Last weekend we enjoyed dinner with our friend Michael at Affäre, a delightful restaurant focused on “modern German” food in Kansas City’s Crossroads Arts District.
Our evening began with wine, specifically the Colterenzio Schreckbichl Pinot Nero 2011. This wine is from the Alto Adige – Sudtirol region of northern Italy near the Dolomites, where German is spoken as frequently as Italian. We also enjoyed a bottle of Becker Pinot Noir from Pfalz, Germany.
The menu consists of small plates. We started with selections from the ‘Garden” and ‘under Water’ sections of the meun.
Seared almond crusted golden trout, with arugula and purple potatoes. Beautiful and delicious.
Scallop with foie gras and hollandaise served with wild mushrooms. Mr. Jones practically licked his plate.
Oktoberfest, Black Forest Schinken, roasted squash, beans, beets, walnuts and poached pear. This seemed to “chopped” to allow the ingredients to shine.
On to the second course, two of us choose from the “Affäre in the Barn” section of the menu.
Roasted Wacholderbeeren (juniper berry) rubbed elk-loin, with butterspätzle.
Veal loin with Westphalia ham and mozzarella, arugula risotto, and basil oil.
The menu also features some traditional German dishes. I had to try the Jägerschnitzel.
The crispy breaded pork with mushroom cream sauce was overcooked, but still delicious.
Espressos are served just like we remember from our visits to Germany: with a glass of sparkling water and a sweet on the side.
At this point, we were full, but could resist the temptations of the dessert list.
The Käsesahne Torte, described as quark cheese mousse cake, proved unexpectedly delicious.
The Chocolate Mousse Tower was described as a chocolate mousse trio with sea salt infused caramel. It was beautiful to look at, but didn’t seem very chocolatey or mousse, but rather more cake-like. This dessert is also double the price of some of the others on the list.
Our German friend decided to go with a traditional German dessert: the traditional black forest cake. This version came with a shot of Kirsch-brandy to pour over the cake.
He gave the dessert a thumbs up.
The Bottom Line:
If you are in Kansas City, head to the Crossroads Arts District to try Affäre. It’s not your typical midwest German fare or a typical dining expereience.
What’s your favorite German food? Share in comments below.
Other dining and drinking posts that you might enjoy:
- An Evening at Le Cirque onboard the Veendam
- House of Morandé, Casablanca Valley, Chile
- Cruising into Bordeaux, France
- A Taste of Barcelona in an Atlanta Wine Bar
- A Perfect Lunch in Sonoma Wine Country
- Martini Madness Onboard Holland America’s ms Veendam
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