My constant companion and I have been going to the RBSH for Christmas Eve Goose Dinner since it opened. Although I wrote this piece years ago, and some of the personnel has changed, the moment of that goose arriving, and the warmth of Chef Alex Richter, his staff, and the festive ambiance have not changed one bit...
Chef Alex Richter, whose Christmas Eve Goose Dinner is legendary....wait 'til Karaoke starts up again on Mondays after New Year's
I'm gonna get killed for this...
A total Zen moment...
...followed by...
...preceded by...
Homemade sausages and pretzel.
Kind of woozy at this point...
There is nothing like a Christmas Eve goose dinner, and nowhere better to celebrate Christmas than in sunny Miami FLA. All thoughts of the North Pole drift away on the warm ocean breezes, and the palm trees sway along Biscayne Bay, where some sailboats are sliding under the raised drawbridge. They say that people in Miami don’t mind waiting in traffic for the boats to glide under the drawbridges, because everyone imagines that someday that will be them sailing by. In a small restaurant just off the water, if you look around and listen to the languages being spoken, you might be surprised, since this is Miami, NOT to hear Spanish, but German and Turkish. It’s as if Miami were a small German town near the water; and the aromas from the kitchen and the big black beers on the bar complete the illusion. It doesn’t hurt that the owner and chef, Alex Richter, is a hearty man, big and bald, and charmingly gap-toothed, a la Schwarzenegger, who stands behind the bar in his packed, yet comfortable, place, and chats amiably with friends and neighbors who sit at or near the bar. “Tesekur Ederim,” he waves to an older babushka-wearing woman, who is visiting from Turkey. Her daughter, Tuva, is the waitress here, and, as Mr. Richter waves his thanks, she explains that she hasn’t seen her mother in five years. A nice Christmas reunion. My wife and I happen to be lucky enough to live around the corner from The Royal Bavarian Schnitzel Haus, but it is the kind of place you must seek out, whatever the location. You are not going to leave the ‘Haus hungry, or thirsty, and you will remember your visit as warm and toasty, even if the weather outside is not ‘frightful!’ The special Christmas Eve menu included a “Portion of fresh crisp oven roasted Goose”, and we are lucky to get the last ‘portion’. It is a huge leg attached to a piece of breast (goose breasts don’t have an awful lot of meat), and it is the kind of thing that, even though it is as big as your forearm, you know that at some point you will have to pick it up and eat directly from the bone. When I do this halfway through the meal, the leg almost snaps off the breast (I swear my hands are15 inches apart holding this thing), and I envision it flying through the air and smacking a gentleman at the bar across the face. He must have seen it coming, too, because he flinched and ducked when the bones snapped. But let me start at the beginning, and of course that means the sausage. It is inconceivable not to start your meal with sausage, and Chef Richter makes his own. The ‘Original “Munich Weisswurst” with sweet Mustard’, is an unusually subtle, pale sausage, whose deep flavor is countered by its smooth texture. A tiny, tiny, dab of sweet mustard is almost more than this juicy wurst needs to disappear, and it is pleasantly light on the stomach. This is followed by a salad of winter greens dressed with warm goat cheese, which is a crunchy palate-cleanser. But the animal awaits. Sourcing goose in Miami is not the easiest thing to do, and Chef Richter gets his from up north. In fact, as he told me, his meaty and plump geese come from Pennsylvania, and are provided by none other than the Amish! I had previously been unaware of a ‘Miami-Amish connection’. Obviously you can’t just pick up the phone and order. The chef sends a letter to a neighbor of the family who raise the geese. The neighbor contacts the farmer, and he let’s the Chef know when the geese are ready. When Chef Richter had a Mother’s Day special of goose, the spring birds were a little skinny, so he is very happy with the plump winter birds he received for Christmas. The goose is roasted and served with red cabbage, reduced pan juices, and a potato dumpling the size of a lacrosse ball. All of the flavors are complementary, and, again, everything is substantial, but unexpectedly light. Even the dumpling, which is savory and flavorful, and the cabbage, red and semi-crunchy, have distinct flavors and textures. The goose is perfect, smelling of the oven and the farm; the leg moist and wild, with the meat attached to the bone the most succulent of all, demanding the aforementioned liftoff. It is not easy to gnaw on a goose leg in a crowded restaurant without losing your dignity, but it was essential, and worth it, my face smeared with goose fat, the King of Fat. Luckily, you are provided with a large and thick cloth napkin. All of this was washed down with a black German beer in a huge stein. The other entrée on the special menu was a baked seafood-stuffed salmon fillet, served with fresh vegetables and mashed potatoes. While not heavenly like the goose, it was nice to have something to eat while I waited for my wife to pass the plate with the bird back to me. There was a dessert and traditional Bavarian Gluehwein, a hot, spiced wine served in a festive mug, but by this time we had had our fill, and the desserts were graciously wrapped to go. The festive atmosphere and warm-hearted welcome stayed with us, and reminded us of our own Christmas party the night before, where we served traditional Venezuelan treats like pan de jamon and hallacas, and drank the Puerto Rican Christmas drink Coquito. World’s apart, but just around the corner.
Tables looked beautiful...
Hot spiced wine (Gluehwein) and cookies come before the traditional dessert. BEFORE THE DESSERT...
Yes there was a salad...
...and dessert...which we brought home for Christmas morning breakfast....
