Rimmels extends its reach to Provo with authentic German street fare
Rimmels' Döner kebab and homemade Spätzle.
Rimmels' Döner box and pork Schnitzel for kids.
Rimmels' pork Schnitzel, cooked red cabbage and homemade Spätzle.
Rimmels' falafel.
Rimmels' Spaghetti Eis (ice cream).
Rimmels' Döner box and pork Schnitzel for kids.
The exterior of the new Rimmels German Street Food location in downtown Provo.
Though I’m not generally one to be superstitious, the tiny space located at 27 W. 100 North in Provo definitely comes with a history, haunted by the ghosts of restaurants past.
In more recent years, the storefront served as home to the popular shake and burger shack Sammy’s, before Zeek’s Pieshake Parlour pulled a phoenix, rising from the proverbial ashes of the former business under the careful management of Sammy’s store manager Isaac “Zeek” Ames.
I reviewed the new (at the time) venue in July of 2015, and was saddened when, just one year later, I was reviewing the same location again, this time as Marley’s Jr. – a small offshoot of the popular sliders and fries restaurant Marley’s. It still boasted the classic pieshakes, served alongside sliders behind an astonishingly orange storefront. It was great, as were the restaurants before it, but it didn’t last.
Now, just over two years later, I found myself returning to 27 W. 100 North a third time to check out the newest location of Rimmels German Street Food. Rimmels family-owned restaurant first took root at University Place in Orem and grew to the second location in Provo this past June.
Though I’m self-admittedly unfamiliar with a broad spectrum of German fare, when I first saw a Facebook post announcing the second Rimmels opening, I was beyond excited. Utah County has found an incredible niche when it comes to multi-cultural dining experiences, with restaurants serving up food from across the globe. There seems to be a little something from everywhere, and I love that this area can be home to so many varieties of food, just as it serves as home to so many people from around the world.
One thing in particular I love about the area’s variety of cuisine is I can have the chance to expose myself, as well as my children and friends, to other cultures and foods of varying levels of authenticity, regardless of whether we can travel to those places or not.
That’s why I was excited to delve a little deeper into what Rimmels had to offer. My limited experience with German food has been high school German club, bratwurst and the goods of a few different exchange students, so it was definitely a learning experience, and a flavor experience as well.
Walking in, I loved the remodel, which allowed for a series of tables and chairs and picnic-style bench tables to be placed both inside and outside, offering more seating to the cozy joint. That wasn’t the only change, though. As could be expected from a switch to Germany from American burgers and fries, the offerings were worlds apart.
For those new to Rimmels as I was, the set-up in the Provo store is similar to the one in Orem. The main, and most popular, offering is the tasty Döner, which includes your choice of beef and lamb or chicken as a meat, or veggie meatballs. You can also choose how your Döner is served, including traditionally on German flatbread, as a wrap, on a salad or as a box, with pommes (fries) as the base. Other options include pork Schnitzel, home-made German Bratwurst and sides of Sauerkraut, Rotkohl (red cabbage) and Spätzle with gravy, which is a soft egg noodle.
We took a sampling from across the board, including a couple of the kids menu options, which are smaller, well-priced portions of the larger offerings.
I have to say that I loved how eagerly my toddler son dove into his Döner box with chicken. It took him awhile to even figure out fries were involved because he was so excited about the cucumbers that were included in the veggie toppings and of course the chicken. Served with Tzatziki (garlic) sauce and paprika, it was mild but flavorful, and so fresh!
I had an adult incarnation of a similar setup with the Döner sandwich — flatbread filled with your choice of lettuce, cabbage, tomato, cucumber and onion, and chose to have it Berlin-style with yogurt sauce. It was hands down our favorite food item off the menu, and we loved the fresh crunch and flavorful sauce that only added to the experience. The lamb and beef mixture was moist, tender, flavorful and definitely a great addition.
We were a little less in love, however, with the breaded pork Schnitzel and Spätzle. Though the flavor was there, the texture of the Spätzle was a little strange, and the Schnitzel had years of anticipation to live up to, which is a tough standard to uphold. Our daughter absolutely loved hers, though, and it didn’t take long for us to finish ours either.
To round out our sampling, we also snagged a side of the veggie meatballs, and though they were a little dry and crisp on the outside, it was followed by a unique explosion of flavor on the inside.
Outside of the Döner options, some of the best flavor and most fun came from Rimmels’ newest dessert offering: Spaghetti Eis. I had no idea what to expect when we ordered, but was pretty delighted when it arrived after our meal — a gigantic tower of creamy ice cream somehow shaped like spaghetti and topped with a delicious strawberry sauce and coconut flakes. Though it was melting fast in the hot sun, the dessert was such a novelty! It was a fun appearance, and our entire group dove in, savoring every sweet and flavorful bite.
Though I’m newer to German food, I’m excited to see Rimmels carving a place for itself in Utah County, and I know I’ll be heading back for a second dose of Döner and entertainingly delicious spaghetti-style ice cream. And if the groups of people coming in and out during our visit are any indication, here’s to hoping the third time is the charm for that little Provo hotspot.
RIMMELS GERMAN STREET FOOD
Where: 27 W. 100 North in Provo
Hours: Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed Sunday
Price: $1.99-$8.99
Info: eatrimmels.com
Dining
