German Food Station

We loved the sausages… We had just discovered them before they left to go back home… Now we anxiously wait for their arrival… Our mouths are watering just thinking about the food!!!

At first when I saw this food truck today at the St Phillips Farmers Market, I thought it probably wasn’t authentic, and just thought I would peek at the menu, even though I wasn’t hungry, but to my surprise and delight, the couple was incredibly friendly and accommodating, and said they were snowbirds, and would only be around for about another week before heading back to Germany! We tried the currywurst, and it delicious — it immediately took me back and reminded of the food that my mom used to make! I’m said that I won’t be able to try this again until fall. I feel bad that I have forgotten the woman’s name (her husband was Max), because she remembered mine when I went back to tell how good the food was!

Great place that is completely unexpected! It is quite literally in the middle of the desert. And there are actually real Germans! Go here!!!

Picture this: It was a gorgeous Saturday for a long bike ride alongside the Tucson Mountains. We parked by Gates Pass and took off to the northwest. Some miles later, I started seeing unusual street signs — street signs corresponding to streets that need to be driven to from Gates Pass, not biked to. Rudasill, Orange Grove; what is going on? Where is this bike ride taking me?!
See, I am new to biking, and I hadn’t quite understood the gravity of my girlfriend’s plan to take a 27-​mile jaunt through the countryside. Now, less than halfway through the ride, I was already beginning to fear the way back. I was in Marana, on a bicycle. Only one thing sustained me through those trying times:
GERMAN FOOD TRUCK AT THE PICTURE ROCKS JUNCTION!
We finally arrived at a small open-​air market slightly east of the middle of nowhere. Small stands filled the corner lot, with a mostly-​older crowd selling… well, I don’t really know — we didn’t look. (Amy now recalls, «Weird rocks?») And there it was: gleaming in the midday sun like a big red German food cart stood the German Food Station. I could have cried, but there were large men on motorcycles nearby, so that was pretty much out of the question.
We were greeted at the window by an extremely cheerful German lady — yes, a real live German person! One order of original currywurst and one of deprecziner with sauerkraut came out to $ 10. Five or so minutes later, we were in business.
As I understand it, currywurst is a beloved fast food item in Germany, and we could see why. Take a large, sliced, almost hotdog-​like «bratwurst;» smother it in a hot, ketchup-​like red sauce; and cover the whole thing with a layer of curry powder. Serve with a small roll. The outcome: not fine dining by any means, but pretty flippin’ tasty.
The deprecziner («dih-​prets-​ee-​ner») with sauerkraut was even better: a grilled smoked sausage with a healthy portion of delicious sauerkraut and some packets of mustard. The flavors here were really excellent, and by the time we were done, both of us were pretty satisfied in spite of our (well, my) formerly-​ravenous hunger. My one reservation: given the pride that Germany has for its mustards, it was just a tiny bit heartbreaking to be handed a few packets of yellow French’s to go along with the sausage. But of course, no real American can be that upset about French’s yellow mustard, so in the end all was well.
As I walked back to the truck to throw away the food containers, another real live German person — this time a man — emerged from the truck and asked me how I had liked the food. I told him it was delicious, and his face lit up like a… well, like a thing that you light up like (Amy again: «like a sunshine!»). Suddenly I was even happier that we came: these were good people trying to bring a little bit of their culture to a new place, and I was glad to get to be a part of that.
Unfortunately, there would be precious little time to savor the moment: we had to get back to Gates Pass! A day later, I offer this advice: Go check out the German Food Station. If you ride a bike, then that’s a perfect way to get there: the area is absolutely gorgeous. Just take it from me: if you’re not an experienced cyclist, do yourself a favor and park a little closer!