Tag Archives: fancy food

Hessen, markets

A wine stand… and shopping at Fornara in Taunusstein…

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you might remember back in May, when Bill and I paid a visit to an Italian Feinkost called Fornara. I had discovered it a week prior, when Bill and I went to an Italian supermarket in Mainz-Kastel. I searched to see if there were other Italian markets near us. Fornara, which is a chain Feinkost, has a small satellite location near the train station in Wiesbaden.

After Bill and I shopped there, back in May, we decided we wanted to visit the flagship store in Taunusstein, located about 20 miles from us. The flagship store is much larger, and has space for events and classes.

I thought we’d get to Fornara’s flagship store before today, but then we got sick… and the fridge died… and we went to Switzerland. Thankfully, we now have a new refrigerator; we’re both over the sickness; and we had nothing else to do today. So Bill and I visited Fornara’s main location in Taunusstein, which is situated in a large industrial park with plenty of free parking.

I got some photos of the store, which looks like a larger version of the location in Wiesbaden. Once again, we enjoyed friendly service from an employee who speaks English. There’s also a restroom in the store, which they openly advertise. That’s a plus, although we didn’t avail ourselves of the WC today. Below are some photos. We came home with lots of wine, some olive oil, steaks, and Wagyu burgers.

This is actually pretty close to where we live. It reminded me of living in Texas!

As far as the shopping experience goes, I found the Fornara in Taunusstein to be very similar to the Wiesbaden location. It’s just a bigger space, and the parking lot is a little larger. They had many of the same products available. I probably wouldn’t go back to the Taunusstein location unless there was an event, or it happened to be handier than the Wiesbaden location.

On the other hand, the drive to Taunusstein is very pleasant. You go through forests and a cute little town with many buildings that still sport Fachwerk (timber framing). And you pass farms where you can pick up fresh items like eggs and wild meats, as well as an amusing graffiti project of a middle finger and the caption “Fuck the system”. To go to the location in Wiesbaden, you have to drive into the city, and it’s potentially more of a pain in the butt because of traffic.

Anyway, it’s nice to know that Fornara exists, especially for those who need special groceries or wines. I expect it’s going to expand in the future, which will be good for foodie snobs.

I also have some photos from last night’s wine stand. It was hosted by the local Volleyball Club, and was pretty well attended. It helped that we got a break in the temperature.

We saw our American friends, who told us they’d bought a house just across from where they are currently renting in our neighborhood. I think I also annoyed a crotchety old German lady, who gave me a dirty look as I spoke English to my friend. Sorry lady… I’d been mostly quiet during the two hours we were attending. If you were in the USA with one of your countrymen, you’d be speaking German, right?

Anyway… below are some photos. We had dinner there– We shared a pork sandwich and potatoes from Breck & Flame, which we couldn’t finish. I had ice cream in the afternoon, to celebrate the new fridge! The sandwich was really good, but it was a bit messy. The potatoes needed salt. But I would definitely get the pork sandwich again, only have them give me a plate, utensils, and the roll on the side. Also… plenty of napkins. One lady who witnessed my reaction to the messiness was laughing at me. Or… maybe it was because of my TRUMP SUCKS t-shirt. 😚

I’m not sure what we’ll do with the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have lunch somewhere. We’ll see.

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Alsace, short breaks

Reunited with France… and it felt so good to be back! Part six…

Before we came to Sessenheim, I booked dinner in Auberge au Boeuf’s restaurant for Friday and Saturday nights. If I had it to do over again, I would have booked one of those nights for the Stammtisch. Not only does the Stammtisch offer different choices, it’s also considerably less expensive and formal. But this isn’t to say we didn’t enjoy both of our dinners in the one starred Michelin restaurant. In fact, going twice gave us the chance to try a couple of different items, and have repeats of our favorites from the tasting menu we had on Friday night.

I wasn’t going to dress up for the experience on Friday, though I brought two dresses. I changed my mind when Bill decided to put on a jacket. It was a good decision to do that. I noticed that people were dressy at the restaurant– casually elegant attire was the norm. That’s definitely one difference between France and Germany. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to nice German restaurants and people were wearing jeans.

We arrived at the dining room promptly at 7:00pm, which is when service begins. On Friday night, most everyone there, except for us, was speaking German. One family brought their two dogs, who were making adorable grunting noises the whole time. Our waiter was the same young man who checked us in on Wednesday night. He spoke English just as well as he spoke German and French, which was very impressive to me. I used to work in a nice restaurant, and it was all I could do to remember the specials every night. But here he was, seamlessly flitting from table to table, speaking three different languages.

Bill ordered a nice local bottle of Riesling from the sommelier, who was also trilingual. We were invited to use our phones to scan the menu, which was on a QR code on a glass square that was affixed to a metal stand. I guess the QR code is one innovative way of getting around printing menus, which can apparently be vectors of diseases. It probably also makes it much easier to change the menus. No need to print anything. For those who don’t have capable smartphones, a tablet can be borrowed. The menus were in German and French. No luck for us English speakers. 😉

We decided on the tasting menu, which was called “Confession d’un Cuisinier”. Priced at 105 euros per person, this was a seven course tasting menu designed and created by Chef Yannick Germain, whose family also owns the hotel. It was quite adventurous for me, and the waiter was shocked when I told him I don’t eat mushrooms or truffles. Actually, I only had six courses, because one of the courses had mushrooms in it. The course count doesn’t include the extra goodies. I think the waiter might have worried that I would be a picky eater, but I did okay. Below are some photos from our first dinner.

A little pre-dinner wine.
It was our first elegant dinner in many months. Bill was excited.
A trio of hors d’oeuvres– tuna, snails, and goat cheese. I tired all three.
This amuse bouche was a consommé with cranberries, radish, and beef.
We had fresh bread…
And scallops with artichoke hearts and caviar.
You can see this was on a scallop shell, which was set upon ground scallop shells.
This was my favorite course. Abalone is served with algae, gnocchi, and a delicate cheese sauce made with local cheese.
This was smoked trout with creamy mashed potatoes, roe, and an egg. The white part is the white, topped with Riesling gel.
You can see in this photo under the white, there was the yolk…
And that was Bill’s favorite, even though he doesn’t usually like soft yolks!
Time for a palate cleanse with black currant sorbet.
This was the monkfish course I skipped due to mushrooms.
And then we had pigeon… It reminded me of very lean and tender duck.
Bill skipped the cheese, but the Germans at the table next to us had some.
Dessert…
And candies before the bill came...

This was definitely a very impressive dinner… although it wasn’t my favorite Michelin starred meal. Bill said he liked it better than the dinner we had at the Schwarzwaldstube at the Traube Tonbach Hotel in Baiersbronn last August. All told, we spent about 300 euros, not including the wine we had during our “afternoon pause”, which we got at the hotel. Was it worth it? I’d say yes, it was. It had been so long since our last night out. Service was excellent, yet unpretentious, and the quality of the food was outstanding. I got to try new things. We didn’t have to drive anywhere. And we did it again the following night. Stay tuned for that post.

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Baden-Württemberg

Five places to get really fancy vittles in the Stuttgart area…

Bill and I had tentative plans to visit a couple of festivals over the weekend.  But then we took note of the weather and decided we’d rather stay in and watch bad TV.  Our area got snow yesterday and last night and that kind of weather makes me want to hibernate.  I do like to post updates to this blog on the weekends, though.

Those who read this blog regularly might know that I tend to write more about restaurants than anything else.  Every once in awhile, I make aggregate posts about places where we’ve eaten.  Since we have just enjoyed two marvelous five star restaurant experiences, I thought today would be a good day to post about where to get really fancy food in the Stuttgart area.

This list is not in any particular order.  They’re just places where we’ve gone and been bowled over by the food, the service, and the presentation.  Not surprisingly, they also tend to be very expensive.  Check this blog for my reviews.

5.  Der Zauberlehrling

Bill and I first tried Der Zauberlehrling in Stuttgart in 2008.  At that time, it was one of just a few restaurants in the area that was using Open Table, an online reservation service.  Der Zauberlehrling is also a quirky hotel that I wouldn’t mind trying someday.  We have only been for the food, which has been pretty magical.  The above link will take you to my review from the spring of 2017, when we attended their Candlelit Theme Night.  This event, which happens every Saturday, is a set menu offered for 115 euros a person and is all inclusive of snacks, a four course meal, wine pairings, and espresso or coffee.  The food is definitely gourmet and the service is outstanding, although it’s not possible to order a la carte on Saturday nights (you can order a la carte on other nights).  As much as I enjoyed the food, I was especially enchanted by the service, which was laid back but very professional.  I love a place where I can feel comfortable enjoying the food.

One of the lovely courses at Der Zauberlehrling.

4.  Alte Post (please note: Alte Post is now closed)

We recently celebrated our 15th anniversary at Alte Post in Nagold.  This restaurant is actually two eateries– the casual Luz Bistro and Bar and the more formal Alte Post, which offers set menus a few nights a week.  Both times we’ve tried the more formal Alte Post dining room, we’ve come away from the experience awestruck by the exquisite flavors and inventive presentations.  A bonus for us is that Nagold is very close to where we live.  Both times, we have been served by the sommelier and proprietor, Marina Hentsch, who has teamed up with star Chef Stefan Beiter to make some truly outstanding food for those of us on the edge of the Black Forest.

Delightful salmon at Alte Post.

3.  Gourmetrestaurant Talblick

My next entry is another hotel restaurant located in Wildberg, a small town in the Black Forest.  Hotel Talblick offers two restaurants on its premises.  There’s the traditional gasthaus, which Bill and I haven’t tried yet, and the “Gourmetrestaurant”, which we tried in 2016.  The two restaurants are different, though they both get very high marks for food quality.  We were the only ones dining in the gourmet restaurant when we finally managed to get a reservation after months of trying.  It was June and it was hot, but the food was absolutely unforgettable.  Chef Claus Weitbrecht has many years of experience and study in France, and it shows.  We spent several hours enjoying course after course of very fancy food!  If you don’t mind a drive and like gourmet dining, this place is worth a stop.

This was the amuse when we dined…  It wasn’t even on the menu!  I see by my review that I was very much enchanted by this quail.

 
2.  Gasthof Krone

Gasthof Krone in Waldenbuch is an unassuming looking place, but it offers a wonderful gourmet experience.  We dined there in the spring of 2016 and I think we’re due for another visit, particularly since the chef changed after we tried them the first time.  Service at this little restaurant is very professional and the food is amazing.  Although I would recommend making reservations at any of the places I’ve listed in this post, I would especially recommend them for Gasthof Krone.  This restaurant is well-known and well-loved by people in Waldenbuch.  The small dining room was hopping when we ate there, although the service remained serene and the food was sublime.

Lamb chops done right.

1.  Delice

Our most recent fancy dining adventure was at Delice last Wednesday.  This downtown Stuttgart restaurant is making a lot of waves lately for its unique ambiance and imaginatively prepared cuisine.  The dining room is very tiny and you get personal attention from the charming sommelier, Evangelos Pattas, who once worked on the cruise ship MS Europa, regarded by the Berlitz Guide as “the best cruise ship in the world” for twelve years running.  Throughout the evening, you will be able to watch Chef Andreas Hettinger work from his open kitchen.  We were blown away by his culinary wizardry as much as we were the very charming Pattas, who kept us in excellent spirits with his inspired wine pairings.

Perfect shrimp presented with flair.

Of course there are other wonderful restaurants in the Stuttgart area and Bill and I continue to try them as time and finances permit.  These are just a few of the really great food experiences we’ve had in the Stuttgart area and I wanted to share them with others living here and hoping for a very European dining experience.  Yes, you’ll spend several hours and plenty of money, but I can truly say that each of these five restaurants have left me dazzled, and not just by the bill!  Every time I try one of these five star eateries, I leave having expanded my comfort zone a little bit more.  I hope this post whets your appetite for a great dining experience.

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