The Beth Lists
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!



Diverse Dining List

Dining in the Amana Colonies

7/18/2015

0 Comments

 

​Ox Yoke Inn or The Ronneburg Restaurant?
​

Don and I were eager to have a meal in the old Iowa town, settled by German immigrants over 100 years before I was born.  
Picture
Picture
We both love German food and we loved the idea of eating the foods that were once prepared in communal kitchens... homes in Amana didn't have their own kitchens!  Which place should we pick?

Ox Yoke Inn
​

Picture
We had to decide fast because Amana closes down early.  We decided to stop first at the Ox Yoke... partly inspired by the great illustration and recipe in our old Ford Motor Company Cook Book!
We couldn't eat two dinners, but maybe we could stop for a German beer!

​Ox Yoke!

But it was already clearing out by 6:00. We stepped into this newer room to see if we could grab a beer at the bar. Where are the Crowds?
Picture


​Cindy Welcomes Us!

Picture
Cindy had just collapsed into a chair near the bar.  "Come on in and pull up a seat!" she said, patting the chair beside her.  She and her grown children had worked a busy 2-day Apple Festival weekend and Cindy didn't try to hide her weariness.  We joined her after ordering a beer at the bar. Cindy began filling us in about the history of the restaurant, stopping to introduce us to her daughter and son in law who were bustling in and out.  Her grandfather had run the restaurant for 40 years and she pretty much grew up in it.


​Lina and William
​

Cindy had us follow her upstairs to see a few things.   She pointed to a portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Leichsenring, who opened the restaurant in 1940.  Mrs. L. appeared to be holding a bible in the photograph... unless it was a cookbook.
Picture
 Evidently she worked in one of the communal kitchens as a young woman, until the depression. That's when the Colonies found they could no longer remain self-sufficient... the end of the communal kitchen. Cindy remembers when Mrs. Leichsenring used to come in daily to test the potato soup.  The Ox Yoke is still owned by the Leichsenring family.

Yokey and Our Cookbook
​

Picture
Cindy took us to a room filled with antique crocks and stuffed beasts.  She wanted to show us Yokey the Bear.  She laughed about how that stuffed bear scared her as a little girl.  I then had to share my silly cook book with the water color illustration and recipe for Ox Yoke Sauerbraten.  She was pretty surprised to see the restaurant featured in the 55 year old book. 

On to Ronneberg!
​
​
We tried not to rush, but wanted to check out the other nearby German restaurant we had heard about.
Picture

Don and Elsie Oehler opened the Ronneburg in 1950.  Elsie's grandmother had been a "kitchen boss" during the communal day.... I believe in this very building.  In this photo you can glimpse at a few folks through the windows, some wearing suspenders.  We were too late for the German band, but we saw a few gentlemen in lederhosen relaxing around the bar.

Tiny Table
​

Picture
Our table was almost too small for all the dishes that cluttered the checkered cloth. Meals are all served family style as they were 150 years ago. The only difference is that Don and I got to sit at the same table.  Men and women ate at separate tables back in the day.  
More Than 15 Minutes
Picture
We felt a tiny bit rushed since we were some of the last diners, but at least we got more than 15 minutes, which had been the allotted time for Amana dining. How would we have eaten our Sauerbraten and Wiener Schnitzel that came with cottage cheese, slaw, fried potatoes, gravy, green beans , Spaetzle and bread!!  I'm guessing we wouldn't have had wine and beer either!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
       The Dining Blog

    This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food.  Below, you can read how this started.


    On
    July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year!  (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to  join me, on some unusual dining adventures.  I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise.  Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining.  I have continued  blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned  along the way!
    ​

    Locations and types of dining adventures,  are listed further down.

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011

    Categories

    All
    000 The Beginning!
    00 BBQ
    00 Cookbook Adventures
    00 Drive Ins
    00 Drive Ins Diners Cafes
    00 Houston Area
    00 Saloons & Taverns
    00 Tiki Time
    0 Alabama
    0 Arizona
    0 Arkansas
    0 California
    0 Colorado
    0 Florida
    0 Georgia
    0 Idaho
    0 Illinois
    0 Iowa
    0 Louisiana
    0 Michigan
    0 Mississippi
    0 Missouri
    0 Montana
    0 Nevada
    0 New Mexico
    0 New York
    0 North Carolina
    0 Oklahoma
    0 Oregon
    0 South Carolina
    0 South Dakota
    0 Tennessee
    0 Texas
    0 Utah
    0 Vermont
    0 Virginia
    0 Washington
    0 Washington D.C.
    0 Wyoming
    1 In Belize
    1 In Canada
    1 In Chile
    1 In Curacao
    1 In Guatemala
    1 In Mexico
    1 In Roatan
    1 In Thailand
    Afghani
    Argentine
    Basque
    Belgian
    Belizean
    Bengali
    Bermudian
    Bosnian
    Brazilian
    Cafes
    Canadian
    Chile
    Chinese
    Columbian
    Cornish
    Costa Rican
    Cuban
    Curacao Island
    Czech
    Danish
    Diners
    Dominican
    English
    Ethiopian
    Filipino
    French
    French Basque
    French Creole
    German
    Greek
    Guatemalan
    Honduran
    Hopi
    Houston Area
    Hungarian
    Indian
    Indonesian
    Iranian
    Iraqi
    Irish
    Italian
    Jamaican
    Japanese
    Korean
    Lebanese
    Malaysian
    Mexican
    Mongolian
    Moroccan
    Nepali
    New Hampshire
    New York
    Nigerian
    O
    Pakistani
    Palestinian
    Peruvian
    Polish
    Portuguese
    Puerto Rican
    Russian
    Salvadoran
    Scottish
    Spanish
    Swedish
    Swiss
    Taiwanese
    Thai
    Turkish
    Uruguay
    Venezuelan
    Vietnamese

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Homepage
  • Little Bear's Adventures
  • Diverse Dining List
  • 90 Notable Nights
  • Happy List
  • Quilt Adventure Blog
  • Not So Happy List
  • The Texas Twenty List
  • Mom's Picnic List
  • 18+ Dance Adventures
  • 55 Strangers
  • The Barbie Bucket List
  • 60 Celebrations
  • 57 Celebrations of the Fifties!