Tag Archives: comfort food

Sundays

Our second visit to Landhaus Diedert in Wiesbaden…

Yesterday, Bill asked me if I might like to go out for lunch today, since, because of the weather, we didn’t go anywhere special on Saturday. I suggested Landhaus Diedert, an upscale eatery in Wiesbaden that we discovered almost exactly a year ago. On April 3, 2022, we visited this hotel/restaurant for the very first time and had an impressive Sunday lunch. It wasn’t planned in advance that we’d visit again on April 2, 2023. I simply remembered really enjoying our first visit, and thinking it would offer a pleasant midday repast. Also, Apple keeps showing me pictures from last year’s visit, and that reminded me we were overdue for another trip.

Bill booked our table through his trusty OpenTable.de app, and we showed up promptly for our 1:00 reservation. I think Bill was especially excited about the menu, which he studied before we arrived. Landhaus Diedert, which is located in an old Kloster, changes its menus regularly, and Bill noticed they had some rather exotic (for us) offerings. Today, they had rabbit, ox, halibut, and turbot, as well as Iberico pork steak with truffles. Bill is a more adventurous eater than I am, so he had a lot of choices.

The waitress brought out white and wheat breads, with butter and hummus. We also had aperitifs– Champagne for me, and a sparkling non-alcoholic sour cherry juice for Bill. I loved the cherry juice and would probably opt for that next time, should I have the opportunity. It was not too sweet, but light and refreshing.

As we were deciding on lunch, Bill ordered a bottle of local dry red wine, as well as a bottle of sparkling water. After a perfectly done wine service, our wine was “held hostage” on a nearby table full of liqueurs and digestives. I actually dislike this practice of wait staff insisting on pouring wine for clients, because sometimes they get super “weeded” (busy) and forget this part of service. You sit there waiting for them to notice you need a refill. And if you try to rectify it yourself, they get upset. Fortunately, this wasn’t too much of a problem at Landhaus Diedert today, as our servers were very attentive. I guess I should amend my comment. I don’t mind my wine being held hostage, as long as the wait staff doesn’t leave me wanting for long. 😉

For my starter, I ended up choosing an essence of tomato soup with basil oil, while Bill had the wonderful wild garlic soup with goat cheese. I was tempted by the wild garlic soup myself, but scared off by the goat cheese, which I worried would be too strong for me. I did taste the wild garlic soup and found it to be excellent, and not too strong. However, I’m glad I got the tomato soup, because it was lighter, and because it was different from the other soups we’ve been eating lately.

For our main courses, I had the fried halibut with flamed leeks and celery, chickpea foam, rhubarb, and tarragon. Bill went with the braised ox cheeks with Vichy carrots, pearl barley risotto, parsley root cream, and port wine shallots. Both dishes were beautifully presented and delicious, as well as filling. There are vegan and vegetarian options for those who would prefer to skip the meat. They also have a “healthy menu”, which offers lighter fare.

I noticed the restaurant was well attended today, with several couples and a couple of family groups. I always enjoy watching German families dining out. It makes me miss home a bit.

After we finished our main courses, we had dessert. I had Cocos Rocher with mango passion fruit seeds lychee espuma, and guava sorbet. Bill had an apple and walnut tart, with pistachio ice cream and mascarpone espuma. We were offered coffee and espresso, but we had to finish the wine!

All told, we spent about 185 euros for today’s marvelous lunch. It was worth every euro cent. And, as I looked at the Biergarten under the trees out front, it occurred to me that we really need to visit when the weather is good. Or, really, just more often altogether. I have some favorite local restaurants, but I think there’s easily room for Landhaus Diedert. Parking, by the way, is free– but the hotel kind of runs into a neighborhood, so it can be tricky to access.

Below are some photos from today’s excursion!

I love an outing.
Essence of tomato soup…
Wild garlic soup with goat cheese.
Fried halibut for me!
Braised ox cheeks for Bill.
Nice local wine was good with out lunches.
Coconut mango dessert for me. The coconut part was covered in hard white chocolate.
Apple and walnut tart for Bill.
Unfortunate neighborhood view.

I’m really glad we decided to go out today. I think our Sunday lunch habit is about to resume!

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Turning 50 in Antwerp… part six

We woke to cloudy skies and cool temperatures on Sunday morning. My German friend told me that “back home” in Wiesbaden, the temperatures were pretty high. But in Belgium, I had to put on a pair of pants. I’m glad I thought to bring them. Bill was wishing he’d brought a long sleeved shirt or a light jacket.

Because of the inclement weather, we ate breakfast inside the hotel’s breakfast room, instead of outside in the courtyard. We deliberately ate less, even though we were paying 30 euros per person to have breakfast. I was hoping to enjoy lunch somewhere interesting.

Chocolate!
Het Steen
Thought for the day?
Museum… but we didn’t go inside.
Church

After breakfast, I did some writing, and then Bill and I walked to the Scheldt River, where we explored Het Steen, a castle like structure that now houses the tourist office, but was once used as a gatehouse and a prison. Het Steen is Antwerp’s oldest building, and it’s been used as a saw mill, residence, and museum. Until 2008, it was the site of the National Maritime Museum. According to a sign outside of Het Steen, a “striking detail above the Steen Gate is the Semini statue, an ancient fertility statue. The Jesuits maimed the statue in the sixteenth century, hacking off the penis.” I have to admit, I didn’t notice that!

More loud guys singing, pedaling, and drinking.

After we walked around Het Steen, we walked along a boardwalk next to the Scheldt River, then made our way back into the Grote Markt. On the way there, we encountered a processional of religious folks, led by a brass band! I managed to get a video!

Religious parade!

By the time the parade passed us, it was about time for lunch, at which point we soon found ourselves sitting outside at a restaurant called Elfde Gebod (The Holy Place), which is billed as Antwerp’s oldest and most reviewed restaurant. This is one place where I would have liked to dine inside, as it was very cozy and cute, with tons of religious relics and angels. Alas, we sat outside, where I was downwind of a smoker. About five minutes, later, we were joined by a group of twelve young men who were pretty rowdy. Some of them were smoking, and most were drinking Australian Rose wine. I got the sense it was a “fraternity” thing.

Elfde Gebod had a pretty good selection of beers, as well as comfort food. I love comfort food, so it was my kind of menu, and I had some trouble deciding what to have for lunch. I ended up having Apostle Fish Stew, which was a very nice concoction made of cod, mussels, and shrimp, and it came with a side of mashed potatoes, which went very well with the stew. It was more of a chowder than a stew, to me… and it reminded me of what I found in Dublin a few years ago. I loved it. Must be all that Celtic heritage I have.

While you wait…
Notice it’s all in English.
That was a nice stew.
A “special” Belgian beer. The waitress warned me about it and said I didn’t have to drink it. I did anyway.
Inside the restaurant.
Those guys…

Bill had rabbit stew, which came with excellent frites and mayo. I didn’t try his stew, because even though I’ve had rabbit before and it “tastes like chicken”, I’m not trying to develop a taste for other kinds of meat. It’s bad enough that Bill introduced me to duck, which I love. I ventured inside the restaurant to use the facilities and was surprised by how interesting it was inside. If we ever get back to Antwerp, I would definitely try to dine inside Elfde Gebod. The decor is something special.

As we were eating lunch, the weather took a turn for the worse. It started to rain. The restaurant staff turned on heaters, which was very welcome! By the time we finished lunch, it was time to find somewhere else indoors. I said I was in the mood to find a bar, listen to good music, and drink some exotic suds.

Bill suggested a cozy bar called Billie’s Bier Kafétaria, which got great reviews on Google. That turned out to be a very successful stop. The bartender was a pretty young woman who knew her beers, and they were playing good music. In fact, I even downloaded an album as we were sitting there. I can see why Billie’s is a popular place. I would happily visit again, especially since the bar carries a lot of beers one will likely never find in Germany. I was particularly happy with the excellent Kriek (cherry beer) I had.

Billie’s Biers!
Excellent Estonian beer… a little like motor oil.
Looks like a great show!
A snack.
Excellent Kriek for me!
Fun place! I’d visit Billie’s again.

We didn’t feel like looking for dinner, so we stuck around Billie’s for a long time, and eventually ordered some snacks to tide us over through my very last night of being in my 40s. Then we went back to the hotel and turned on the TV… and it was TLC! We watched Dr. Pimple Popper, again in English with Dutch subtitles. Somehow, I didn’t throw up. I had forgotten how gross that show is!

https://videopress.com/v/2pXcZZVZ?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true
Silliness at Billie’s! If you click the link, you can see the video.

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One week down…

I’ve been quiet on this blog since last week, mainly because I’ve had pretty much next to nothing to write about.  I guess I could have written about last weekend’s wind storm, which blew dangerous winds across Germany and other parts of Europe for several days, but I’m not sure what I would have had to say about it.  I mean, I pretty much holed up in the house for that.

By Tuesday, the winds had died down.  My dogs badly needed a walk, so I took them for a quick one on Tuesday morning.  When I got home, I was confronted with a notice that the GSL delivery guy had tried to drop off a bottle of butterscotch liqueur I ordered from Amazon.  Naturally, he showed up during the 30 minutes all week that I wasn’t in the house.  Murphy’s Law was at work!  To get the liqueur, I’d have to drive to a kiosk in Bierstadt, an area with which I am still sadly unfamiliar, and present my passport and the notice slip within 8 working days.  I suppose I could do it, but I don’t really want to.  The liqueur cost about 15 euros and I’ve been on the wagon all week anyway, so I think I’ll just let them return it.  I’d call them to attempt a redelivery, but I didn’t see that option listed, which, to me, is a real con to using GSL for shipping.  Seriously… I could go and get the liqueur, but what if I couldn’t?  What if I had no way to get to the kiosk?  Seems to me, they should at least attempt one redelivery.

One thing I tend to do when Bill isn’t home is regress to childhood eating habits.  Before I was married, I used to make nice meals for myself in my kitchen.  Now, when Bill is TDY, it’s all I can do to just get through the meal.  So I tend to eat a lot of soups and sandwiches.  This time, I’ve been especially bad.  I actually ordered Kraft Macaroni & Cheese from Amazon.de (rather than going to the commissary to get it).  I was kind of curious to see if it had changed since my college days, which was when I tended to eat it, or a generic equivalent, the most often.  As you can see… it’s the same stuff.  It tastes the same.  And yes, I make better mac & cheese from scratch, but for some reason, this chemically laden crap is, oddly, a comfort.

I bought five boxes because they came in a set.  Once they’re gone, I’ll probably not try it again for another twenty years or so…  If I’m still alive and have teeth.  This stuff is definitely kid friendly and I don’t mind it when I’m feeling like a baby.  I may have to make some from scratch later, now that I’ve learned how to use the oven.  

A couple of shots from one of the balconies, showing the mercurial skies after the windstorm.  The sun was finally making an appearance.  Our view is less enchanting in this house.

 

I have filled the time reading, and rebuilding my main blog, which I moved to a new address a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve also been watching movies.  Last night, I had a Richard Pryor double feature: The Toy, from 1982, which also starred Jackie Gleason and future porn star, Scott Schwartz, and Critical Condition, from 1987, with Rachel Ticotin, Bob Saget, and Joe Mantegna.  Both were pretty crappy films, although I made up for their crappiness by also watching Children of a Lesser God and Broadcast News, both of which starred William Hurt.

At about 4 o’clock yesterday, the doorbell rang.  I opened it to a man bearing flowers sent by my long suffering husband, Bill, who is enduring overnight work shifts at Grafenwoehr until March 26th.  I am fantasizing about our next “real” vacation that lasts over a weekend, requires airplane travel or even train travel, and doesn’t include our sweet, but demanding dogs.  This morning, I was awakened at 3:00am, 4:55am, and 6:30am by my pooches, who needed to go out to do their business and then demanded to eat.  Bill usually handles them in the wee hours of the morning, because he’s often awake anyway.  When he’s not here, the duty falls to me.

And yet, as wonderful as Bill is to have at home, he sends me flowers when he’s away…

 

Well, I’ll try to be productive over the next week.  Maybe I’ll come up with a list of travel tips or some other newsy topic that doesn’t actually require any travel.  Eleven days to go until this nightmare TDY is over and spring is here.

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