Today is Bill’s 54th birthday.  As far as I know, we don’t have any special plans.  We didn’t have special plans last night, either, but we decided to have dinner at Luz Bistro and Bar in Nagold.  Bill and I have eaten there quite a few times over the past few years.  In fact, I think the staff is starting to think of us as regulars.

The weather was very pleasant when we arrived at the restaurant.  Several people were enjoying the terrace.  We decided to join them.  The restaurant was recommending barbecue style steaks, which I guess is different than the American version.  Bill decided that’s what he wanted to have.  I went with a rib eye and pommes.  We paired it with a bottle of house red, which was apparently commissioned by Marina Hentsch, one of the proprietors.

Both sides of the bottle.  This was a very nice blended German wine, created by Marina Hentsch.  Ms. Hentsch came over to see if we’d ordered and I had a chance to show off my developing German skills when I said, “Sie kommt.”  Our waitress beamed because that’s probably the most German she’s ever heard me speak.

Bill looks goofy as we wait for our steaks and smell cigarette and cigar smoke.

Bill’s barbecue style steak came with a baked potato with sour cream and was topped with bacon, corn, and barbecue sauce.  It was cooked to a perfect medium temperature.  He said the sauce actually had a bit of heat to it, which he loved.

I enjoyed my rib eye, which was just the right size.  It came with a krauterbutter and a chilled garlicky butter that I wasn’t sure if it was intended for the frites or the steak.  I tried it on both.  The beef was tender and perfectly cooked.  It was very good, especially for a German steak.

 

While we were eating, a sudden rainstorm developed.  We tried to stick it out, but the rain came down harder and we were finally driven inside.  The smokers simply moved to a corner table, where they could be sheltered from the rain and still ogle the young women passing.  I do enjoy this time of year in Germany, when the weather is nice enough for people watching, even if I don’t generally enjoy the month of July for other reasons.

We grabbed the first table by the door leading outside, mainly just to finish our wine and have dessert.  The rain came down for a steady clip, although it had stopped by the time we were finished with dinner. 

 

I don’t always go for dessert, but since it was Bill’s birthday eve, we decided to splurge.  I had a Schwarzwalderbecher (Black Forest kiss), pictured below…

This was so good!  It was basically a parfait of chocolate mousse and cream flavored with kirschwasser (cherry water) liqueur.  At the bottom was a small piece of chocolate cake and in the middle was a scoop of cherry ice cream.  Although it was kind of pricey at 10,50 euros, it wasn’t too much.

Bill had panna cotta with strawberries.  It, too, was beautifully presented and tasted good.  We are never disappointed at Luz or its more upscale cousin, Alte Post.  

 

The Alte Post, which is a fantastic feature offered at Luz, is currently closed due to a lack of qualified workers.  Apparently, this is a problem across Germany.  There aren’t enough people to wait tables or do other, similar work.  It’s a shame, since the restaurant got a Michelin star in 2016.  Hopefully, the closure is temporary.  They do still offer the upstairs dining for events.

 

The total bill came to about 111 euros before the tip.  That’s more than we usually spend on dinners we didn’t plan in advance.  Good thing my student loans will finally be paid off next month!  I think today, we might head into Tuebingen for a bit.  There is a gastro fest going on this weekend that we don’t want to miss.