Comfort Food: Euro Mash-Up Dinners

From a proper British roast beef supper to German-style goulash, these stick-to-your-ribs dinners wi

By Lorna Yee December 14, 2010

© Hayley Young Photography

If your fondest childhood memories consist of Ma proudly whisking off her apron and carrying the Sunday roast to the dinner table, you’ll love Fremont’s George & Dragon Pub for resuscitating this time-honored tradition. Every Sunday from 3 p.m. until it runs out, this British-style pub doles out platters of thick-sliced roast beef or pork with gravy, steamed vegetables, stuffing and a light, puffy Yorkshire pudding ($10.50).

Any dish that begins with sausages and mashed potatoes is pretty much guaranteed to be a home run. Order up the bangers and mash at downtown Irish pub Fadó and you’ll get just that. Two pork sausages, fried up until they’re almost bursting out of their snappy casings, come perched atop colcannon (Irish mashed potatoes with shredded sweet cabbage) for a mere $11.95. The dish is anointed with thick, savory onion gravy and peas for a meal that’ll take two
Guinnesses to finish.

The eastern Europeans have it right when it comes to comfort food—all that chewy, doughy spaetzle, those plump, juicy sausages, and the slow-braised red cabbage make for ruddy cheeks and joyful bellies. Find a bit of this happiness at Ballard’s People’s Pub, where, for $16, you’ll receive a plate of its tomato-based, garlicky goulash, tinged with paprika and full of nourishing chunks of Oregon beef. Spoonfuls of sour cream add richness, and a side of spaetzle ensures you’ll be pushing back your empty plate with a smile.

 

Follow Us