A Southern Season-Chapel Hill, NC

While A Southern Season is not a restaurant per se, the gourmet emporium offers food that’s worthy of a rave review.  The options are limitless, ranging from deli meats and cheeses to pre-made meals.  The dessert section is full of a variety of candies and fine chocolates, and there are all sorts of top-of-the-line kitchen ware, perfect for a couple looking for wedding registries.  

Despite all these options, I have found myself always going back for the same thing, the German food.  I have to be honest, I wasn’t familiar with German food until I began dating my husband.  Both his parents are German.  His father was born there and his mother grew up there.  Every time his Omi comes to the states to visit, she’ll try and sneak some Beefies, German slim jim except 1000 times better, onto the plane.  Needless to say, the cuisine is geared towards carnivores.  When you walk in, you’ll see the deli meats on your left next to the pre-made meals section.   First, I ask for a half-pound of Krakauer and a half-pound of Leberkase. 

My mother-in-law always tells my husband and I to get the leberkase bologna thin because that’s how they do it in Germany.  My husband and I; however, like it thinly sliced, so it really comes down to preference.  We order the krakauer thinly sliced as well, and a half pound is definitely enough for two people.  We ordered one pound of the leberkase one time because we’re both addicted to it, but it proved to be way too much. 

Then my husband gets a tube of the Shaller and Weber Oldenburger Brand Liver Pate, aka Liverwurst. 

Meanwhile, I walk over to the prepared foods section and order 1 pound of the Valinda’s Potato Salad. 

Finally, we pick up what I believe to be the two key components to this fabulous meal; a block of the Plugra European Style unsalted butter, and the Mestemacher Whole Rye Bread.  There is also a multigrain bread made by the same manufacturer that is equally delicious.  

Forgive the torn wrapper.  My husband and I got overly excited and ripped open the bread before I remembered to take a picture!

We hurriedly go home so we can put together this fine Bavarian delight.  Traditionally you put one type of meat on each piece of bread, but my husband and I discovered the deliciousness that is combining all the meats on one piece of bread.  We cut the brick shaped slices of bread in half and spread some butter and liverwurst, then we top the first piece with a slice of leberkase and the second piece with four slices of krakauer.  A little potato salad alongside a German pickle, and voila!

The krakauer is garlicky and the leberkase does a perfect job of satisfying this meat lover’s palette.  It’s thick and zesty, and by far my favorite German deli meat of the ones I’ve tried thus far.  The liverwust is smooth and peppery, and with that vinegar kick from the pickle, you experience a fantastic blend of varying salty flavors.  The sweetness of the butter offers a lovely contrast, coupled with the grainy texture of the dark, rye bread that is just mild enough for the rest of the components of the sandwich to have their shining moments, but memorable enough for you to know that the sandwich would not have been as delightfully delectable had it not been present. 

I am a fan of all types of potato salads; mustard based, mayonnaise based, loaded, Spanish olives, etc.  I will try any combination of potato salad.  On my top five list for potato salads, my Aunt Wendy’s is definitely ranking in the top three.  The reason I love it so much is because it’s simple.  I love creative approaches to cooking food, but most of the time I find that the best way to bring out the best flavors is by keeping the combination of different flavors at a minimum.  Southern Season’s potato salad exemplifies this perfectly.  It’s a mayonnaise based salad with boiled eggs and dill creating a distinctive bite to an otherwise unassuming potato salad.  It’s a great potato salad, and while it may not be on my top five list, it is definitely meant to be eaten in conjunction with the German deli meat.  All the flavors on the plate compliment each other beautifully, and my favorite part is that when you’re done, you don’t feel stuffed.  You feel satisfied, but you’re not lagging from an overly heavy meal.  

A Southern Season is not cheap.  It’s a gourmet market, so go prepared to spend a little.  It’s not an everyday outing for us, but it’s one of our favorite splurge trips when we want to have a night in.  This particular trip cost us almost $40, but the bright side is that we ate the same exact thing for lunch AND dinner for the next two days, so you do get your moneys worth!

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