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Post dental delights at Kikuya Japanese Restaurant…

Today was the day of my biannual dental cleaning.  Bill came home early from work and we dutifully showed up at Dr. Blair’s office in downtown Stuttgart to get our teeth cleaned and polished.

A new hygienist looked after me.  She’s from Italy and it’s her second week on the job, having discovered that dentists in France and Luxembourg don’t use hygienists.  Her boyfriend works in France, but she could find no work there, so now she stays in Stuttgart during the work week and goes “home” to France on the weekends.  I figure she must be multi-lingual if she can work in Italy, Germany, or France, and she also speaks English.  Very impressive… and she did an extremely thorough job on my teeth, too.  I don’t think they’ve ever been so clean.

Dr. Blair found nothing wrong with my teeth, but was concerned about a reddened area below my bottom teeth.  He asked me if I have issues with Crohn’s Disease or Celiac Disease.  I have issues with neither.  But because he’s a very concerned dentist (who once lectured me about the need to see a gynecologist and lectured Bill about his need to wear hats), he wants me to come back in a month so he can see if the area is still red.  I have a feeling that if it is, he’ll have someone in mind to send me to for tests.  Dr. Blair is a very conscientious dentist who is concerned about his patients’ overall well-being.  He’s by far the best dentist I’ve ever had.  He did an excellent job on my dental implant and, if we’re here for much longer, I’ll probably have him do another one.

In the heart of Stuttgart on Calwer Strasse.

Anyway, after our cleanings, we made a short appointment for me to see Dr. Blair next month.  It’s never a bad thing to see him, since I get the chance to try new restaurants in Stuttgart.  Today, we tried a Japanese restaurant we’d never been to before called Kikuya.  To be honest, I almost walked past the place until I noticed a couple of staffers standing outside looking bored.  They have lunch from 11:00am until 3:00pm.  It was just after 2:00, so we ventured inside.

Tempting sandwich board.

 

Sweet Bill poses for an obligatory photo.

Soft new age-y sounding piano music was piped in over the sound system.  We had a choice of sitting at the bar, at one of the pub tables for two, or at the very long communal table.  We decided to sit at the big table, so the waitress asked us to remove our shoes, a first for me.

Eating barefoot!  I noticed the lone guy sitting at the bar was not asked to remove his shoes.

 

Long table where you must remove your shoes.  I didn’t mind.

She handed us menus and I was tempted by the number of appealing choices.  They had sushi, as well as a number of very enticing cooked dishes.  They also offer lunch deals, of which Bill took advantage.  We both had Japanese beers.  I had an Asahi and Bill had a Sapporo.

They also had Tiger lager and Heineken on draft, as well as an array of wines, teas, and non-alcoholic drinks.

I decided to have a Dragon Roll, pictured below…

The Dragon Roll was eight large pieces of sushi with salmon, tuna, and avocado.  It was delicious and felt nice against my inflamed mouth.  The pieces were kind of big, but tasted so good.

 

Bill went with a lunch deal.  It came with miso soup and a variety of fried delights…

 

Miso soup… made with tofu, green onions, seaweed, and soy.  It was a little bland, but comforting.

This main course had fried chicken, fried shrimp rolls, fried veggie rolls, a sweet chili sauce, sushi rice, and a cucumber and tomato slice.  I loved Bill’s dish!  I like fried stuff, though.

 

We both really enjoyed our lunches.  I was surprised by how quiet the restaurant is and the somewhat low ratings on Trip Advisor.  Bill and I both thought today’s lunch was a refreshing change of pace.  I’m sure we’ll be back, too.  The total bill for today was 34 euros before tip.  After we paid, Bill bowed and thanked the ladies who waited on us.  Sometimes, he’s such a geek.  I love him.

The front door… it’s right next to the Calwer-Eck Brauhaus.

On the side street, there’s another entrance, probably used for takeout pick up orders.

I keep meaning to have sushi on a more regular basis.  Now that we’ve discovered Kikuya, we may be enjoying it more often!

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anecdotes, dental

One more cool thing about living in Germany…

Did you know that if you wear contact lenses and you live in Germany, you don’t have to go running to the eye doc for a new prescription if you need new lenses?  I am actually way overdue for an eye exam.  I had my last one in Texas four months before we moved to Germany.  I probably ought to go in and get my eyes checked, but I can’t be bothered right now, especially since I’ve been dealing with all the dental implant drama.

I’m now down to two pairs of contact lenses that were provided by my Texas optometrist.  I had heard that in Germany, you can just order your contacts from Amazon.de or even pick them up at the Real (German box store akin to WalMart).  This morning, I decided to try it.  I got my Air Optix boxes from the bathroom, went on Amazon.de, and started shopping.  I found what I needed and added them to my virtual cart.  Then I realized the lenses would be coming from different sellers.

Since Bill and I will be going away on a trip soon, I decided I needed to order the lenses from the same seller.  I don’t want the lenses to get to me after we’re gone.  Perhaps if they come from the same seller, they’ll get to me at the same time and cost less for shipping.  I found a seller that offered both of my lenses and ordered them.  Easy as pie!

If they get to me quickly and allow me to see, I’ll be happy.  If not, I will have learned a $100 lesson.  Either way, I need to get to an eye doctor sometime soon.  Maybe after I’m done getting my dental implant.

Super dentist Dr. Blair saw Bill and me yesterday.  Bill had a tooth repaired and I got my stitches out from last week’s surgery.  I have two more appointments to go until I have a new tooth.  I go in next month to have impressions done.  Then, on July 6th, I get the implant.  Six days after that, I go in for a final check.  If all goes well, I will be rid of the big hole in my smile and several thousand euros poorer.

After yesterday’s appointment, Bill and I went to Weber, a restaurant near Dr. Blair’s office, because I was really hungry.  We got there during their “Pause”, which is the time during the afternoon when the kitchen staff is on break.  No matter.  We had cake and coffee.

Bill had Viennese apple cake and I had mandarin orange cheesecake with a side of unsweetened cream.  It was a nice way to unwind after seeing the dentist.

 

I am really ready for a change of scenery.  Ten days to go!

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dental

Update to my dental implant saga in Germany…

I decided a few months ago to post about my experiences getting a dental implant in Germany.  I’ve been on this journey for well over a year, when I discovered one of my two remaining baby teeth had abscessed.  After visiting Dr. Blair in Stuttgart, we determined that it would be best to remove the tooth and replace it with an implant.

The process has not been without some anxiety both over cost and the procedures required.  But I think I will soon have a new smile and Dr. Blair has been great to work with.  So each time a new procedure is done, I write a post about it.  I had a fairly big sinus lift and implant procedure in January of this year.  After allowing the implant to heal in my bone, I went to see Dr. Blair today.  He cut away some tissue to expose the titanium screw that has been there since January.

I was told today’s visit wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as the sinus lift had been.  I requested calming drugs anyway.  Dr. Blair gave me two Ativan, which I took in the waiting room and I sat there for about an hour, waiting for them to kick in.  Once they did, I felt really mellow and calm, but not high or giddy.

I went into the procedure room and Dr. Blair and his assistant got to work.  First, I got two injections of numbing medications.  Both shots were uncomfortable.  One was going on the outside gum near the area getting the implant.  The other was on my palate.  There was a sting, then lots of pressure before the odd sensation of anesthesia set in.

I felt Dr. Blair get to work, but felt little pain.  His assistant kept suctioning out debris, but seemed to miss one side.  Or, at least that’s what it felt like to me.  The whole thing took about twenty minutes and ended with Dr. Blair putting in more stitches.  The worst part was sitting up.  Because my palate was numb, it was hard to feel my nose.  It felt like I was going to choke and/or throw up at the same time.  Dr. Blair reminded me to breathe through my nose, which was much harder than you might expect it to be.  I had to sit for a couple of minutes to get the hang of it.

Dr. Blair walked me out to Bill, who was waiting in the lobby, and told me to go home and take up to 600mg of Advil at a time.  Not one to question doctor’s orders, that is exactly what I did.  Bill put me in the car and drove me home on one of the most relaxing trips I’ve had on the Autobahn thus far.  I took a couple of Advil PMs and enjoyed a nice two hour nap.

I’ve been enjoying some really yummy Thai peanut soup Bill made me from scratch.  We go back to see Dr. Blair next Tuesday.  Bill will get a filling replaced and my stitches will be removed.  I’m guessing there will be new impressions made, too.  With any luck, I’ll have my smile back in no time.

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dental

Late lunch at Positano in Stuttgart…

Today, Bill and I visited Dr. Blair in Stuttgart to get my stitches removed after last week’s procedure.  I was happy to see him because the stitches were annoying and all too secure.  He removed them, gave me a quick once over, and told me the next procedure will be four months from now.  Apparently, that’s sooner than the standard six months.  I guess I healed up nicely.

I asked Dr. Blair to tell me what exactly happened during last week’s surgery.  He gave me a layman’s description of what he did.  I said, “So you just did the sinus lift?”  He answered affirmatively.  All he really needed to do was tell me he’d done the sinus lift because I’d already Googled the hell out of it.  The next operation will be to place the screw for the implant and it supposedly will not be as involved or potentially traumatic as the sinus lift was.  He even said I might not need Ativan, though I will probably request it anyway.  It was nice not being nervous before he did his thing.

After setting up the next procedure appointment for May, Bill and I went to the Markthalle to pick up a few Italian goodies.  I have gotten hooked on Italian tuna since our trip to Vicenza and I wanted to get some more pasta and wine.  I probably could have spent more money on chocolate, but decided not to.  I don’t need any more temptations in the house.

Though it was three o’clock and a lot of places were shut down for a pause, we did manage to find a table at Positano, a pizzeria and restaurant near Dr. Blair’s office in downtown Stuttgart.  The place was dimly lit and almost empty when we arrived.  We got there at the same time as another party did.  There are several small dining rooms in what appears to be an old building overlooking Calwer Strasse.  Cell phone reception is poor in there.

The restaurant has an extensive menu that offers a broad range of dishes.  I was tempted to try one of their Italian pasta dishes but opted for the zander filet special instead.  Bill went for a penne pasta with spinach and gorgonzola cheese sauce dish.  We both had a glass of Chianti and shared a bottle of San Pellegrino.

Obligatory shot of Bill.  Nice generous pour of wine.

Zander filet special with white wine sauce.  I was afraid it would come with mushrooms and it did.  The vegetables were supposed to be fresh, but weren’t really.  Bill took the mushrooms from me, sparing me from angst.  This dish was 9,30 euros.  

Bill’s pasta with spinach and gorgonzola.  I would have probably enjoyed that, though the protein was more what I needed.  The bread was nice, fresh, and crusty.

And two generously sized salads also came with our orders.  They were splashed with balsamic vinegar.  I didn’t notice the oil and vinegar the waiter placed on the table next to us.  I would have liked some oil with my salad to cut some of the acid in the vinegar.

I couldn’t help but notice the very passionate French pop music that played over the sound system.  At first, I thought we were listening to vintage Celine Dion, but it turned out to be Lara Fabian.  I had never heard of her before.  She has great pipes, though it’s not the kind of music I’d necessarily choose to listen to left to my own devices.

To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed by Positano.  The food was fine, but it wasn’t anything special.  What you get there is reasonably priced and they don’t shut down the kitchen at 2:00pm; so if you find yourself in Stuttgart after lunch hours, you can always go there for something to eat.  But I probably would pick another restaurant over that one, given a choice.  The waiter was competent and basically pleasant.  I don’t think he spoke English.  We finished our late lunch with a round of espresso.

You have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the dining room.

They cater to the after lunch crowd.

Not bad.  Not great.

The total bill before tip was 37 euros.  If you’re hungry after 2:00pm and want something reasonably priced, it’s a good bet.  I’ve had better Italian food elsewhere, though.

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