Tag Archives: Bad Soden

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Mother’s Day at Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar in Bad Soden am Taunus…

I’m not sure Bill was remembering what today is, when he decided he wanted to go out for lunch. It’s Mother’s Day in Germany, just as it is in the USA. Having been a waitress in a prior life, I knew what that could mean for those who wanted to go out to eat. But Bill was gone for eight nights, and we were hankering for a date somewhere, so he decided to book us lunch at Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar in Bad Soden.

We’ve been to this restaurant a few times, having discovered it, and the wonderful spa town it’s in, a few years ago on OpenTable.de. We love the bar in this restaurant, and when it’s nice outside, it’s pleasant to sit outdoors and people watch. Today, because of the clouds, I determined that I wanted to sit inside. I figured it would be packed… and it was very busy, but not fully booked.

Parking in Bad Soden is generally difficult. We made a few passes before Bill finally let me out so he could find a spot. He remembered where the relatively hidden parkdeck was. That was a blessing, as there were several spots open there. Lots of other people were trying to park at the same time we were and having no success. Bill said he saw a sign indicating that the parkdeck would be closed starting tomorrow through July. Guess we won’t be back to Bad Soden for awhile! 😉 We made today count, anyway…

We decided to eat indoors, mainly because I didn’t want it to rain on my new wool dress. Bill got dressed up, which meant I had to dress up, too. He wanted to see how his injured foot would do in dress shoes, since he’s going back to the office tomorrow. He seemed to do fine in his business casual attire.

As I mentioned up post, the restaurant was busy, but not totally full. Lots of families were out with their kids. A table near us was loaded with kids and a dog who protested a few times from under the table. At another table near us, I watched the young girl go to the bathroom about a half dozen times within the span of an hour. A couple of times, she took her mom with her. I won’t lie. That made me a little nervous, but it turns out there was no need. As usual, the food was top notch.

I had a 300 gram U.S. Prime Rib-Eye steak with a side of mashed potatoes. It was cooked to a perfect medium, and topped with rosemary. Bill went with veal spare ribs, which came with barbecue sauce and fries. We had a lovely Malbec and a bottle of sparkling water to help wash things down. Before we got out main courses, we had wonderful, hot, fresh olive bread with aioli and huge green olives with peppers.

If we’d wanted to, we could have had pizza or pasta, fish, burgers, or something vegan or vegetarian. But Rocco’s really seems to specialize in steaks and ribs. On prior visits, we’ve had other choices of ribs and steaks. They’re always outstanding.

I got some photos of our lunch, which culminated in delightful desserts. I had a red velvet lava cake with cream cheese frosting. Bill had an almond and cherry ice cream parfait. I normally don’t like lava cakes, but this one was different, as it wasn’t the usual chocolate.

Someone pulled the shirt up on the mannequin at Jeans Boss.
Sweet bearded Bill…
He looks like a shrink…
An unexpectedly nice photo of me.
That bread was insanely good.
The wine… it was different than what Bill had ordered. They were out of his choice.
My steak was perfect. I brought home leftovers.
The potatoes were also good.
Bill loved the spare ribs. I might have liked them, too, but they were veal and I try not to eat that.
My Red Velvet Lava Cake…
I was surprised when I cut it.
Bill’s parfait. It was very nice with the almond cookies.
Lots of people were at Rocco’s!
In Bad Soden, you can literally take the waters…
There’s something very “Melrose Place” about Bad Soden.
I wonder if the neighbors hang out…
A very nice spa town.

I’d like to spend more time in Bad Soden. It’s a beautiful town, with nice restaurants and a lovely park. Parking can be quite a pain there, though, as we were reminded of again today.

I think lunch ran about 200 euros or so. We paid with a card. It was pretty noisy, mainly because of the young children who were dining. When the families near us left, the decibel level went down by about half. But everybody seemed to be having a very nice time. As usual, I can only recommend Rocco’s, although there are some other restaurants in Bad Soden I’m hoping to try.

Maybe we’ll get our chance soon…

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Back to Bad Soden!

Bill and I never managed to venture out yesterday, because I was waiting for a package from Amazon. I decided I wanted to get an ultrasonic cleaner for my jewelry, glasses, and dentures… Actually, I only have one implant, rather than dentures. But if I had false teeth, the ultrasonic cleaner could clean them for me. The package didn’t arrive until 2:00pm and by then, Bill was already firing up the grill for lunch. So we stayed home, listened to music, and drank beer.

Today, however, we were determined to get out for lunch. Bill made a 1:30 OpenTable reservation for lunch at Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar in Bad Soden, a spa town near Frankfurt. We have been there before. Once, we ate inside, near their fabulous bar. The other time, Bill got takeout. Today, we sat outside, although the sky was overcast and it was a little chilly.

Before we went to the restaurant, we took a short stroll around the park, where a natural spring provides mineral water to all comers. Here are some photos from our stroll.

  • “Love will tear us apart… again.”
  • Someone’s rock painted like a ladybug.
  • Richard Wagner wuz here.
  • Bill and I were struck by this building near the dance school. It looked like Gaudi’s work.
  • Maybe it’s an apartment building? It sure is unusual.
  • Gay pride?
  • Here, you can get yourself some mineral water.
  • Here’s an explanation of all of the health benefits…
  • The water runs continuously.
My German friend says I was right about the Gaudi looking building. It is an apartment building, and the work of Hundertwasser, who was influenced by Gaudi.
The water runs! Bring a bottle.

At about 1:30pm, we showed up at Rocco’s and were invited to take a seat by the servers, most of whom speak English. We decided to sit outside, despite the clouds and occasional raindrops. Sitting outside was not a bad decision on our part. Most people were sitting outside, since the temperature was agreeable. Bill and I both decided to have beef, which we’ve always gotten at Rocco’s. Pizzas, pastas, fish, and Italian specialties like burrata and vitello am tonnato are available, as are salads. But they seem to specialize in beef and barbecue, so that’s what we’ve always had so far. We did see someone with a pizza that looked excellent. Maybe next time.

  • The grand entrance.
  • Checking out the menu…
  • We had some black olive bread that came with hummus, garlic aioli, and olive tapenade, which they called “pate”. The garlic aioli was a hit!
  • We loved this Barbera wine from Italy. It tasted of red fruits– plums, cherries, a little vanilla, and alcohol, since it was 15% ABV.
  • I had the 300 gram sized US Angus beef ribeye (35 euros) and pommes. They also had a 400 gram version for nine euros more. Bill had the Waygu hanger steak with roasted potatoes and a red wine reduction.
  • After a very leisurely and satisfying lunch, we had dessert. I had the tiramisu cipriani, which was almost like a drink.
  • Bill had the Valrhona chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream. We joked that it would be a lava cake, but it was really more of a flourless torte.
  • On our way out of town, I noticed this art gallery…
  • And this cool fountain/sculpture near the Croatian Biergarten.

Total damage for lunch was 133 euros. Bill paid with a card, including the “Trinkgeld” tip. It was a really nice, relaxing, leisurely lunch, with no fuss, no muss, and no stress. Bad Soden is a nice town anyway. I’d like to spend more time there, now that things are opening up more. We’ll see how long it lasts. COVID-19 infections are slightly higher this week at five infections per 100,000 as opposed to 4.9 infections per 100,000 a week ago. Since people are starting to travel, they may go up again.

I still need a vacation, though, so I’m looking for where we might go… Looks like this year, it could be Croatia, at long last. But we’ll see… it all depends. I’m definitely chomping at the bit to get out of here and enjoy a change of scenery for a week or so. For now, I’m glad we have spa towns like Bad Soden to visit, and nice restaurants that serve different food than what we usually eat at home.

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A mighty meaty meal at Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar in Bad Soden…

Today, Bill and I finally ventured out for lunch again. Regular readers might remember that we had Greek food a couple of weeks ago. Since then, the weather got mostly crappy and we didn’t feel like going out in the rain. We didn’t go out at all last weekend and this weekend, which was actually three days because Bill took Friday off, we just went out today.

I had noticed Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar on OpenTable.com a few times, but knew nothing about Bad Soden, the town where it’s located. Bill noticed it for the first time today and decided that we’d visit today. I’m so glad he did. We had a great time there!

Bad Soden is a spa town not far from Frankfurt… maybe about twenty minutes from where we live. That’s another plus. Actually, that’s a major plus for most everything up here. For once, we don’t live way the hell out in the boonies and can get to Wiesbaden and Frankfurt with ease. It’s a nice change of pace. As we drove into it, we could see that it had the look of a vacation town. The architecture is kind of quaint, particularly for this part of Germany, and there are a lot of upscale shopping venues and restaurants.

The restaurant is near the church… you might need to give thanks to God for a meal at Rocco’s.

There’s a very convenient parking lot near Rocco’s, which we took advantage of with ease. A very friendly young waitress greeted us as we entered Rocco’s just in time for our 1:00 reservation. We had a choice of sitting in the bar area at a “high top” table or at a standard table in the dining room. They also have an outdoor area for warmer weather. I liked the music– it was kind of mod dance music, like one might hear at a fashion show. I especially loved the inviting bar, which was huge and featured lots of high end gins, plenty of excellent wines, and even a few speciality liqueurs.

Our waitress spoke excellent English, but gamely indulged Bill’s desire to practice German as she also willingly accommodated my English. Menus are available in German and English. We used the German ones.

I noticed Richard Wagner, because I am a music enthusiast… made a mental note to check the sign closer after we ate.
Info for the locals… I was impressed because this place really was Italo-American style. I don’t think I have encountered beef ribs at any other eatery in Germany.

Bill ordered us a bottle of sparkling water and a bottle of Barbera. Rocco’s has an impressive wine list, which included one bottle that sells for 500 euros. The menu was unique and appealing, particularly for Germany. They offer a number of beef dishes… and the beef is American. They have beef short ribs, flank steaks, and rib eyes. They also have pizza, pasta, and pulled pork! It had been ages since I last had beef ribs, so that’s what I ordered. Bill went with a 300 gram (the smaller) rib eye steak.

  • I loved the bar! It was very inviting!
  • This was a nice bottle, especially after it had time to sit and open up a bit.
  • Our waitress brought out delicious bread and little fried potato amuses. Both went with the aioli.
  • No… we aren’t drunk… we’re just goofy.

When the food arrived, I was delighted by how good the ribs were. Seriously… it’s been ages since I last had beef ribs and it’s not something I would ever expect to find in Germany, let alone enjoy. They were great! I couldn’t finish them, so I had the leftovers packed up for tomorrow. I doubt I’ll need any more food today. Bill was equally impressed by his steak. It was covered with Italian herbs and cooked to medium perfection.

  • We get silly…
  • when we’re bored and drinking wine…
  • Beef ribs, smothered in barbecue potato chips. It was sinful.
  • As was the rib eye. I considered ordering this myself, but I’m glad I went with the ribs.
  • The table next to us was dressed for a party! I think this would be a nice place for a celebration.

I noticed the menu had a few Mexican inspired dishes as well as a few options for vegans and vegetarians. However, I wouldn’t say this restaurant would be a hit with non meat eaters. You can find something to eat there, but it seems to cater more to carnivores… particularly beef lovers. I saw some impressive looking cocktails, too.

We were keen to try dessert, so after a round of espresso, I had the “Black and White”– a scoop of chocolate mousse and a scoop of white chocolate mousse. Bill had “Pistachio cake with Bourbon Vanilla ice cream”. The Pistachio cake was kind of like lava cake. Regular readers know how I feel about lava cake… although at least this one wasn’t chocolate! Bill enjoyed it and I liked the taste I tried. They also had a small surprise dessert in a glass available, as well as cheesecake and cheese courses.

  • A shot of espresso before the closing act.
  • Black and white… lovely mousse– not too much.
  • Pistachio lava cake with bourbon vanilla ice cream.
  • I need this lamp for my kitchen.
  • Richard Wagner slept in Bad Soden once.

When it came time to exit, Bill paid cash, but he could have used a credit card. All told, it was an excellent meal and a really great afternoon in a town we need to explore more. Bad Soden may even invite us for a spa weekend… even though we only live about twenty minutes away!

I know a lot of my readers are in the Stuttgart area, but if you’re coming up here for business, this may be a town worth a visit. And if you live up here and want some beef, check out Rocco’s Italian Grill & Bar. We’ll definitely be back for more… but not before we check out some of the other interesting looking restaurants in Bad Soden!

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