Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas Village 2012: Bratwurst & Steak Review



Unless you've been living under a rock or are from outside of Philly, you know that every year, from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, Love Park transforms into a Christmas Village! You have all sorts of vendors - perfect for the craft lover in all of us (just not me!). Of course, Christmas Village caters to my tastes as well - literally - I'm always down for sausages and pies stuffed with meat.


This particular stand is a mainstay of German fare - and indeed, you could tell that tourists speaking German were standing in line for some tastes of home, including Bratwurst and Thuringerwurst, which contains even more spices.


You could see two grills loaded up with fresh rolls and sausages - ready to feed the hungry masses.


Thuringerwurst ($6)


I went with the Thuringerwurst, which was a pork-based sausage, redolent with pepper, garlic, caraway, and marjoram. While the seasoning was a hit, the sausage did not have great snap to it. In fact, it lacked any texture at all.

The accompanying sauerkraut was vinegary, to be sure, but was cooked down more than I normally like. The roll was nice however, providing a counterpoint to soak up the heaviness of the sausage. It even had a nice crispy exterior thanks to the grill.

Potato Pancake ($5)


Unfortunately, the potato pancake was not much better. In fact, it was an even bigger let down. The pancake had no texture to it. Rather than a nice crisp exterior, the entirety of the pancake was greasy - evident in the above picture.

However, the sour cream broke up the greasy monotony of the pancake. The applesauce was a nice change in pace - especially with cinnamon sprinkled on top.


Overall, the Christmas Village is kitschy - filled with carolers and kids jumping up and down. There are a variety of vendors hocking various hand-made crafts and hot apple cider. It's a great place to take your kids and family to revel in the holiday spirit. However, the food does leave something to be desired.

You'll have better luck with the food trucks that may hopefully be parked on the SouthWest corner of Love Park. In fact, Vernalicious and The Dapper Dog were both there to satiate this glutton's tummy.

Christmas Village
1500 Arch Street
http://www.philachristmas.com/

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