Meat and Potatoes

Today's meaty essen 2 is brought to you by Xiaolei, one of the grad students helping me this summer. This meal is about as manly as you can get: meatballs and boiled potatoes.


Strangeness: 3/5
Deliciousness: 4/5 (according to our guest contributor)

But wait, there's more! I had essen 1 today, which was quite a treat. Essen 1 costs 2 euros, and you usually get an entree, a side, and dessert. Today's meal reminded me of the hamsters CDS made (tech alums know what I'm talking about): spinach encased by fried polenta, with corkscrew pasta and red sauce. It was served with a side salad and delicious lavender-blackberry yogurt. Overall, one of my favorite meals from the mensa!

Strangeness: 3/5
Deliciousness: 5/5

Hashbrowns and Salad

What a delightful juxtaposition of fried grease-soak deliciousness with green leafy goodness. And a side of sourcream!


Strangeness: 3/5
Deliciousness: 4/5

Szechwan Noodles

I love German cognates, because they sound like English words, except hilarious. Today's essen was nudeln with a sauce that smelled distinctly Chinese. The Germans do a pretty nice job with Chinese food.


Strangeness: 2/5
Deliciousness: 3/5

Minestrone

Today's meal gives me hope: although this meal is not too strange, I haven't eaten it in the mensa before. Minestrone and a wedge of bread, kind of like plain focaccia.

Strangeness: 2/5
Deliciousness: 3/5

'Pancakes' with Vanilla Sauce

Uh oh, I'm getting a little worried that I've exhausted the Essen 2 meals and won't have anything new to blog about for my remaining two weeks in Bremen. Today's meal was nearly the same as a meal a few weeks ago, but this time the crepes were topped with vanilla sauce instead of caramel. But I learned that I am mistaken in calling them crepes--these translate to pancakes, and crepes are a little different.


Strangeness: 3/5
Deliciousness: 3/5

Here's hoping for something new tomorrow!

Chili con Carne and Pretzel Bread

Wednesday's non-vegetarian Essen 2 is brought to you by a special guest judge, Priya's friend Aaron, who is in town for a few days. When I asked Aaron to rate his meal, he said he gave it a solid three and a half, and he grabbed an extra pretzel bread after hearing how much Priya and I like it.


Strangeness: 1/5
Deliciousness: 3.5/5

Over in Essen 1, I had the same margharita pizza I had on that very first day, but this time with a popsickle! I must say, the pizza is no chandler--it is more like frozen microwave pizza that you make for the kids you babysit. But it did the job, and I think the popsickle deserves an additional deliciousness point.


Strangeness: 2/5
Deliciousness: 4/5

Greek Salad and Pretzel Bread

Today (yesterday) the line for essen 2 was the longest I have ever seen! I knew I was in for something tasty. When I reached the front of the line, I was surprised to see... a salad. This flies in the face of every stereotype about German eating habits I know. Where was the wurst, the schnitzel, the beer, the sauerkraut?

I will just assume that everyone was in it for the pretzel bread, which itself costs 1 euro. Germans and their pretzels...

Strangeness: 1/5
Deliciousness: 4/5