The weather today is absolutely dreadful. It’s dark, cold, and rainy. If I hadn’t been cooped up for the past week, I don’t think I would have wanted to go out this afternoon. But Bill wanted to drop by Vinum for some wine and beer and I was itching to have a little fun, so we went to Tübingen. We got there early enough in the afternoon to have a nice lunch, so I suggested we eat before we went booze shopping.
Originally, we were going to have lunch at a German place our first landlord took us on Thanksgiving in 2007. We stopped at a gasthaus looking place that we thought was it, but it turned out to be an Italian restaurant called Osteria Da Michele. We thought maybe the German restaurant had changed hands. But once we went inside, we determined that we had never eaten there before and, actually, I don’t think it was the restaurant we were originally looking for. But since it was raining and we were hungry, we decided to try it. That turned out to be a good call, since we had a very nice lunch. Better yet, it’s just down the street from Vinum.
Bill smiles for the camera… I’m always taking pictures of him.
We walked in and a young Italian guy invited us to take a table for two. We sat in a small dining room to the side of the bar area, which was in a larger room. The waiter brought us menus and I immediately noticed the cool looking lightbulb lamps over each table. It took awhile for the waiter to return to us because I think he was handling the front of the house by himself and he had several tables to tend. We noticed he spoke at least four languages… German, English, Italian, and Spanish. Bill overheard him saying he has relatives in Mallorca. I liked the music that was playing; kind of jazzy and new age.
We enjoyed some delicious olives while we waited for lunch…
Though there were several specials offered, the menu itself was rather limited. They offered pizzas, salads, and pasta dishes. Bill decided on gnocchi and I had tagliatelle with shrimps. Bill had a glass of Chianti and I had a glass of Pinot Grigio. The only other wine offered was a Bardolino rose. I was intrigued by it, but went with the white instead.
My tagliatelle with shrimp and a tomato cream sauce. This was very good! The shrimps tasted fresh and the sauce wasn’t too heavy. The pasta was cooked perfectly, too. I asked the waiter if the pasta was housemade. He said it wasn’t, but they choose the highest quality pastas and taste them before they serve them. I believe him.
Bill’s gnocchi. I don’t normally like gnocchi too much because sometimes it’s gummy and starchy. Not at this restaurant. This pasta was very nice with a light layer of cheese. Not gummy, not starchy, and not too heavy.
Kudos to the artist who had a lightbulb go off in creating this lamp!
We finished up with a perfect round of espresso. It came with a chocolate covered coffee bean. The waiter said he has the best espresso in Tübingen. I believe him.
The specials for today…
Outside of the building…
And a card! FYI: They are open Monday-Saturday from 12-3pm and 6-11pm. Sunday is their “free day”.
Our bill came to 35 euros. Bill rounded up to 40. The restrooms were thrilling, too. In the ladies room, there were two bottles of perfume, including Chanel No. 5. Bill said the men’s room had a bottle of Polo in it.
We still want to see if we can find that German restaurant we were looking for, but I think we’ll be back to Osteria Da Michele. After lunch, we went to Vinum and commenced buying our beer and wine! I found a few new Scottish brews I’ve never had before and we picked up a couple of bottles of Riesling, for which I am just now developing a taste, some Gruner Veltliner, a bottle of Pedro Ximenez sherry, and some house syrah from Vinum’s very cool wine taps.
I love visiting Tübingen, even when the weather is shitty. Hope to be back soon with weather that is more agreeable.
Me before my hair got ruined by the rain.