Eat The Menu: Spargel Season

Here’s a clue when glancing at a menu in a German restaurant: If it starts with S, it’s likely to be delicious. (Think Strudel, Schnitzel, Sauerräten, Spätzle, Sachertorte.) And if it starts with S and is served only in spring, grab it: it’s spargel.

Spargel translates to the season’s fresh asparagus, venerated from the German kitchens of humble wine cellars to those flaunting Michelin stars. There are spargel statues on town squares, spargel queens at special festivals, and spargel serving utensils and fancy platters on sale everywhere. The venerated veg itself is sold at roadside stands, unearthed that very day from the black dirt covering its stalks — kept pale as they grow to Lincoln Log dimensions, shielded from the sun’s dose of greening chlorophyll.

But Germany’s a stretch on my time and budget this season, so I headed to the Black Forest Inn to indulge in its annual, 10-day-long special menu worshiping this saint of vegetables. (Here it’s the customary slender green stalks we raise in Minnesota, of course — not those whities of Baroque dimensions.)

On the Black’s special menu, there’s even a Spargeltini on offer, so why not? One taste answered that. So I ordered the Bloody Asparamary instead, festooned with a perky stalk as a stirrer. Just fine. (As was my companion’s glass of Gruner Veltliner, if that suits your palate better.)

First off, a bowl of fresh asparagus soup, billed as a “creamy delight,” but basically, pure pureed vegetable sans the heaviness of butterfat, and mighty tasty ($9).

Entrees run from a fish and spargel sandwich or a spargel, barley and (what???) pineapple-mint salad to spargulash or chili con spargel. But I was hankering for the classic combo: spargel, boiled new potatoes and a huge beaker of uber-buttery Hollandaise sauce. Here, the menu adds a 10-ounce New York strip steak to that creation ($39). Not in the mood for red meat, so I passed.

Instead, how about the spargel Cordon Bleu? This saucy little number ($24) presents two ample bundles of asparagus wrapped in Swiss cheese and slim leaves of sweet ham, then given a quick dip in the deep fryer. On the side is a little pitcher of a creamy mustard-mayo sauce, perhaps the next-best thing to Hollandaise. Plus a side dish of pickled asparagus, which I was ready to brush off until I took my first bite. The gentle perk of vinegar and dill is pretty inviting, after all.

As our second entree, we picked the spargel, artichoke and mushroom strudel, featuring all of the above, plus onions, served in a gossamer cloak of puff pastry. It’s my new fave. Plus, it supposedly comes with a side of pickled beets, but our kind server substituted a side of crispy, inviting asparagus slaw.

Tip: If you wish to go the classic route as practiced in Germany, simply order a side of steamed asparagus ($9) and Hollandaise ($2.50). Then you’ll have room for the Black Forest’s year-round mains, ranging from bratwurst to sauerbraten; from schnitzels to pork shank to liver and onions and loads more.

Oh, yes — the Spargel menu includes a unique Viennese-style cheesecake topped with candied asparagus and almonds ($9). “You’ll be amazed at how delicious it is! Yum!” states the menu, which apparently convinced the room’s other diners, because when it came to our turn, the kitchen was sold out. I’ll know better next year. In the meantime, their oh-so-pretty patio is now open. (BTW, when my friend phoned to request a reservation, the nice lady who answered responded, “Yay!” What a nice welcome!)

Black Forest Inn
1 E 24th St. (at Nicollet Avenue)
(612) 872-0812
blackforestinnmpls.com