Tag Archives: Cajun food

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Meet the vet… and eat Cajun food!

Those of you who know me on Facebook and/or have been following my main blog might have read that a couple of nights ago, our dog Zane experienced a bit of veterinary drama.  Bill had to take him to our local vet because he was throwing up foam.  A couple of hours after they left the local vet, Zane had bloody diarrhea.  I asked Bill to take Zane to the Tierklinik Hofheim, which is not too far from where we live.  I first heard of the Tierklinik Hofheim from our former vet, Dr. Schube, in Herrenberg.  She said it was one of the best veterinary clinics in Germany.  I never thought we’d ever live close enough to use their services, but I was sure glad we had their services handy on Thursday.

Our new vet.  Up here, all of the vets have a little “V” sign by their office, indicating they are veterinarians.  I don’t remember ever seeing that near Stuttgart.

Bill brought Zane in at about 8:00pm and didn’t get home until almost 1:00am.  I was really worried about Zane, who really looked uncomfortable.  I did some checking online and it appeared that he might have suffered from HGE (Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis).  While this condition is very treatable if it’s caught early, it can be deadly if it’s not treated aggressively with supportive therapies.  Fortunately, Zane wasn’t as sick as he seemed and Bill brought him home to sleep off the medications and the effects of the illness.  He’s fine, now.

We’d already had an appointment for today, which Bill made before Zane got so acutely sick.  We went in today to drop off some samples from our dogs to find out if they have parasites… and if they do, what kind.  I have a feeling parasites might have been behind Zane’s attack, especially since both dogs have had a lot of gas lately… and it has a distinctively “wormy” odor to it.  I can’t describe it; and you probably wouldn’t want me to; but once you know that smell, you know it.  Arran was similarly sick a few months ago and deworming him fixed him right up.  That time, I had some dewormer from our Stuttgart area vets.

Our new vets are pretty high speed.  The male half of the husband and wife team was in the news for doing IVF on a dog in Dubai.  They have several vets on staff and even offer Saturday hours, which is pretty impressive.  I don’t enjoy visiting the vet, but I did need to visit so I’d know where to bring them when it falls to me to get them in for vet care.  I did most of the vet stuff when we lived near Herrenberg and I have a feeling that Bill likes it that way, even if I don’t.  Although Arran didn’t need to see the vet, we brought him along for the ride so he wouldn’t be stuck at home alone.  Actually, our vet appointment was pretty much nothing.  We went in, talked to the vet, and dropped off the sample.  That was it.  It took about an hour, though, because there were a lot of people waiting.

Our vets have a book “lending library” out front.  That scores points with me!

Once we were finished at the vet’s office, we dropped the dogs off and then visited our new friend, John, at Spirit of New Orleans, his fabulous Cajun restaurant.  I’ve written about this restaurant before and it bears a repeat write up.  If you’re in Germany and missing American cuisine, this is a good place to be.  John is from New Orleans and has made his home in Germany.  He’s been thrilling homesick Americans for years and, best of all, his restaurant is located just a few kilometers from our house.  Today was only the second time I’ve eaten in the restaurant, but I’ve had Bill go pick up food from there a few times.  He has everything from ribs to burgers, with some special delicacies like po boys, jambalaya, red beans and rice, chicken wings, and shrimp.

Today, I decided to have the steak special, which came with shrimp, macaroni and cheese, and a salad.  I finished half and will eat the rest later.  

 

Bill had spare ribs, which I’ve had a couple of times.  John’s barbecue sauce is homemade and delicious.  I love his “fries” too, which are really more like very rustic steak fries.  

 

As he was preparing our food, we could hear him in the kitchen cussing.  I heard him yell “Aw fuck!” just before he brought out my steak and almost delivered it to the wrong table.  I could tell he was a bit on edge.  Bill says he reminds him a little bit of the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld.  As long as you follow the “rules”, you’re in for a treat.  Not only is his food amazing, he also plays awesome music.  I was really enjoying Earth, Wind & Fire as I waited for my lunch!  He also offers regular events starring local musicians.  Someday, we’ll be in town when he has an event.  He’s doing a brunch for Mother’s Day next weekend, but we’ll be in Stuttgart… and/or on our way back from Stuttgart..

I had to get a shot Bill…

As well as our local Harley-Davidson dealership, which boasts a certain taboo symbol…

 

It’s always interesting to see the “stars and bars” in Europe.  The flag doesn’t seem to mean what it does in America.  I’ve seen it on cars, in Italian truck stops, and now at the neighborhood Harley dealer.  They probably think they’re catering to Americans with that…  An Italian friend explained to me that, for some reason, southern Italians relate to southern Americans and some have adopted the “Confederate Battle Flag” as their symbol.

A couple of shots from the hilltop looking down toward our neighborhood.  It’s not as beautiful as Jettingen was, but if you know where to look, you can appreciate lovely views here, too.

We left Spirit of New Orleans with my leftover lunch, plus an order of chicken wings, and New Orleans Crawfish Etouffee.  I think John’s restaurant is the only one we’ve been to in Germany where we regularly order lunch, as well as more food to go for later.  It really is a treat!  He went to New Orleans in April, so it’s great that he’s back in town.  He lit up when I told him we missed him.  Although he’s a bit eccentric and sometimes uses blue language in the kitchen, he’s a really great cook.  I’m willing to overlook a little nuttiness if the food is good.  It really is.

Well, in a few days, we’ll be back in Stuttgart to see our dentist and see Elton John perform.  With any luck, the dogs will not have any more veterinary dramas and we’ll be able to enjoy our old stomping grounds with a couple of new Stuttgart restaurant reviews.

 
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Think Real is huge? Globus is gargantuan! And, Louisiana style food in Wiesbaden!

Wow!  I have had quite an exciting day today!  First off, Bill took me to our local Globus, which is an enormous hypermarket in Wiesbaden.  It makes the Real in Jettingen look puny by comparison.  And then, after we went to Globus, we found an authentic Louisiana kitchen located two kilometers from our house!  I may have to take some time to come down from the Cajun food high we have!  We even came home with gumbo for dinner!

But first, let me write up the Globus.  I noticed it when we first arrived in Wiesbaden almost two months ago.  The hotel where we stayed our first night in town is just across the street from it.  Bill went in there once around Christmas time.  He said it was a madhouse.  I generally hate madhouses, but I was curious and I do write a lot about food… So, below are some photos and some light commentary by yours truly.

The first thing to know about Globus is that it’s absolutely humongous.  I mean, it’s probably twice as big as the Real is, although it has nicer lighting.  The building has an apotheke, a few restaurants, including an Asian and Doner shop, dry cleaning, a travel bureau, and a deli.  The only thing I didn’t see was a Coin Star.  I’m sure it’s on the way.  Globus was founded in St. Wendel, Germany back in 1828 by Franz Bruch, who passed the business to his son, who, in turn, passed it to his son.  The store eventually became a chain with locations all over Germany and in the Czech Republic and Russia.

I had a sense of foreboding as I approached this sign.

It’s a really large store, so I recommend eating before you go there.  Or, if you need to, get an electric buggy.

There’s an ATM, but I didn’t see a CoinStar.  Our Jettingen based Real had one of those.

 

Dropping off the bottles, and away we went…

It’s a “hypermarket”, so they have stuff other than food.  You can buy lawn ornaments there, for instance.  I kind of liked these peacocks.

You can also buy costumes for your kids!

We were happy to stop by the liquor and wine area, which was pretty well appointed.

I kind of wonder about obviously gimmicky wines like this one… but I rarely take the bait.

They had some interesting liqueurs, though.

This is just one shot of the vastness of this store… I could have turned the other way and taken another picture to show just how huge it is.  I really don’t like enormous stores like this one, but I have to admit, it has a lot of what you’d want.  On the other hand, finding things can be a challenge.

This is the “American” section.  Notice it’s all Fuego brand “Mexican” food.  Pretty lame!  Fuego is not really American by any stretch, nor is it Mexican.

The Eastern European selection was more credible.

As was the Moroccan…

And Asian.

About halfway through your shopping, you can stop for a cup of coffee or water.  If you could see how large this store is, you’d see why this is a good thing.

Vast meat section.

Coffee, though the logo made me laugh.  It looks like a gorilla taking a dump.

Every kind of cheese you could ever want… (except ricotta)…

Tons of shrimp and “sea asparagus”.

Sushi!  It looked pretty good, too.

And lots of dairy.  We spent some time combing this area looking for ricotta cheese because we feed it to our dogs.  They eat it mixed with fish oil to stave of mast cell tumors.  It took forever to find the last container of ricotta, but they had plenty of everything else you could ever want.

More cheese!

Fresh herbs.  We should bring a few of these plants home.

Mix your own M&Ms in every color…

And Jelly Bellies, too!

We had a light haul of stuff.

And once again, I was shocked by the graphic warnings on the cigarette packages.  Bill laughed when I actually winced at a couple of the pictures.  People still smoke in Germany, though.  A lot!

There’s the drug store.

And the restaurant…

 

To be honest, Globus was exhausting.  I’m sure some people find it an exciting place to shop.  I actually found it more pleasant than the Real, mainly because the lighting was softer and it wasn’t quite as crowded.  However, I probably won’t make a habit of visiting there.  It’s just huge and tiring and I often leave places like that with a lot of stuff I never wanted to buy.

Anyway, after we shopped, it was time to find lunch.  Unfortunately, we were looking during the dreaded time period before the “pause”.  It was almost 2:30pm and that’s when a lot of places close.  I went on Google to see what was open and I noticed an ad for a place called Spirit of New Orleans.  The very first review I read was from an American who wrote, “Damn good food!”  I also noticed that it closed at 5:00pm, but didn’t take a pause.  Bill loves Cajun cuisine and the restaurant happens to be located about 2 kilometers from our house.  So we stopped by to see if it was, in fact, open.

We walked in and noticed how tiny the place is.  A kind looking German lady invited us to pick a table.  We did.  I noticed the awesome funky music– a nice mix of New Orleans jazz and R&B.  We ordered beers…

Outside…

It looked promising.  And there was also plenty of parking!  Bonus!

I immediately took note of the sign, which made me think the proprietor, a man by the name of John, was a military veteran.  Sure enough, he is… and damn, he can cook!

Bill was excited by the menu, even though we were snacking on Fuego tortilla chips.

Bill had jambalaya.  I really should have taken a picture of his face when he tasted it.  It’s the same face he makes during an orgasm.  It’s been too long since I last saw that look on his face.

I went with spare ribs, which were absolutely awesome.  The meat was cooked to perfection and generously sauced.  You get a choice of mild or spicy sauce.  I think I might have had spicy sauce, though I didn’t ask.  I loved the fries that came with it.  They were roasted to perfection and had a really rich, hearty flavor.  

It also came with excellent slaw.  I had a little of it, then passed it to Bill, who likes cabbage more than I do.  John also serves American beers like Budweiser and Miller Genuine Draft.  I don’t think they’re worth 4 euros, but if you miss American suds, you can get them there.

It’s a tiny little place, although we heard John say he has a “hall” for catered events.  He also has an outdoor area for better weather.  His restaurant is in an industrial business complex that is short on charm.  However, I think our new vet is located there (once we pay them a visit and claim them, that is).  I also noticed a number of other restaurants and other businesses.  Parking is plentiful, which is a huge positive in these parts.

After we raved about lunch, John brought us each a chicken wing.  It was freakin’ delicious.  I’m serious.  It definitely wasn’t KFC.  Next time we visit, I’m going to try the shrimp.  He also has burgers, which I am sure are done the right way.

 

John came out and chatted us up, telling us he’s been in Wiesbaden for about thirty years.  He’s not the first person I’ve run into who’s come here from America and stayed for decades, and he had a rather colorful commentary about our current “leader” Mr. Trump.  I was very impressed by his restaurant, which is unique and offers genuine Louisiana flavors delivered with great music and sassy commentary.  John told us he’s worked in German hotels and, before he opened his own restaurants, he was in the Army where he was a chef.  I got a huge kick out of him.  He told us he’d had two other restaurants in Wiesbaden, but he closed them due to a lack of qualified personnel.  This is an epidemic in Germany.  There’s a shortage of qualified restaurant workers.  Our favorite place in Nagold, down near our old neighborhood near Stuttgart, closed for the same reason.

We got talked into dessert, so I had cheesecake, which was excellent and not too huge.

And Bill had bread pudding with Jack Daniels’ sauce.

While I had another beer, John and Bill did shots of moonshine.  I didn’t sample it myself, but Bill said it was impressively smooth.

John hosts a number of events at his place, including a Mardi Gras breakfast, complete with live music (February 10th).  He also does New Orleans breakfasts at other times during the year.  He’ll be open on Valentine’s Day evening for dinner, for which reservations are required, as well as Mother’s Day, Thanksgiving, and even an early Christmas dinner (on the 14th instead of the 25th of December).  I have a feeling we’ll be regulars there, because the food was just insane.  We really enjoyed ourselves.

I can’t even believe this place is not five minutes from where we live.

If I’ve piqued your interest, have a look at their Facebook page.  And if you’re down in Stuttgart, you might want to take a field trip to Wiesbaden for this restaurant.  Just keep in mind that this place is only open for breakfast and lunch.  It’s in an office park, so there’s less call for it to be open for dinner.  Plan accordingly and come hungry!  And if you’re bringing more than four people, call and make a reservation.

We came home with gumbo for dinner tonight.  I think John is the kind of guy who likes to feed people.  While it wasn’t the cheapest lunch we’ve ever had (thanks to all we ate), we are definitely not hungry.  I think we’ll be back again and again!

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