During our time in Germany, we were treated to red cabbage and spätzle at several different restaurants and in several different cities. We really enjoyed it as it was very different from what we had eaten here in the United States. So, when we came across Osso Buco with red cabbage and spätzle on a menu at a restaurant here in Scottsdale, Arizona, we decided to give it a try. It was certainly very good, but not quite as good as what we had while we were in Germany. They did their red cabbage with pears, which was fine, but we got used to having ours with apples and cinnamon that was just a little sweeter and not as tart. The spätzle was almost like gnocchi and didn’t look quite like what we used to, but again, it was still very tasty.

One of the realities of travel is that you get spoiled by the authentic food of the places that you visit. Then when you return to home, wherever that is, you can never quite get the same things. Even if the chef is authentically from the region or country, they likely can’t get the same exact quality or freshness of the ingredients and something is lost in the translation. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t or won’t continue to try and replicate the taste experience by cooking or ordering here in the US, but we’ll temper our expectations.