Hasenbande Im Hensen

"Mönchengladbach! Some would say, ‘Why would anybody care to go there’? Well, part of the town is kind of nice, and it is convenient located, too. It is about equidistant between Germany’s glamour city of Düsseldorf to the east, and Roermond, a more modest town in the Netherlands, to the West. It’s about 30 kilometers either way. Well, we had gotten there by car, for the most moseying along pleasant country roads from a starting point on the Dutch side of the no-longer border. After all, this is European Union time. Mönchengladbach, originally named Gladbach, grew up around a Benedictine abbey founded way back in 972. The town has gone through all kinds of history, some of it miserable, some of it prosperous. World War II used to be pretty bad to this town. Testimony to the better times continues still visible in the town’s skyline – beautiful ancient churches, Romanesque and Gothic, going back to the Middle Ages. Progress continued. Up to fairly recently, the local economy had become home to an impressive textile industry. The city’s municipal museum still houses a notable collection of Coptic textiles. Other than textiles, in later times, the town’s population used to find work in high-tech industries from building textile machinery to highly specialized cable technology. With growing numbers of workers, population, breweries had become yet another important pillar in the local economy, but since things have gone for the worse. Also Germany has gone for globalization with many of the old industries and jobs off-shored, much of the old industrial glory gone – a familiar and feared pattern throughout most of the older industrial world. However, one bit of city’s glory has survived. For the lucky ones, the best part when visiting Mönchengladbach, could be to get a ticket to Borussia Park, for a home game of the local soccer giant, Borussia Mönchengladbach, the city’s soccer claim to fame, which even the next-door glamour city of Düsseldorf cannot match. We had come to town to revisit a historical left-over of lesser fame, to see an old brewery, founded in 1793, few other details, but a recurring subject of speculation through the family grapevine: the “Hensen Brauerei”, yes, founded in that early phase of successful modern local industrialization. Surprisingly, the shadow of the brewery continues in existence – and in business as well. The business continues to be housed in the original brewery building, right on top of a few remaining active high-quality aquifer springs, and which is why the old brewery located there. If ever you get to the Waldhausen district of the city, Waldhausener Strasse, the city's main party zone, be sure to visit the Hensen Brauerei. From the outside, the old building continues to look impressive, which is why it has been placed under monument protection. On the inside, the impression is that of an old, well-established, cozy restaurant-pub, the kind of place where neighborhood folks like to meet in the evening, have a beer, chat about the current news. But yet another excellent reason to come here is to enjoy a meal. If “deftige deutsche Küche” (hearty German cuisine, cooking) is your thing, at the old Hensen brewery you can’t go wrong. Their menu is a study strictly in German cuisine. We were a party of two. I had taken my sister to the place. We both had come for the same reason. Once seated at our reserved table, we learned that the brewery has become a micro-brewery, and continues to serve the old recipe beer. Of course, we started with ordering a “Hensen Pils”, later trying a “Hensen Alt”, frankly more in line with our chronological progress. The beer – not bad, clear or amber, pithy drinks – doing their jobs, slaking thirst - and lifting the spirits. Things got more complicated when having to make up one’s mind on the menu side. As a known soup addict, I had no problems for openers. I decided to try the daily special, a “deftige” (hearty) potato soup, laced with sourcream, tender carrot and bacon bits, a successful composition. However, the unfortunate part of visiting this kind of eatery is that the mouth-watering entrée options are just too many, while stomach capacity for most ordinary humans tends to come out quite limited. At any rate, I settled on a “Bierkutscherteller Hausmansbraten, Röstzwiebeln, Biersosse and Bratkartoffeln…” Allow me to explain the long title: “Bierkutscherteller” is just another way to say what they call “Lumberjack” in American English – meaning huge portions. The rest of the title represented lots of pan-fried potatoes, onions, and a thick special beer gravy. Hence, it was with regret that I had to abandon any thoughts of trying the half-meter “Bratwurst” which also had been powerfully staring at me off that menu. No chances also to tempt my sister into sharing. Under normal circumstances, owner of a hearty appetite too, my sister might have accepted. But now she had her own problems, facing a massive grill platter in front of her, the daily special, again, an amazing assortment of meat cuts, sausages, fries and other goodies, but, again, just too much for normal stomachs. Finally, in parting, yet another pleasurable surprise! The financial damage for this finger-licking feast turned out very much on the modest side. For most foreigners to be advised, if food, feeding is your big thing, be sure to include Germany on your itinerary, where typically the portions tend to come out big, the prices relatively small. To Jürgen Goertz, the creative captain who runs the “Hensen Brauerei”, our compliments, and count on it, we will be back, and next time properly starved in preparation. Our thanks also to Tonino, our waiter, who kept inquiring about our wants, and patiently kept plying us with a smile."