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Des Moines: Strudl Haus

My sister recommended Strudl Haus for its great breakfast pastries. It turns out to be a full service restaurant for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The décor and atmosphere are what you would expect in an elegant European restaurant. They hearken back to a day in which eating out was an occasional special event, not a thrice-daily habit. The chef seems to be Austrian, although I could be wrong.

They certainly do have a tantalizing array of pastries. I suspect that they serve breakfast in part because they are busy making pastries and breads for the rest of the day.

My coffee was served on this elegant tray.

Here are a selection of pastries that I was able to try: apple, vanilla, and apple strudel. The flaky crust was superb. The filling on the strudel was very apple-y, not overly sweet.

But the pastries were only a starter. For my main dish, I ordered an omelet with sausage. It came with this delicious roll and spreads. It also came with a glass of apple juice. The omelet was very tender. The sausage was wonderfully porky and just spicy enough to give the dish a good zing. The combination was outstanding. The service was very elegant and welcoming. My breakfast was a wonderful experience and I look forward to dinner on some other evening.

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