My week: May 1 ed.

This week I dropped everything and rattled around in Bavaria for some work events. I had a list of things to do and didn't get to complete them as I had intended, thanks to technology not functioning. That didn't mean that I just gave up and rolled over; I found some work-arounds, but I definitely didn't get to complete the tasks in the way that I wanted and expected to.

My coworker and I had a good time on the trip, though. He was amenable to eating at Mexican restaurants. One restaurant was good and the other was...entertaining. We weren't expecting much but should have known better when we had to go through rural Bavaria to find it. Even once we found the address, we were still confused because it was at what looked like a farm. Um, okay. After poking around in a confused manner, we found the restaurant and perused the menu, which was quite a trip.

The "Mexican" menu included pretty much everything...but actual Mexican food. Oh, there was "Mexican" pasta, all right, and Mexican Schnitzel (I kid you not), but the most "Mexican" food on the menu was what they called "tortillas," which we finally figured out were supposed to be some sort of burritos (kind of). So, with trepidation, we ordered them; a pork one for my colleague, and a vegetarian one for me. I had hoped for one with beans inside, but in a weird twist of parallel universe fate, the restaurant didn't have refried beans or rice, which are pretty much staples of Mexican cuisine. Oh, and we ordered nachos too.

I know better. Really, I do, but I'm stubborn. The nachos were those weird, German pseudo-Doritos, served with (literally) marinara sauce and something similar to Cheez Whiz. Oh boy. My burrito was a Turkish dürüm wrap with, as I had feared, a mix of (previously) frozen vegetables (cauliflower, corn, carrots, and peas). It didn't taste bad but it wasn't great either. My coworker's pork cousin of a burrito wasn't bad but wasn't Mexican either.

Overall, we had a good giggle because we pretty much figured that it would be way off, and it was. However, our waitress was incredibly friendly, nice, and attentive, which we really appreciated. We decided that it made quite the experience.

I'm sure some people will schimpf me for having the "audacity" to say that the Mexican food was way off since we're in Germany. Here's my thought on that: I have my right to my opinion, as you do yours. I feel that if a restaurant bills itself as X cuisine, it should actually try to make that type of cuisine, or at least say that it's GerMex or whatever makes sense to call the German take on Mexican food. (I say the same of American restaurants who do this.) For goodness sakes, take a trip to Mexico, or if one wants TexMex, Texas, and actually try the food. Consult with an actual Mexican chef; take lessons if need be. Failing that, at least find an authentic cookbook. It will have a positive effect.

-On Sunday, we attended the Wolfstein Culinary hike and experienced a huge range of weather in the several hours we visited. It was hot and sunny; it was cold and windy; it rained/snowed/sleeted and then cleared up. The weather couldn't figure out what to do! Despite that, we enjoyed the picturesque hike around the ridge with some wine and local specialties. This is the third time I've attended; with a 35 minute train ride, it's a pleasant weekend event to enjoy wine and a hike.