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Enterprising young managers and chefs are well established in the East, so look for new, usually small, trendy restaurants. People in the region are extremely particular about their traditional food (rumor has it that one can be deported for roasting Mützbraten over anything other than birch). Some new creative chefs successfully blend contemporary regional German with international influences. Medieval-theme restaurants and "experience dining," complete with entertainment, are all the rage in the East, and, despite being often quite kitschy, warrant at least one try. As the region slowly rediscovers its tremendous beer heritage, microbreweries and brewpubs have sprouted up in almost every city. Pubs are a good bet for meeting locals.
The Watzke microbrewery operates two brewhouses with the same beer and hearty menu in the city center. The location directly across from the Goldene Reiter statue of Augustus the Strong is the more pelasant for outdoor dining and people watching. The other location is at Dr.-Külz-Ring 9.
The "tunnel" refers to the barrel-ceiling ground-floor restaurant, where foaming glasses of excellent Gose beer are served with a smile. The friendly staff will also help you decipher the Old Saxon descriptions of the menu's traditional dishes. Upstairs there's a larger wine restaurant with an open fireplace.
On the other side of the train station from the Bauhaus, about 20 minutes' walk, lies a brewery with a fairly young history by German standards, dating back only to 1900. The former buildings of the Brewery Schade house a brewpub that not only serves some of the best seasonal regional cuisine in Dessau but also the best unfiltered Zwickel beer in eastern Germany. The food is rustic German and the beer a cold way to reflect on a day in Dessau.
Beer lovers rejoice: Erfurt has six brewpubs, among which the Golden Swan is by far the best. The house beer is a pleasant unfiltered Kellerbier, and the constantly changing seasonal menu is a step above normal brewpub fare. The restaurant and its beer garden are in the best-preserved segment of the original pigment factories on the Michaelisstrasse
