As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I recently asked members of the local food and wine Facebook group for suggestions of places to go out to eat.  One of the suggestions was 3 Mohren, a Turkish restaurant in Sindelfingen.  I was delighted to try this place today, since we walked past it last week on our way to Corners Burger Restaurant and I noticed how well attended it was and how good it smelled.  We made reservations for 1:00pm via the restaurant’s Web site.  When we arrived a few minutes early, the place was jumping with business.  It turns out 3 Mohren has a popular Sunday brunch buffet and lots of people were taking advantage of it.

The sleek, modern sign outside the restaurant…  On nice days, there’s a large terrace available, as well as a good sized indoor dining room.

Bill and I weren’t there for the buffet.  We wanted to try some Turkish food and a bottle of Turkish wine.  We were very successful in that endeavor today.

Our server seated us at a four top table near the buffet table and had a good look at the menu, which offers all kinds of Turkish specialties with lamb, chicken, beef, and fish.  There are also vegetarian selections.  Do not go there looking for pork; naturally, you won’t find it on the menu.

We decided to start with an order of hummus, a bottle of mineral water with gas, and a bottle of Turkish wine.  Both the waitress and the owner of the restaurant spoke excellent English once they realized we aren’t German.

Bill checks out the menu… lots of great Turkish choices, as well as grilled salmon, shrimp, and dorade.  The menu is also vegetarian and kid friendly.

This was a very nice dry red wine from Eastern Anatolia.  Several bottles were available, as were wines by the glass and a range of cocktails.  3 Mohren has a full bar.

A shot of the buffet during a couple of minutes when it wasn’t being visited by patrons.  This table stretched another ninety degrees into the next dining room.  I didn’t get a close look at what was on the table, but people seemed to be enjoying the food

The hummus was absolutely delicious.  The bread was dressed with a zesty oil that gave the chickpea dip a kick.  This was a nice start to lunch.

Bill and I both went with kebabs.  He had a lamb kebab and I had chicken.  Both dishes came with salads, rice, and vegetables, as well as a basket of bread.

This salad was not too big, which I appreciated.  It consisted of lettuce, corn, carrots, radishes, and a zingy dressing that tasted of mild mustard with just a dash of mint.  I really liked the dressing.

My chicken kebab.  The chicken was white meat and just a little dry for my taste, but well seasoned.  The vegetables were cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, and a green pepper.  There was also a small scoop of delicious rice that had a buttery essence.  I might have liked this better if it had come with a sauce or something on the side.  

I don’t usually go for lamb, but I have to admit Bill’s lamb was excellent.  Next time, I might have to have a mixed grill or even order the lamb myself.  It was very tender, juicy, and not gamey at all.  

We were offered a basket of bread, which we accepted.  It arrived hot and fresh.  I noticed a couple with twin babies who were just adorable.  They had big, bright blue eyes and one of them kept staring at me.  I think I heard their mom talking to the owner about booking the restaurant for a party of 30 people.

As we were sitting there eating, I was paying attention to the music.  They were playing a lot of jazz– mostly modern stuff.  I think I heard some Diana Krall.  Then I heard a cover version of Stevie Wonder’s classic song, “If It’s Magic”, which is originally from his wonderful 1976 album, Songs in the Key of Life.  Although the cover version wasn’t necessarily moving to me, I was explaining the song to Bill.  It’s always been kind of special to me, because the lyrics are so wise and seem especially poignant, particularly given the mood a lot of us have been in over the past few months.

For those who haven’t heard the song, here’s a video…

This song always moves me.

 

So anyway, there I was sitting in the Turkish restaurant, explaining to Bill the meaning of this song.  It poses the question why, if love is so special and magical, are we so careless with it?  Why don’t we pay as much attention to preserving the love in our relationships as we do to how we dress, smiling for the camera, and protecting our children from danger?  For some reason, as I was explaining the song, I got very verklempt and started tearing up.  I was sitting at the table wiping tears and talking about the song in a quavery voice.  It was kind of embarrassing.

Bill is used to this reaction from me, especially over music.  We’re both hopeless saps when it comes to some things.  I usually see him get weepy when he enters a beautiful cathedral or looks at amazing artwork.  He sees me tear up when I hear gorgeous music with powerful lyrics.  I have a Stevie Wonder DVD that I’ve only watched once or twice because it makes me cry to watch Stevie Wonder perform.  He is so incredibly talented.  I am myself a singer and have sung “If It’s Magic”.  I have to admit, it’s usually a struggle to get through it without getting really emotional.  It probably doesn’t help that I’m also hormonal as hell right now.

I don’t know about my readers, but Bill and I have had a pretty tumultuous few months.  Although it probably started with the political upheaval that’s been going on since Trump got elected, it really started coming to a head in April when Bill’s former company lost its contract and we spent a couple of scary months wondering if we were going to have to move… and if so, where?  Then, both of Bill’s parents had some rather major health issues.  They’re both mostly fine and we ended up not having to move, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t worried.  And now Bill’s working for a new company and feels the pressure to perform and prove himself to his new employers.  Although 2017 was not nearly as stressful as 2014 was– when we moved here from Texas after Bill retired– it has been a bit crazy.  Add Trump to the mix and the fact that our dog had a cancer scare (that turned out not to be cancer, thank God) and you have a couple of really wound up people.

Anyway, once I finished explaining the song and wiped away the tears, we were finished with lunch.  Bill called for the check, which was about 58 euros.  I think he paid in cash, but I believe they do accept cards there.

Given how tense we both were, we decided to visit the Mineraltherme in Böblingen.  It just reopened after having been closed for renovations for several months.  I had to talk Bill into going, but he admits that every time I talk him into hitting the spa, he feels a lot better afterwards.  I wanted to see the changes they made over the summer.  Looks like brand new lockers, more parking spots (most of which were filled today), and new equipment in the saunagartens.  I read they invested over 13.5 million euros in fixing the place up.

Today, we did something we had never done before… at least not at the Mineraltherme.  Today, for the first time ever, we ventured downstairs to the textile free area and actually stripped down to our birthday suits.  Regular readers may have read about our trip to the Palais Thermal spa in Bad Wildbad a couple of months ago.  That was our first time getting naked in front of strangers.  Well, today was the first time we did it locally and ran the risk of running into people we know.

Honestly, it was kind of awesome.  After a quick dip upstairs in the clothed area, we went down to the classic sauna area, got in the raw, and hit a sauna.  We paid an extra 5,50 euros each to go into the saunagarten, where everyone is buck naked (but with big towels and robes for when they sit down).  We took a longer dip in the warm, relaxing mineral pool, wandered around the gardens, checking out the sandy lounge areas, relaxed in another sauna, had a beer, and then tried out the heated lounge chairs (wrapped in towels, of course).  It was amazingly relaxed and pleasant.  In all seriousness, the nudity thing doesn’t bother me in the slightest anymore.  I have taken to it like the proverbial duck to water.  Yeah, no one wants to see me naked, but I no longer give a shit about that.  It’s a wonderful feeling.

After a couple of hours enjoying some rays, warm water, German suds, and peace and quiet, we headed home.  Bill looked a lot less stressed.  I told him we need to make a priority out of visiting the spa more often… and he needs to get back to the gym and blow off some steam before he has a stroke.  It was a really lovely afternoon.

Needless to say, I recommend 3 Mohren, but make reservations if you’re coming on the weekend.  Both the restaurant and the spa were noticeably less packed later in the afternoon.  We will have to remember that for next time.  Turkish food plus being naked with Germans equals awesomeness…  A good cry over music doesn’t hurt, either.