"Oh, let's just go to Stromboli." An oft-heard phrase in our apartment on the Waldstrasse, especially on Friday nights. Stromboli is a "typischer Italiener", an Italian restaurant tucked into a corner of a neighborhood within walking distance of our place. It served pizzas, pasta and your typical Italian meat and potatoes. I especially liked the carpaccio, thin slices of raw beef with Parmesan shavings, lemon juice and olive oil.

So why am I writing about Italian food on a German site? Because Germans, just like Americans, eat out, and when they eat out they like ethnic restaurants, food they don't normally cook at home. And if you go to Germany, you'll find out quickly that "their" ethnic is not "our" ethnic. Until I lived in Germany, I had no idea that a Spanish tortilla was an omelette, or that you could or should put peas and eggs on your pizza. Pepperonis are little pickled peppers and ice tea doesn't come black, ever.

It's getting used to those little things that makes a visit or a stay in a foreign country interesting. It's also the other way around, of course. No quark here, the sauerkraut is mediocre, and where CAN you buy German bacon? Still, we muddle along, recreating as best we can and fondly remembering the good stuff.

For more information about buying real German products on line visit my "Buying Guide for German Products".

If you know of any special spot, a grocer or butcher, that sells German products or good knock-offs, go to the German Food forum and tell us all about them, where they are, their phone number, email, etc. It will be a great resource for everyone.

Photo of "Stromboli before dinner" copyright Flickr user Rasch2000