For those stationed around Wiesbaden in the 'golden era' (1960s to the end of the 1980s)....Walter's Futterkrippe was a part of the local imbiss scene. It was across from the American hospital in Wiesbaden and for five DM's....you got yourself a soda, brat and pommes.
The Futterkrippe is still around today....same location....upgraded in a decent interior operation (mostly where you stand, still no seats, but it is heated). The five DM lunch (2.50 dollars US)? Long gone.
A Rindswurst with brotchen and mustard (no fries or soda)? It's around 2.90 Euro.
The Currywurst with brotchen? Around 3.20 Euro.
The plain Schnitzel plate with fries and mayo? Around 7.00 Euro.
The super hamburger (with cheese), and no fries? Around 4.00 Euro. Yes, it's probably got 30-percent 'filler', but at least it does taste like real 100-percent beef.
The meatloaf 'mystery' creation, with potato salad....roughly 5.50 Euro.
Some people might ask how Walters survived after the American downsizing and the hospital went away. I've been there three times over the past five years, and would suggest that handymen around the area all flock to the place between 11 and 1....to grab a quick lunch. Between 9 and 10, there's probably fifty people who stop by for 15-minute pause.
Breakfast? You can still get their scrambled egg plate with chives, onions, mushrooms, ham....with a buttered up brotchen, and a cup of coffee (don't go expecting the good stuff)....for around 7.90 Euro (yes, almost nine dollars). It's hefty but you don't have many spots around town which serve that style of breakfast at 9 AM.
The mystery of how they survive on? I would go and suggest that lack of competition along the 'ring' is a big part of the story. There's virtually no competitor near them for at least a kilometer in any direction. There is a new indoor pool complex planned about half-a-km away (toward the south, and in the park area nearby) for the 2021 period. That might add to the business of Walters. And the police headquarters in the old hospital building probably brings some business.
As Imbiss go, in terms of ratings? They still offer a rather bulky menu selection, and there's rarely more than four minutes before your order is called. Greasy food? It's never changed. I suspect that most folks would say that taste-wise and grease-content, they haven't changed any in forty years.
2 comments:
Thanks for the words about Walter's. I remember going there quite often in the mid-90s. Yet, since I lived walking distance to the Rathaus area and all the spots there to eat, that area usually won out.
I do not suppose I would eat there much today as the food choices I made in my twenties are not the same as those I make in my fifties. In fact, just yesterday I asked a German friend that I still keep in touch with from those days, "Say, do you remember, and perhaps still go to, Walter's Imbiss?" to which he replied, "Oh you Americans and your love of fast food!"
I notice that Walter's has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Walters-Futterkrippe/327417297335316
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