There’s this German restaurant near Fort Dix that I see every once in a while and think, “I’d like to try that.”
So I figured out a bike ride.
Five of us left from Byron Johnson Park in Allentown and rolled for 22 roundabout miles on Burlington County backroads and a bit of the Kinkora Trail, past horse farms and more to reach Sebastian’s Schnitzel Haus in Wrightstown.
Oh my gosh, the walls. And rafters. Covered with beer steins and more. Did I spot a Bembel, a steel-gray-and-blue ceramic pitcher for Apfelwein (apple wine), the local drink from my Frankfurt days? (Frankfurt also used to have a large U.S. military presence.)
And then the dolls by our table. Some looked a lot like those my father brought home from trips to Italy when I was little.
Really, just something everywhere. Even in the ladies’ room. Maybe there’s room somewhere to squeeze in a few more things?
I didn’t inspect the Christmas tree. Because there is one of those too.
As for the food …. we are talking hearty German fare. The weekday lunch specials, roughly $16.50 to $17.95, included big bowl of potato soup or a German salad to start, then a schnitzel (pork or veal), a spinach-and-pork-stuffed slice of roast pork, or sausages for the main course. Tough choice, but I went for stuffed pork over schnitzel. Spaetzle on the side … yum!
Was there anything for vegetarians? Maybe the pierogis would be OK?
I know, some of you would say this is way too much food for a bike ride. But we checked out the desserts anyway. I split the last slice of Apfelstrudel. But I skipped the ice cream on top; are you proud of me?
The lunch menu is far more limited than the dinner options. Cheaper too.
Oh, check out this special:
One last thing: the restaurant is cash only. Phew, we had enough.
The ride back to the park and our cars was a more direct 11.6 miles. Again, quiet roads and a few horse farms. We stopped at one for that photo at the top. The horse in the field behind the fence just ignored us.
We all agreed the route was lovely. I’ll do it again, with another stop for schnitzel. Or maybe we should try Afghan Kabob, 0.1 miles to the south?
Exploring by bicycle 