This Week in the Mercury

The Creepiest Love Songs of All Time

Music

The Creepiest Love Songs of All Time

A Special Valentine's Day Playlist


Take Your Medicine

Music

Take Your Medicine

The Pharmacy's Rock and Roll Lifestyle



  |  

Friday, September 18, 2009

Food Scappoose Means Sauerkraut!

Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Fri, Sep 18, 2009 at 1:34 PM

sauerkraut.jpg

There are few foods that I love as much as I love sauerkraut. The reasons for my affection are numerous. Among them are the facts proper sauerkraut is a live food made with beneficial microbes, it keeps for a very long time, and it pairs ridiculously well with encased meat products.

If I could I’d put sauerkraut on just about everything, but timidity and a sense of decorum prohibits full-scale sauerkraut abuse in my everyday life. I’ll use kraut on sausage, of course, but it’ll also accompany many other meats and meaty dishes. My favorite application is using it to top slices of pepperoni pizza. I haven’t tried it on the pepperoni pizza from Wy’east (reviewed in this week’s Last Supper), but thoughts of kraut paired with the funk of Otto’s Sausage Kitchen pepperoni and sharp Pecorino Romano cheese produce a powerful hunger.

September is the beginning of a kraut-lovers favorite season. As trees color-up, here and there the cooling air is thick with the smell of grilling Bratwurst and warming Oktoberfest Beirs. Make no mistake, I love the summer fruit festivals, but I feel much more connected to the fall and winter fests dedicated to vegetation more accustomed to the cold and dark, and the meats meant to add insulation for the frigid months.

That’s why I’m beside myself with excitement about attending tomorrows Scappoose Sauerkraut Festival. It’s like some kind of dream come: Booth after booth of kraut dishes and kraut related products from 10 am to 6 pm. Though sponser Scappoose Community Club fails to give an address for the event on its webpage, I’m assuming it’s in Heritage Park, which also hosts the Scappoose Farmers Market.

The website does, however, include this tantalizing sentence “Come try the special Scappoose Sandwich and see what all the fuss is about. Expect to wait in line, but it’s worth it!” Consider it done.

While the Scappoose fest is the only one during the season solely dedicated to Sauerkraut, there are a bevy of krauty festivals happening around the region, most of them Oktoberfests.

Hit the jump for a short list of Best Bets.

I’m willing to bet that almost every state has a special German town, wherein you can watch the Glockenspiel, eat a special chicken dinner, and buy Christmas ornaments in Germanic Tudor-style buildings. Ours is Mt. Angel. Not far from Portland, Mt. Angel is reported to have one of the biggest, and most fun Oktoberfests in the entire state. It began yesterday, but runs through Sunday. Get ready to do the chicken polka!

I have this tradition where every time I drive back from the airport after a long trip, I’ll stop into Gustav’s on Sandy to have a beer, some fondue, and some schnitzel strips. Though I was sad when they did away with the dirndls, I still consider Gustav’s a fun place to stop and load up on fatty goodness. I have never been to their Oktoberfest (held the last full weekend in September) but I have a feeling it would be a damn good time. I mean, pork knuckles and kraut? Fuck yeah!

I have heard legendary tales of Oaks Park Oktoberfest (Sept. 25th to 27th). How can you deny the power of beer, oompah bands, wiener dog races, and a host of spinning, careening amusement rides? You can’t. It’s impossible.

Further in the future, I have my sights set on the Verboort Sausage and Sauerkraut dinner. I’d never heard of this magical place called Verboort (a mere 15 miles from Portland) or of its magical sausage and kraut extravaganza before today. From what I can glean, the dinner takes place the first weekend in November, and is by all accounts a glutton’s paradise. The Verboortians make their own kraut and sausage and sell it in bulk beginning at 9 am (though the line has been known to start at 3 am). Bulk sales aside, $15 will get you admission to an all-you-can-eat sausage feast that includes the famous sausage, kraut, mashed potatoes and whatever else is coming out of the kitchen.

I’m thinking about setting up a Mercury field-trip to this event. I’ll keep you krautheads posted. In the meantime, how are you enjoying your sauerkraut these days?

 

Comments (3) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
Oh man, kraut pierogies are always worth the inevitable consequences.
Posted by atomic on September 18, 2009 at 2:57 PM · Report
2
When I was a kid, I desperately wanted to work at Rhinelander/Gustav's so that I could wear a dirndl and yodel. Still kinda do.
Posted by Hollyanna on September 18, 2009 at 5:38 PM · Report
3
You know you didn't seem to mention the "beer garden" that happens during the Verboort Sausage fest. It's ridiculously awesome. They throw you onto school buses (yes the yellow ones we all try to forget from our early scholastic days) and bus you outside the city limits (the town is dry) to an outdoor gun club in the fields where you stand around flaming barrels of wood and drink coors light (they also have franzia) until you are ready get bussed back to eat a huge platter of sausage, kraut, mashed potatoes, green pies and pie. Did you also mention that the Verboort Sausage Fest is all you can eat sausage and kraut?!! In the early days of fall there is nothing better than cheap beer followed by heaping mounds of fresh and delicious sausage. And the proceeds supposedly benefit the schools in that area. You can't go wrong on this one.
Posted by dejvicka on September 25, 2009 at 8:05 PM · Report

Add a comment

Our Friends

Our Enemies

/images/adoftheweek.gif

ad of the day

The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.go


post an ad

All contents © Index Newspapers, LLC

115 SW Ash St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97204

Contact Info | Privacy Policy | Production Guidelines | Terms of Use