated sliced Roast Beef in a tangy Red Wine Raisin Sauce $17

Zarter Schweinebraten - Sliced Tender Roast Pork Loin $17

Gedämpfte Lachs Fillet - Poached salmon fillets in a Rhine wine sauce $20

Forelle "Belle Meniere" - Trout Fillet "Belle Meniere" $19

The menu for the February dinner included:

Soup: Weimarer Zwiebelmarktsuppe -Weimar-Style Onion Soup with Apples

Salad: Kartoffelsalat - Hot German Potato Salad

Choice of Entrees:

Schweinerahmschnitzel -Pork Cutlet in Cream Demi glace $17

Wiener Schnitzel - Hand pounded and breaded, pan fried Veal Cutlet $17

Rheinischer Sauerbraten - Marinated sliced Roast Beef in a tangy Red Wine Raisin Sauce $16

Zarter Schweinebraten - Sliced Tender Roast Pork Loin $17

Schlachtplatte mit Weinkraut -Assorted Sausage Plate with Wine Kraut $17

Besoffene Forelle -  Trout in White Wine $18

Perhaps we could place a sign up sheet at church for the May 15th dinner as the weather will be warmer and the days longer for driving.

God's blessings,

Perry Lund