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BrewDog in Wiesbaden!

We had beautiful weather again yesterday, so Bill and I decided to go to Wiesbaden and have lunch at the new BrewDog restaurant. BrewDog is a Scottish craft brewery that claims to be the #1 craft brewer in Europe. Bill and I both like beer very much– that could be an understatement, actually. Bill is a big fan of India Pale Ales (IPAs), too, so he was especially interested in trying the place, which is situated in what used to be a Maredo outlet.

Maredo is a well-known German steakhouse chain, and if you search this blog, you’ll see that Bill and I have visited them a few times, although I don’t think we ever went to the one in Wiesbaden. Looking at their Web site, it appears that they closed a lot of locations. Stuttgart used to have two of them within view of each other, but now it looks like there’s only one. And I remember going to one at the Bonn-Cologne airport back in 2012, and it looks like it’s no longer open, either. There is still one in Frankfurt, so I guess we could go there if the spirit moved us.

In any case, I’m glad to see that there’s a new restaurant in Wiesbaden and it offers unique offerings, for Germany, anyway. Wiesbaden is actually pretty well served by different cuisines, but sometimes one can get stuck in a rut eating Italian, Greek, and German food here, and drinking hefeweizens, pilsners, and the like. BrewDog’s menu is very American friendly, but it also offers vegan choices. And, according to its official Web site, it’s a child friendly place every night until 9:00pm. It’s also dog friendly, as are a lot of German restaurants. We didn’t see any four legged guests yesterday. In fact, when we got there at about 12:30pm, there weren’t many guests at all. The door was wide open, but I didn’t see anyone enjoying lunch. I even wondered for a minute if they were open. It was busier as we were leaving.

We took a seat at table near the front of the restaurant, enjoying plenty of social distance. The barkeep checked our COVID vaccination statuses, but that formality will probably go away next week. The beer menu included a lot of BrewDog’s offerings on tap, but there were also bottled beers. Not too many of them weren’t of the IPA variety, though, which later turned into a problem when Bill’s co-worker saw us and decided to join us for a round. She ordered a pale ale and sent it back, because it was too bitter. I don’t mind IPAs in small doses, but like our friend, I would probably choose a lager or weizen over a bitter brew. I did enjoy my “Elvis Juice”, though, and afterwards, I had a Kokosnuss Porter for dessert.

For lunch, I had a Patriot burger, which was 100% beef with cheddar, pickles, onions, bacon, baby gem, and barbecue sauce. It came with pretty good fries. Bill had a Buffalo Chicken Burger, which was buttermilk fried chicken, hot sauce, honey glaze, gorgonzola cheese, and honey gem. It also came with fries. I was pretty happy with the burger, especially for Germany. It’s been nice to see the burgers get better in this country since our return in 2014. I almost went with the Chuck Norris, which was buttermilk fried chicken on a bun with avocado, red onion, cajun mayo, and coriander. I decided against it because I’m not a big fan of coriander. Next time, maybe I’ll try it… or maybe I’ll get brave and try one of the many vegan selections offered. They also have snacks, chicken wings, bowls, and salads, and for kids, there’s even a “Hoppy Meal”.

I really liked the interior of the restaurant, which offered views of the exposed bricks of the old building, which was perfectly located right near the main square in Wiesbaden. We probably should have sat outside, given the location. It was such a nice day, and the place is primely suited for people watching. There was a Muslim wedding going on out there yesterday! But I also enjoyed the music they were playing indoors. All told we spent about 53 euros before the tip. Food is not too expensive, but the beers were a bit pricey, as were the gooey looking desserts. BrewDog is Lieferando friendly, although I think their delivery area is fairly limited to downtown Wiesbaden. They don’t deliver to our neighborhood, for instance. You can also get beer growlers and canned beer to go there.

One word of caution for anyone with mobility issues. The restrooms are located upstairs, just as they are in a lot of European restaurants.

Below are some spring photos from our lunch date and stroll around Wiesbaden. It was a real pleasure to get out and about! And, on another note, I was glad to see Nora again, Bill’s colleague!

Jeans store near us supports Ukraine.
Flowers everywhere!
I love the blue flowers.
A wedding!
Old stationwagon getaway car.
Great place for IPA lovers, but the prices aren’t cheap.
Patriot Burger
Buffalo Chicken Burger
Round 2… a porter and a heavy malt.
Nice interior
Chocolatier across from BrewDog.
Outside was picking up as we left.
I never get tired of photographing this church.
These bushes reminded me of Ukraine with yellow and blue flowers.
Goofy German ads.

We have nice weather again today, but today is the first day of the DST time change. It’s already 1:19pm, and I am not dressed. I don’t know if we’ll go out or not. I did just send Bill out to drive my car, which hasn’t been out in weeks. I have heard the weather is going to be crappy again next week, so maybe we should make an effort to go out. We’ll see.

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An American style lunch in Frankfurt…

We are still enjoying excellent weather here in south central Germany, so Bill and I decided to take the Mini out for a spin with the top down. We found a restaurant on OpenTable.de called Chicago Meatpackers where we’d never been before… Actually, it’s been ages since our last trip to Frankfurt, anyway. It looked like a fun place with an American vibe, although it also has outlets in Hamburg and Dubai. The menu is heavy on steaks, burgers, and sandwiches, although there are also a few other dishes offered, including several that are vegan.

Bill took the Mini in to the garage last week. By then, the roof started functioning properly again. It was nice to be “topless” today.

We found a parking garage right next to the restaurant. It was kind of a new fangled place. We didn’t have to take a ticket when we entered, because the garage took a picture of our license plate. When we were finished with the garage, which charges one euro per hour on Sundays, we entered the license plate into the machine, paid, and the system recognized our plate as we were on our way out.

When we arrived at the restaurant, we found it almost empty. There was just one couple sitting on the terrace. We had our pick of where we wanted to sit, and unlike yesterday, we had no worries about Jaguars going in and out of parking garages. Chicago Meatpackers has a side terrace, where we sat, and another outdoor seating area in front of the restaurant. The interior is really nice, with lots of America bric-a-brac and a functioning train that runs at the ceiling. There’s also a great looking bar, but it’s closed thanks to COVID-19.

The restaurant has a full bar, as well as a lot of non-alcoholic drinks. They also brew two types of their own craft beers– a red and a blond. Bill and I each had one of each– large sized– to go with our sandwiches. Bill had a steak sandwich, which was served with slice ribeye, mushrooms, and cheese, as well as a side of fries. I had a Meatpackers’ Burger, which was your basic cheeseburger. It also came with a choice of sides, which ran the gamut from Caesar salad, truffled mashed potatoes, and several kinds of fries. I liked the burger, because not only did it taste good, but it also wasn’t huge. They do serve other kinds of burgers, too, including Beyond Burgers, and chicken burgers.

Sneaky shot of the bar.
Extensive menu… they also have a children’s menu.
Blond beer.
Red beer. Both made for the restaurant.
Good sandwiches and more fries than we can eat. We brought most of the fries home.

Service was basically friendly and very laid back, although there was no need for our server to be stressed. He had a light lunch crowd that only picked up about ninety minutes later, as we were about to leave. We mostly had the place to ourselves, and the food got out very quickly. It was hot and fresh, and of good quality. I was particularly pleased by the quality of the beef. Those with a large appetite may want to spring for an extra patty. The burger wasn’t huge. It was big enough for me, and easy to finish. I’m not stuffed, but I’m quite satisfied.

While we enjoyed our beverages, I noticed some of the signage near us. It seems like more and more signs in Germany are either half done or entirely done in English! I also noticed two Porsches today– both later model. One was red, and the other was bright yellow. Both were kind of obnoxious.

Half in English?
Something “your ass off!”… We couldn’t see under the trees.
A look at the other dining area outside. Good place for people watching.
Front door. There are steps.
Kids and families are welcome!

Business was slow enough that I was a little worried that maybe this place has a pause in the afternoon. It doesn’t, though, and we didn’t really need a reservation. Total damage was about fifty euros. I would go back and try one of the other dishes. I almost went for their spare ribs, but they were veal and I try to avoid veal when possible. The grilled salmon looked enticing. I might have had that, if not for the fact that we eat a lot of salmon at home. They also had some interesting looking chicken dishes and appetizers. Like I said, it’s a very “American” style place, even though it appears to be owned and staffed by people from the Middle East.

Frankfurt is a unique German city…
Frankfurt is known for its skyscrapers, which makes it a unique German city…
This blue tube was some kind of water project. It looked cool.
A little professional graffiti…

Today’s outing wasn’t particularly exciting in terms of things we saw or did, but it was nice to visit Frankfurt again. It’s been a long while since we were last there, and it was a nice trip for the Mini Cooper, which really needs to be driven much more often.

I don’t know when we’ll be back in Frankfurt, but I would certainly recommend Chicago Meatpackers. I hope the COVID-19 numbers go down enough so people can enjoy its indoor dining room, which is pretty nice to look at. The electric train alone is worth staring at.

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