Category Archives: Herrenberg

Herrenberg

Herrenberg… and lunch at Cafe Atelier…

The weather is a bit gloomy again today, so Bill and I decided to keep today’s outing low key.  We went to Herrenberg for lunch and tried a place new to us, but not to the city.

The morning market was just finishing up when we arrived.

Herrenberg is such a cute little city.

 

We came upon Cafe Atelier, a cute little place I’d noticed a few times over the years but had never tried.  They had a bunch of chalk boards and a menu outside that made the place look inviting.  I could also see a large display case full of desserts.  Desserts will lure me every time, so we ventured inside.

A little cafe with lots of yummy looking baked goods out front.

 

When we walked in, we noticed a man standing behind the counter reading the paper.  There were two tables with ladies sitting at them, conversing animatedly.  I get the sense this cafe is very popular with ladies who lunch.  The inside is very feminine looking and cute.  Bill wondered if maybe the front room was only for people having coffee and pastries.  He walked toward the back room and the guy behind the counter stopped him and told him we could sit in the front room.

The encounter was a little bit awkward… but we had a seat.  I knew what I wanted immediately, a glass of Greek cabernet and the gyrosteller.  Bill ordered a different red.  The guy took our menus before we had a chance to order food.  Below is Bill’s expression at that…

Actually, he had a funnier one, but I was too slow on the draw to capture it.

Lots of good looking desserts!  We didn’t try any, though, because lunch filled us up.

 

The guy came back over after pouring my wine and told Bill that his choice was not available.  So Bill had a glass of the same cabernet I ordered.  We both settled on the gyrosteller.  I guess I must speak my limited German with a terrible accent, because I had to repeat myself a couple of times.  I should get someone to teach me to say “gyros” at the very least.  Happily, I no longer pronounce it “guy-rohs” like I did many years ago.

The little salad that came with the gyrosteller.  It had a rather strong mustard vinaigrette that was oddly sweet.  It wasn’t bad, but the flavor was more intense than I would have expected.  I appreciated that the salad wasn’t really big.  I prefer little salads.

 

While we were waiting for our gyros, I noticed the man behind the counter, who seemed to be a little bit over it.  He sneezed.  I was relieved when I saw him go to the sink.  But then I watched him rinse his hands without soap.  The public health educated side of me cringed a little.  A few minutes later, he blew his nose.  Then he went back to the sink and rinsed his hands again.  I guess I should be that grateful that he did that much.  Some people don’t.

Behold… the gyros with pommes and tzatziki.  These weren’t too bad.  They were well seasoned, at least, and I didn’t get the sense that the pork was really intended to be a schnitzel.  However, I don’t think the gyros were prepared the way they are at my favorite taverna, on a spiese.

 

We had a leisurely lunch and when it was all said and done, it cost just 29 euros before the tip.  Hopefully, we won’t be catching a cold.  Bill visited the restroom and noticed that the proprietors are okay with non customers using their toilet if you give them fifty cents.  I figure that’s fair, as long as the toilet is clean and stocked, which it evidently was.  I didn’t visit it myself.  We walked around the corner and passed a fruit and vegetable market, where there was some excellent looking fresh produce was offered.

I should have gotten one of these.

Produce worth getting excited over.

If we hadn’t purchased over two pounds of cheese in Alsace last weekend, maybe we would have stopped in…

Unique gifts for Christmas!

We decided to walk back to our car via Edeka.  Herrenberg has a large, impressive one that sells all manner of food, drinks, bras, and underwear.  They also have beer Advent calendars.  I already have a calendar full of liquor that I ordered from Master of Malt.  I like beer calendars, I guess, but German beers mostly taste the same to me in each of the few styles available.  But I can see why people get excited about them.

We bought ice cream instead.

 

A very considerate lady noticed we only had one item, so she let Bill go ahead of her.  It always makes me feel good when people are unexpectedly kind like that.  On the way home, I noticed the very dramatic skies…  Winter is on its way.

Looks like a spaceship is about to land.

I love it when sunlight streams through the clouds like this.

Standard
Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Herrenberg, restaurant reviews

Dinner at the Hotel Hasen in Herrenberg…

Try saying that three times fast…  “Hotel Hasen in Herrenberg“.  Meh, it’s probably not that hard to do.  I like alliteration, though.

When Bill and I lived in Germany the first time, we settled in a town a bit south of the pleasant city of Herrenberg.  Consequently, we’d often drive down the main drag in Herrenberg and notice the large four star hotel on the hill.  I kept thinking I’d like to stop in for dinner sometime, but we never managed to do it during our first Germany tour together.

Fast forward five years after we PCS’d.  It was October 2014.  We had just visited Colmar, France, and had some time to kill before it was time to pick up our dogs from the dog pension.  We stopped at the Hotel Hasen for lunch.  I remember being impressed by the food and service.  We now live in a town a bit west of Herrenberg, probably about the same distance away as we did during out first tour.  We still spend a lot of time in Herrenberg.  Last night, I asked Bill if he’d like to go back to the restaurant at Hotel Hasen and have dinner.  He agreed.

The front of the hotel.  There is limited parking out front and more in the back.  There is also a city parking area next to the hotel’s parking.

 

During the warmer months, Hotel Hasen has a biergarten.  We decided to eat out there last night.  They were doing a brisk business, with most of the tables occupied and a few people enjoying drinks on the outdoor patio furniture near the inside bar.  An elegant older lady in plain clothes invited us to sit at a table near the wait station, where I could easily observe beer and wine being poured and dishes coming from the kitchen.  They were pumping them out at an impressive pace last night.

Bill checks out the menu.  His was in French.  Mine was in German.  Apparently, they also had English menus.

We settled on hefeweizens.

 

The food at the Hasen Hotel is very German and a bit heavy.  They have salads and vegetarian dishes,  but a lot of the food is big on meat, spaetzle, potatoes, and rice.  I happen to like that well enough, though I wasn’t wanting anything super filling last night, since it was a warm outside.  Many of the dishes on the menu are available in a smaller size and a slightly lower price.

I settled on zander filet, which was fried (but could have also been baked).  It came with a light white wine cream sauce and an interested vegetable garnish.  There was a thin slice of rutabaga topped with a layer of mashed potatoes, with cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, and carrots arranged somewhat artfully around the rutabaga and potatoes.  My dish also came with a large bowl of “dry rice”.  

Bill had deer goulash, which he pronounced very good.  It came with baked apples and spaetzle.  He couldn’t finish the whole thing.

Dry rice… yes, it was cooked, but there was nothing else to it.  

 

I had another beer after dinner and Bill had a double espresso.  There were some excellent looking desserts passing us that I probably would have enjoyed.  However, our waitress, though very professional, seemed a bit over it and I decided I didn’t need the calories.  The bill came to about 53 euros.

 

The word “Hasen” means rabbit in German.  The Hotel Hasen does indeed have a couple of rabbit ambassadors living on the grounds.  We ventured over to see them after we finished dinner.  They live in a little hutch next to what looks like a play area for little kids.  The play area appeared to need some cleaning up; the equipment looked like it was covered in dirt caused by rain.  It was otherwise in good repair.

Hotel Hasen’s bunnies!

Don’t feed the rabbits!

Overall, we enjoyed a pleasant evening at Hotel Hasen’s biergarten.  It was a nice night to go out to dinner.  I think we could go back when the weather is a little cooler.  On the other hand, there are other restaurants in Herrenberg I haven’t tried yet.  So who knows?

Standard
Baden-Württemberg, Herrenberg

An unexpected change of dinner plans– China Panda in Herrenberg

My husband, Bill, is about to step into a new role at his company.  To celebrate, we were invited to have dinner with Bill’s bosses, as well as his soon to be ex boss who is heading for a new job in Hawaii.  On our way to the restaurant, a very nice looking Greek place in Möhringen, we were sidelined by a massive Stau.  Rain was pouring, traffic was crawling at a snail’s pace, and the GPS put us at at least 45 minutes late for our appointment.  Because it looked like we would be keeping our dinner companions waiting for too long, Bill called and canceled.  Then we turned around and went home an unfamiliar route.  I took note of at least one more restaurant on the way that I want to try sometime.

Although there were a couple of tempting places on our way home, we ultimately decided to have dinner at China Panda in Herrenberg.  It was really about time we stopped there, since in the four years total we’ve lived near Herrenberg, we’d never had a meal there.  I noticed that their very convenient parking lot always had cars in it and they advertise some very cost effective deals on their windows.  Besides, it had been ages since our last Asian inspired repast.

Upon entering China Panda, I took note of a very large group of Asians who were sitting in the very nice bar area.  They were an animated group and I could tell they were enjoying the food.  I took that as a good sign.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on Asian cuisine, but I do remember when Bill and I were dating fifteen years ago and we ended up in a Chinese restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia.  We walked in and were the only Caucasians in the place.  Everyone stared as we sat down, but then we had the most amazing lunch.  I took the leftovers with me back to South Carolina, where I was attending graduate school at the time.  No one stared when we walked into China Panda, but we did end up having a great dinner for not much money.

We were invited to take any open table we wanted, so we selected one right next to the impressive looking buffet, which several guests were enjoying.  I eyed it curiously, but then decided I’d rather order off the menu.  Bill and I each had beer to drink.  His was a Lamm Export from Sindelfingen, a beer that was new for us because we rarely venture into Sindelfingen.  I had a Malteser Hefeweizen.  We both had spring rolls.  For our main dish, I ordered crispy duck with pineapple, vegetables, and rice.  Bill had Szechuan beef with vegetables.  As we waited, I enjoyed the soothing sounds of German pop music and watched a young girl drop a scoop of ice cream on the floor.  The ice cream was there less than five seconds.  😉

These spring rolls were off the chain!  They were very fresh and tasty.  I thought I would only be able to eat one, but I managed to eat both.    

Obligatory shot of Bill sporting a newly fuzzy face.  He’s been working on growing a beard this week.  I think it suits him, but honestly it’s like kissing a Brillo pad in the morning.  We’ll see how long this new look lasts.

The main dishes.  The crispy duck was delicious!  My only complaint was that there were two creepy mushrooms included in the vegetables.  However, there were only two and Bill graciously took them out.  The beef was fabulous.  Very tender and flavorful, with beautifully cooked fresh vegetables and no fungus to speak of.  Yea!  

Again, I thought we’d be stuffed, but we managed to finish most of these two dishes.  Bill took the leftovers with him for lunch today.  When our gracious hostess noticed we were finished eating, she cleared our plates and brought us each a scoop of bourbon vanilla ice cream with fresh melon.

The large Asian group was clearing out and they all got on a big tour bus.  I have seen lots of tour buses full of Asians in other parts of Europe where there’s a lot of tourism, but I guess Herrenberg is on the map.  They seemed to be very pleased as they left.  I could see why.

A nice dessert surprise!

As we were enjoying the fruit and ice cream, I noticed a woman who appeared to be a regular coming in.  She gave the proprietor a big hug and kiss and sat down in the recently vacated bar area.  I think I’d like to sit in the bar area too, not just because I like my booze, but also because it just looks really nice in there.  The bar itself is very ornate and attractive and the room has pleasant lighting.  As I get older and my sweet bloom of youth begins to wilt, I realize that I appreciate romantic lighting more and more.

When Bill called for the check, it was presented with two fortune cookies.  The hostess handed me a strange box.  I wasn’t sure what it was.  At first, I thought maybe she was giving me tea or something.  I honestly didn’t know and she didn’t explain it because she wasn’t an English speaker and my German skills still stink.  It turned out to be a small bottle of plum wine.  We’ll probably enjoy that over the weekend.  Our total came to 34,20 euros before the tip.

Sorry this picture sucks.  It was pouring rain and stormy when I took it.  In any case, if you’re near the train station in Herrenberg, this place is super easy to find.  If you’re driving, there’s plenty of parking.  The food is good.  The service is friendly.  The decor is interesting and inviting and I’m sure we’ll be back.

I give China Panda high marks for food and service.  It’s also a very economical place to eat.  I’m glad we stopped there last night, even if we were supposed to be eating Greek food with Bill’s bosses.  Ah well, I’m sure there will be a next time.

Standard