Food is very important
to the people of Hesse, the federal state that Frankfurt
belongs to. It's no strange coincidence that the city's main
causeway is referred to as Freßgass, Glutton
Alley. Here we will provide you with information on the specialties
in Frankfurt gourmet and fast food restaurants, cafes, bars
and on traditions in these places. For more information, you
can visit our Frankfurt
Restaurant Guide.
Specialties
Variety is an important
characteristic when it comes to food served at the local festivals
and celebrations: among the specialties you will find sausages
with sauerkraut, grüne Soße, a green sauce
made with herbs, and the mythical Handkäs mit Musik
(hand cheese with music), a soft, very smelly cheese
topped with a lot of onion. The typical Hesse drink is Ebbelweii
, cider served in jugs called Bembel. (One of
the most well-known Ebbelwei or Äppler
wine producing companies is Possmann).
Restaurants for
the gourmet public
Frankfurt has an extremely
wide array of options for the gourmet public, ranging from
modern eating houses serving exotic dishes to local diners
with delicious home made cooking. There are also many places
serving specialties from the Balkan region, Greece and Turkey
, besides the classic Italian, French and Oriental dishes.
Although low in numbers, some restaurants offer Russian cuisine
and dishes from other former socialist countries such as Hungary,
Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Sachsenhausen, on the north
bank of the Main River, is a cuisine area devoted to typical
dishes - such as smoked pork chops or the frankfurter, the
original sausage with green sauce served with boiled meat
or eggs; this area is a must-see for those who enjoy the good
life. Most restaurants are situated in an area known as Alt
Sachsenhausen, a network of streets around the Affentor
square, where stores selling cider (Apfelwein
o Ebbelwoi ) also abound.
In the mood for
a snack?
The best places to go
for a quick bite are the Imbiss, fast food bars where you
eat standing at the bar, served with a variety of meatballs,
sauces, hamburgers and potatoes; the best also offer soups,
cutlets, chops, barbecued chicken and salads. Many eating
places (Gaststätte, Gasthaus, Gasthof, Brauhaus or Wirtschaft)
belong to a beer brewery and serve as a meeting place, ideal
for a drink and most importantly, inexpensive. They serve
home made German cooking and servings tend to be generous.
Main dishes are based on pork, generally of prime quality,
with a large variety of sauces on the side. On Grosse Bockenheimer
Street you will come across the most elegant and sophisticated
restaurants.
Cafes
and bars
Elegant cafes are extremely
popular in Germany and offer an assortment of espressos, cappuccinos
and mocha with cream pastries and cakes. The Kneipen
or bars can be found all over the city and therefore so can
the Kneipenkultur or café culture. Before
or after going to the theatre it is common for people to get
together in a bar or decide not to go to the theatre after
all if they feel comfortable at the bar with friends and great
conversation is going on.
Etiquette at a
bar or restaurant
When entering an eating
place, feel free to choose the table that appeals the most
to you. Only in a few restaurants it is customary for the
owner or one of the waiters to show you to an available table.
Should all be taken you can always ask someone if they mind
you sitting at their table. Bread and water are not included
with the meal so you will have to order and pay for that especially.
A tip and complimentary remark also form a part of Germany
's unwritten rules. Round up the number when it implies a
small sum, less than 5 euros. In the case of a larger sum,
simply leave a few euros as the tip. The norm would be around
7 percent.
