Sizzling bacon, frying eggs, the smell of hash browns and freshly brewed coffee lingering in the air: these scents and sounds epitomize an American breakfast. They’re what I look forward to on a Saturday morning, what I will always associate with starting the weekend off right. The American greasy spoon diner serves as affirmation that I’m not alone is this pleasure, and most American breakfast enthusiasts would agree that the greasier the diner, the better.

When traveling I often find that foods from home don’t properly translate in a foreign country. Withdrawal from what I know and love follows, and any potential substitute leads to disappointment and letdown, simply leaving me craving the things I’ve missed even more. In this day and age I can find almost any product abroad, but there’s always something missing, and it’s not until I return home that I will truly have that Saturday morning experience.

Well, it’s been almost six months since I’ve moved to Bonn, and despite my love for the American breakfast, there hasn’t been a day that I’ve missed it. In fact, I have quite the opposite reaction to homesickness when it comes to breakfast in Germany, because it’s the German breakfast that makes me feel as if I’ve come home. If ever there were a word for the opposite of feeling homesick, my relationship with breaking fast in Germany would embody this sensation. Move over, greasy spoon diner: A new cowboy has come to town.

The essential of German breakfast is of course the bread, which is nothing short of phenomenal. The indispensible foundation to this magnificent tradition can embody many different forms; however, with every foundation there must be quality building blocks, and in this case the building blocks for the German breakfast are a wonderful assortment of cured meats, probably better conceived by the American appetite as cold cuts.

You see, Germany is blessed with an overabundance of fertile land, which led to an excessive amount of livestock, and the only way to enjoy this abundance of nourishment was to find a way to preserve it – enter the German art of smoking, salting, and preserving meats. Just as bakeries are all too common in Bonn, so butcher shops are fairly easy to come by in this town. It’s in these meat sanctuaries that I have found some of the most amazing cured (and fresh) meats known to mankind.

If you find a gem like Haupt in Bonn’s Altstadt (“old town”), home to butchers who make most of their own cured meats, offer a wide selection of sausages and are more than happy to walk you through their many offerings, then you’ll be hard pressed not to have an amazing meal. From garlic salami to wild boar sausage to cured meats with schnapps like Kirschwasser, these homemade cold cuts and sausages are of top quality and offer a wonderful way to enjoy a true German breakfast. Always sliced freshly to order, German butcher meats are richer, fuller, and more natural tasting than what I’ve had at home. Many hundreds of years of curing tradition easily comes across in a piece of fresh cut salami or summer sausage – always moist, tender and full of vibrant flavors.

If you want to opt out of savory, Germany offers plenty of sweet breakfast options, including nutella, jams and marmalades. You might accompany your breads and meats with a soft-boiled egg, along with a delicious cup of coffee. Cheeses are also essential. They come in hard and soft-spread varieties, and are best enjoyed along with meats and perhaps some cucumbers or tomatoes. In typical German fashion you’d start with bread, maybe spread on some butter, layer that with some nice cheese, and top that off with any variety of cold cut. If you’re truly zealous, you could add some veggies on top of that. Start your day with any of these combinations, and you are guaranteed a wonderful day.

When back in the U.S. I’ve tried to recreate German breakfast, but it never seems the same. Maybe it’s the atmosphere of Europe that’s missing. Maybe the quality of the meats and breads simply can’t match that of their German counterparts. Then again, maybe it’s the unnatural feeling of being homesick in my own country – I may be able to cook up some bacon and eggs, but as long as I’m in the States, I’ll never be able to truly recreate that German Saturday morning experience.

Haupt Metzgerei
Adolfstr. 51
53111 Bonn
+49 0228 / 633616

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This entry was posted on Monday, August 2nd, 2010 at 10:18 am and is filed under Bonn.