The Amana Colonies were founded in the 1800's by German members of a religious commune. Industrious people, they went into a number of businesses over the years to supplement their farm income: refrigerators (yes, that Amana refrigerator), woodworking tools, tourism. Ronnenburg has become my favorite restaurant in Amana, although I must admit that I have several more to try.
My meal started with a selection of side dishes. All of them were superb: the cottage cheese was wonderfully doctored; the cole slaw was superb; the beets were mouth-poppingly good; the bread was, of course, wonderful.
My main dish was this outstanding sauerbraten. The hint of sourness really perks up the dish and complements the wine and beef very well. Good sauerbraten isn't easy to find in this country and this is an excellent example.
I of course had to order dessert. My rhubarb pie was perfect in both crust and filling.
Luella's is a nouvelle BBQ outfit on the north side of Asheville. It is nestled among the trees in a lovely neighborhood. The restaurant has lots of windows for inside seating and plenty of outside seating. Service was courteous and amazingly fast. This is a combination plate with pork and brisket. Both were very moist and tender. For the pork, I tried both the mild and hot vinegar sauces. To my surprise, I preferred the milder one because it didn't assert itself too much. I enjoyed the spicy tomato sauce for my brisket. The hushpuppies were very good. The fried okra was fresh out of the fryer and excellent. The slaw was of the vinegary variety, which I usually enjoy, but this version is heavy on the white stuff and didn't have quite enough variety in tastes for me.




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