An de Poort is a diamond in the rough. The building is clean and solid but unprepossessing, and it's a few blocks outside of the historic part of Xanten. The posted menu outside the restaurant is promising, but doesn't yet tell the whole story. Step in the door, and you will notice that everyone else in the place is a local. The gentlemen of the Stammtisch are playing cards in the corner. In the other room an extended family is celebrating Opa's birthday. The place is fairly crowded, but none of the other guests are eating. Normally in a place that seems more bar than restaurant we'd beware the food, but the menu includes trout, perch, and haunch of rabbit, so we take the plunge. The waitress brings a complementary bread basket with slices of fresh-baked, steaming hot herbed bread and delicately flavored butters. The sauce on the fish is complex, fragrant and flavorful. After living in Germany for seven years, we don't expect to find the kind of steak an American or an Aussie prefers, but my husband's steak is perfect: charred and peppered on the outside, beautifully rare inside, and hot through. Its unprepossessing appearance notwithstanding, and der Poort is gracious, welcoming, and cheerful, and the kitchen proffers dishes prepared with a deft and skillful hand. read more
