Tag Archives: Alte Brennerei

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Lunch at Gasthaus Lamm in Herrenberg…

The day kind of got away from us today.  We got up rather late, had a late breakfast, and then Bill went to the store to pick up some things for the week.  Consequently, it wasn’t until about 1:00 that we finally decided what to do with our afternoon.  We entertained thoughts of going to a fest, but ended up going to Herrenberg, where we stopped by the Gasthaus Lamm for lunch.

Gasthaus Lamm’s sign.

The last time we visited the Gasthaus Lamm was for Thanksgiving in 2015.  We didn’t have a Thanksgiving dinner there; rather, we enjoyed a large German meal that was kind of fall inspired.  I’d been wanting to go back for some time, but this is a restaurant that is almost always packed, even during the daytime.  We noticed today that they had a sign outside signifying that after next weekend, they would only be open in the evenings.

Things will change next week!

We arrived at the restaurant at about 2:30 or so, about a half an hour before the restaurant has its afternoon pause.  There were a few tables open, so we chose one in a corner near the bar area.  One thing I like about Gasthaus Lamm is that it’s a very cozy place in an old building.  It’s very typically German, as is the food.  During the warmer months, there is outside seating available.  In winter, it’s best to make reservations because the restaurant is very popular and it’s tiny.

Bill’s typically charming expression after I tell him dirty jokes.

A pleasant young man who spoke perfect English took care of us.  We both had weizens and salads.  I had one with grilled chicken strips and Bill had one with tuna.

My salad, which was described as chicken strips with bread.  This was actually not what I was expecting, but it tasted good and was good for me.  This was priced at 10,50 and had a nice light vinaigrette and a sprinkling of seeds.

Bill’s tuna salad came with soft, mild cheese, but was basically the same set up as mine.  

 

Our bill came to 25,50, which we thought was a fair price.  I wasn’t able to finish my whole salad.

Gasthaus Lamm happens to be located right next to the Alte Brennerei, which happens to be one of our favorite bottle shops.  Although we probably should have steered clear, we went inside and ended up enjoying an impromptu rum and wine tasting.  The people in Alte Brennerei speak perfect English and are always willing to let their customers taste things.  Of course, when we taste things, we often end up buying, and that’s what happened today.  We came home with plenty of wine and rum for the rapidly cooling evenings in Germany.

I was actually thinking of going to Sindelfingen today.  Perhaps if we had gotten an earlier start, we would have gone there and tried a new restaurant.  Maybe we’ll try that tomorrow, if we don’t hit a fest.  Quite a few are going on this weekend.

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Sundays

Schnitzel, song, and sunshine on the Schönbuch ridge…

I had thoughts that maybe Bill and I should venture to Stuttgart for some fun today, but then I decided to do laundry.  As anyone who lives in these parts knows, laundry can be an all day affair, even if you use the short cycles.  I wasn’t finished washing the bed linens until about 1:30pm, which seemed kind of late to be heading out to Stuttgart, especially since we wanted to have lunch.  We decided to go to Herrenberg instead.

As we headed into town, I noticed the ads for the Whisky Messe that is going on right now.  Tickets were being sold at the Alte Brennerei, an excellent place to buy all manner of exotic spirits and wines.  I told Bill I wanted to stop in there today, since we’re out of whisky.  But first, I wanted to have lunch.  I remembered from last year, when we took our dogs, Zane and Arran, on a walk through nature trails on the Schönbuch ridge overlooking the outskirts of Herrenberg.  Right across the street from the nature park, there is a restaurant/biergarten that looked inviting.  We didn’t try it last year, but decided to stop in today, sans dogs.

Lots of trails and a nice little self-service restaurant for your hunger, big or small.

The biergarten at the was full of people when we arrived at the Naturfreundehaus am Schönbuch.  They were serving a few specials along with the usual schnitzels and such.  It’s a self-service place that appears to be quite popular among locals.  In fact, when we walked inside, there was a group of people in a closed off room having a group singalong of some sort.  I was grateful that they were on key, because they sang the same song several times.  I had it stuck in my head the whole time we were dining.

My first impression… it seemed a bit “church fellowship hall” like.

Bill and I both decided to have small schnitzels with fries, washed down with hefeweizens.  I sat down while Bill ordered.

The lady took his order and gave him a ticket with a number on it.  He sat with me to wait.

You can’t go wrong with a local weizen.

Bill laughs as I snark on the singers in the next room.  They were actually entertaining.  I wouldn’t have minded joining in on the singalong.

Finally, our number was called.  We were 122.  Bill picked up our lunches and we commenced eating.

They had large and small schnitzels.  We both got the small size, which was plenty.  I didn’t finish the fries.  I noticed they had a number of nice looking cakes.  I wouldn’t have minded trying out the Black Forest Cake they had, but I refrained for the sake of my behind.

Nice napkins that tell you where you are.

Once you’re finished eating, you take your dirty dishes to the window.  Put bottles and glasses on the counter where you give your order.

 

This was a pretty typical schnitzel and pommes lunch, but I noticed some of the other options looked pretty good.  Prices are also very reasonable.  It’s a nice, no frills place to stop in after your hike in the woods.  I probably would have enjoyed sitting outside in the sun, but I’m glad we caught the German singing group.

They have handy maps for people who want to walk.

A view of the Biergarten.

Across this highway are more trails.

 

After lunch, we went back to Herrenberg, parked the car, and walked to the Alte Brennerei.  I have written about this awesome wine and liquor store more than a couple of times.  Today was our first visit back since Christmas.  Let me warn you… they are experts at upselling!

Interesting sight by the parking garage.

 

We were originally attracted to their Springbank whiskys, but the one I really had my eye on was priced at about 200 euros.  So we turned our attention to Kilchoman, which was one of the distilleries we visited last year during our Scottish whisky cruise.  I picked up a bottle that was intriguing.  Bill picked out another bottle he liked.  We put them up on the counter.  The saleslady, who spoke some English, invited us to try a couple of whiskys.  We were happy to do it.  Of course, we loved the other two she brought out for us and ended up buying four bottles of scotch.  It may be time for me to start a Facebook whisky lovers group…

Good stuff.  I hope it holds us for awhile.

Bill assesses the damage.  But they softened the blow with a gift of Italian tartufos.

 

I think tomorrow, we will try to go to Stuttgart for a bit… and do some harmless sightseeing rather than shopping!  At least lunch was cheap.  It was a mere 23 euros, plus parking was free of charge.  Edited to add, the Nature House is apparently affiliated with the Friends of Nature, which is an international group dedicated to making nature more accessible.  This particular restaurant is open from 11am-6pm.

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Baden-Württemberg

Christmas in Herrenberg…

Bill decided to drag me out of the house by my hair this afternoon.  Since it was somewhat early in the day, we were even in time to visit the Holzapfel cheese store, where we proceeded to purchase several cheeses and a few bottles of wine…

There was a large crowd in the store today…  I talked Bill into buying some of the green cheese anyway (pesto Gouda), as well as Gruyeres, and some other Swiss cheese I’ll never eat.


Lots of vinegars, oils, and marinades…

The Holzapfel closes at 2:00 on Saturdays (ETA: as of 2025, they now close at 1:00 on Saturdays), so we hurried into their wine room and loaded up on some nice dry Italian wines.  The store also has a cafe where you can have coffee or prosecco.  I definitely need to spend more time in this store.  They had lots of chocolate, pasta, sauces, and other gourmet stuff for the discerning eater.

Vino!  We bought three bottles, then went across the street to the Alte Brennerei, where we REALLY stocked up.  As we were checking out, the cashier handed me what appeared to be a nougat.  I tried it later and that’s what I think it was…  very tasty and maybe even homemade.

This was the whisky of the week.  Yes, we bought a bottle.  

Mr. Bill whips out his credit card for two bottles of wine and a bottle each of rum, whisky, and gin.  They let us try the rum and whisky.  I hadn’t been planning to get any rum today, but we found an excellent 20 year old bottle from Costa Rica.  Thank God for credit cards.

We really need to spend more time in Herrenberg.  There are some great stores there, as well as some good restaurants.  And we live only about ten or fifteen minutes away.

If you’re in Herrenberg and like wine and cheese, stop in at the Holzapfel.

And the Alte Brennerei, where good things come in small packages.

I could be sorely tempted to stop in at this store and pick up some cute stuff for the house.

 

We decided to have lunch at Herrenberg’s Osteria da Gino.  It wasn’t very crowded today.  I normally like to go to new places so I can write a fresh review, but today we decided to stop in and have some pizza and pasta.

Festive table.  The bartender raised his eyebrows when we ordered a bottle of wine.

This was our first time sitting in the bar area.  It’s very inviting.

Mr. Bill tries the Montepulciano.  The waiter actually had me taste it first, which is a rarity.

Good stuff!  And yes, we finished it before the staffers got their pause.

I had tortellini alla panna.  This was good, but a little rich.  The tortellinis were full of cheese and served with ham.  I managed half.

Bill had a Rustica pizza… sardines, ham, capers, and zucchini.  I tried it and the crust was excellent, but I wasn’t all that keen on the sardines on pizza.  Bill liked it, though, especially with the very spicy pepper oil they brought out.  It’s made with habineros.  

After we were kind of shooed out at 2:20 or so, we went across the street to Bonilla, a sweet/coffee shop and picked up macaroons and chocolates.  The lady who looked after us was very helpful and spoke English.  We weren’t buying gifts, so that made things easier for her.  She put our stuff in a bag and sent us on our way.

Bonilla: a nice sweet shop in Herrenberg.

 

So we were out for about three hours… maybe this weekend’s lunch date wasn’t as decadent as last week’s, but we had a nice time.  And now we’re at home, enjoying the cloudy weather and the wine we will soon be opening.  We really need to go to Ludwigsburg and dump some beer bottles, but I didn’t want to deal with the traffic or parking.  Maybe in a couple of weeks, when Christmas is over, we’ll work out way up there for a beer run.

 

 
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A gorgeous fall Saturday in Herrenberg!

We had absolutely beautiful weather today.  I told Bill I wanted to go out and do something.  We gave some thought to driving to Stuttgart, but I noticed the time.  It was about 1:00pm and I knew we wanted lunch.  Given that a lot of places stop serving lunch at 2:00pm, I suggested to Bill that we stop in Herrenberg.  We did… and we never made it out of Herrenberg today!  Read on to find out why…

We parked in a leafy parking area… 2 euros for 48 hours!

 

Both of our times in Germany, Bill and I have lived close to Herrenberg, a small city south of Stuttgart.  During our first time here, we lived near Tuebingen and spent more time there than in Herrenberg.  This time, we live near Nagold, and go there more often.  But Herrenberg has a whole lot going for it, as we found out today.  There are great restaurants and places to shop, as well as friendly people.

They were just finishing up the market when we arrived.  We decided to have lunch at Osteria da Gino’s.  We have also been to a restaurant with the same name in Nagold several times– this one in Herrenberg is different, but equally excellent.  Both times we’ve been in there, it’s been very well attended.

 

Today was actually the first time Bill and I have ever eaten at the Osteria da Gino’s in Herrenberg.  The first time we tried to, it was absolutely packed and we were turned away.  It was pretty busy today, too.  For that reason, it may be a good idea to make reservations if this review tempts you.

Obligatory shot of Bill.

 

The inside of Osteria da Gino’s in Herrenberg is very quaint and smells delicious!  They have an impressive array of wines available.  We ordered a small carafe of primitivo and our usual sparkling water.

Right now, Osteria da Gino is offering a number of dishes with black truffles from the Piedmont area of Italy, as well as fresh mussels.  I like mussels, but it’s one of those dishes I only want maybe once a year.  We had them a few weeks ago in Belgium.  I opted for duck breast in a raspberry balsamic sauce with noodles and fresh vegetables.  I was glad I asked our waiter, who spoke English, what kind of vegetables came with this dish.  It turned out they were serving it with mushrooms!  But they kindly left them off for me.

My duck breast was delicious!  I think that pasta was homemade, too.

Beautiful fresh vegetables, delicately seasoned and still bright with color…  I wouldn’t be surprised if they were very recently plucked from the garden.

Bill prepares to enjoy a very nice pasta dish with vegetables and black truffles.  Those truffles were very fragrant.

Lovely, quaint interior.  I noticed many people enjoying pizzas, which Gino in Nagold does not offer. The pizzas looked excellent.  Maybe next time we’ll try them.

 

Bill and both loved our meals at Osteria da Gino’s in Herrenberg.  No, it’s not like the one in Nagold, which is a favorite place of ours, but it’s probably just as good and offers different food.  We will definitely have to go back.  Today’s lunch came to 52 euros before the tip.

Excellent location right by the main square in Herrenberg.  You can’t miss it.

Cute little market on a corner.

 

After lunch, we decided we might try the little Irish pub in Herrenberg.  I had been curious about it for a long time.  But first, we stopped by a whisky store… and that turned out to be a VERY successful stop on many levels.  Alte Brennerei in Herrenberg sells wines, spirits, and a small selection of gourmet foods.  It reminds me a little bit of Vinum in Tuebingen, though it’s a bit smaller.   I had seen it a few times on recent trips to Herrenberg, but we never seemed to get there when it was open.  Today, we were in luck.

The doors were open wide!

Unfortunately, we were too late to visit the cheese shop across from it, which also sells wine.

The cheese shop closed at 2:00…  The Alte Brennerei is open until 4:00.

 

We walked in and immediately heard a very tall German looking woman speaking perfect American accented English.  Then she switched to equally perfect German.  She was with a man and a child.  The man was clearly NOT American, but also spoke excellent English, as did the store’s proprietor.  The English speaking German customers said the store had a great selection of scotch whiskys.  Bill and I concurred, having recently been on a whisky cruise.

I was impressed by the selection of wines, too.

It’s not a big shop, but there are lots of interesting wines available from all over…

After we chose a few bottles, we went back to the whisky area.  Bill chose one to take home and we talked more with the English speaking Germans.  It turns out they live very close to us, in the town of Jettingen.  I asked the lady if she was American or German, because her English was so perfect I honestly couldn’t tell.  It turned out she’s German, but was raised in the United States.  And she lives right across the street from Tommi’s Bistro, which is one of our favorite restaurants.  She gave me a card and told me to give her a call sometime.  She said she was happy to meet us because there aren’t a lot of Americans where we are.  And she has a cute little daughter who needs to practice speaking English!  I don’t mind, especially since she and her husband have good taste in booze!

After they left, we tried a Viognier and added it to our collection of bottles.  We chatted up the proprietor, who turned out to be an excellent business woman.  She really knew her whiskys and had also spent some time in Scotland.  She’d even visited a lot of the distilleries we’ve been to, including Kilchoman in Islay, which is a fairly new one.  She smiled when I told her the Scots are my people.

I mentioned to her that I have a wine group on Facebook and she said that they would be very happy to arrange a wine or whisky tasting for groups of ten or more.  Alte Brennerei also hosts a number of events.  I picked up a calendar and hope we can make it to a few of them.  I have a feeling we could learn a lot there!  And, just so you know, they accept credit cards.  We used our USAA card with no issues.

They even have Scottish cider.

 

After we dropped off our booze at the car, we headed for Shannon Irish Pub in Herrenberg.  And, let me just say, it’s no Auld Rogue.  We arrived right after it opened at 3:00.  Not many people were there and German and American pop music blared from the speakers.  The bartender was German and spoke no English.  And there was no Guinness to be found.  What they did have was Murphy’s Irish Stout, so that’s what we had.

A couple of shots of the bar area.

Peanut butter “Flips”… definitely a German snack.  Though I can’t complain because I like them.

Another part of the bar…

 

Service was friendly enough, and I noticed that the prices for the whiskys and whiskeys were reasonable.  It just didn’t seem much like an Irish pub as much as it was a German bar trying to be Irish.  It’s definitely not as charming or authentic as The Auld Rogue is.  And I was shocked that there was no Guinness!  That’s crazy!  But, as bars go, it wasn’t that bad…  Just don’t expect authenticity.

The backside of the bar.

 

All in all, we had a great day.  We were reminded that we need to visit Herrenberg more often.  We usually just go there to take the dogs to the vet or pass through to get to Stuttgart.  It’s a great town, though, with a lot to offer.  And Alte Brennerei is definitely a great find for those who like their booze.  Right next door to Alte Brennerei is the Gasthof Lamm, which is a great little restaurant where we had Thanksgiving last year.  Granted, it was German food, but it was cozy and cute and the food was good.

Herrenberg is a great little town.  It also seems to be the place to see and be seen.  Last time we were there, we ran into our neighbors from our first time in Germany (07-09) and they knew us right away.  This time, we ran into people who live in our town now!

Maybe tomorrow, we’ll make it to Stuttgart.

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