Restaurant Review Germany: Zur Dicken Emma

On my first night in Germany my half sister and her family took me to a German restaurant in Ramstein and I really enjoyed it.  It’s called The Big

1 liter of soda

Emma or Zur Dicken Emma. Ok, let me just say, portions in this restaurant are huge! Everyone always says that portion size in the USA is large but, this restaurant wins by far. I would love to go back to Germany and try some other German restaurants to see if this is true of all German restaurants.  The smallest portion is called a ¼ size which was 8.8 oz, the ½ size was 17 oz and the full size somehow even more ridiculously large at 35 oz. The sodas came in liter containers and the largest beer available was 3 liters! I wish I had gotten a picture of that glass! It was insane, I have no idea how the men ordering them were able to drink them. They looked heavy to say the least. They also have a food challenge in the restaurant. If you finish a full portion platter and 3 litres of beer you get a free meal.  I don’t think I could ever succeed. I would literally have to be starving to finish even half of their full size portion.

Jägerschnitzel

schnitzel with french fries

I wound up ordering a ½ size of Schnitzel (I was really hungry since I hadn’t eaten anything since 11 that morning). Schnitzel is fried, crispy pork. There was plain schnitzel and then 9 other kinds with different sauces so I ordered Jägerschnitzel which had a sauce made with jager, mushrooms and bacon. It was delicious! The outside was a bit crunchy, while the inside moist and juicy.  It was huge and I finished every bite. It took a while to finish but I didn’t get French fries or soda so that didn’t fill me up. I got a small side salad and some wine to drink which worked out really well.  My sister and her son

both got ¼ size portions of plain Schnitzle with French fries on the side.  It was served with lemon slices on top which really complimented the saltiness of the fried surface.  The portion was still really large but considerably smaller than the piece of meat I ordered.  It was also quite delicious but I’m glad I got mine with a sauce. I don’t think I could have eaten the pork all by itself without the creaminess of the sauce to help.

My sister's husband ordered a half portion burger and it was gigantic as well. 8.27 inches! Crazy. It looked good but impossible to finish. In fact he only ate half and took the rest home. 

the giant 1/2 sized portion

A lot of people were eating the largest portions and I was incredibly impressed that they were able to finish because I would have never been able to eat that much, even as hungry as I was. They were also drinking the largest beers I've ever seen in my life. 3 liters!! Giant, giant glasses that could probably be quite difficult to lift for some people. They even had a challenge: 1 kg of schnitzel, steak or burger and 3 liters of beer. If you can eat and drink all of that, you win a "Yes, I did it certificate" which I found utterly hilarious.

I liked the atmosphere as well and our waitress was really friendly and helpful even though I don't speak a lick of German. 

I really enjoyed the restaurant and would very much like to go back if I get back to Germany. It was really good food and I had a lot of fun with my family.