Amana was a communal society for many generations. This meant that large groups worked and ate together. To accomplish this they would serve meals in a family style. The dishes would come out on platters or large bowls, which could be passed around the table. While the communal lifestyle ended in the 1930’s, you can still find family style dining at Ronneburg Restaurant.
Friendly Atmosphere
Since our dinner at Ronneburg Restaurant was planned for Saturday evening, we stopped by earlier in the day to make reservations. While there, we spoke with the hostess for quite a while. She told us about her migration from eastern Europe to the United States. After time in the mountains, she and her husband settled in Amana. A common occurrence we found in the Amana Colonies, was the friendly people who live and work there. It was easy to strike up a conversation, and they truly listened. That is a little more rare in these electronic days.
Full Meal Portions
We can only assume that since they have been used to family sized meals for so long, they just continue these over-sized portions today. Guests can choose to dine family style or pick plated meals. This seemed like a safer way for the two of us, and it was still a lot of food. After polishing off our salads, our appetites were ready for some home cooking. I had ordered broasted chicken, which comes with potatoes and two side vegetables.
Ronneburg Restaurant Delivers
Crystal had decided to go with the Ham & Swiss Chicken, which has a slight similarity to Chicken Cordon Blu. Her plate was also covered with the same sides. By this point we were both ready to toss in the towel and give up. Being troopers, we knew that we had to give it our best shot for our readers sake. (At least that is the excuse I am going to use.) The food was good, but after all they have been making these kind of meals for generations. Neither of us were able to finish our plates, but by this point of our visit we had come to expect this.
