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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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Big burgers…

I’m writing a quick post today because my husband is about to leave town for 18 days.  We just had sort of a “last supper”.  I sent him to see John at Spirit of New Orleans to get some takeout.  As much as I love John’s fried chicken, shrimp, and ribs, I really wanted to see if his burgers are up to snuff.  Pictured below are the two we ordered today.

This is a Giant Burger and it is, indeed, giant.  It comes with bacon, cheese, lettuce jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and barbecue sauce, as well as a small side of delicious homestyle fries.

And this is the Cajun burger, which is almost as big.  It comes with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and barbecue sauce.  I’m not sure if it’s spice Cajun style or not.  I didn’t taste it.  Bill says it was very mild.

 

Both of these burgers were juicy and tasty, made with beef.  We had to cut them in half and will finish them later, because they were just too huge to eat in one sitting.  I, for one, was hungry when we started.  When we find German restaurants that have good burgers, I like to point them out.  I know how rare finding really good burgers can be in these parts.

Bill got me some ribs for after he leaves, too, sort of a consolation prize before I get back on the booze free wagon and eat whatever’s quick and easy and doesn’t make a mess.

These burgers are definitely not Whoppers, that’s for damn sure!  John says pretty soon, he’ll be grilling outside and they’ll have live music events.  He’s having a jazz breakfast on Sunday this week, but unfortunately, I won’t be making it to that.  Ah well.  Maybe next time.  Fattening soul food and good live music is a winning combination in my opinion.  What a treat it is to have him so close to us.  It’s almost like having another Tommi’s Bistro.

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Drool worthy burgers in Gärtringen

Bill and I had kind of a big day today and hit two different places.  Since our two outings in one day weren’t really relatable, I’m going to write two blog posts.  My first post is one I think will get a lot of attention from my regular readers because it concerns burgers.  The second one is for people who love their wine.  Of course, I hope everyone will read them both, but I have a feeling more people will want to know about the Buffalo Grill and Bar in Gärtringen.  It’s now become my new favorite haunt for burgers in these parts.  Edited to add: this restaurant is now closed.

I have my good friend Brendan to thank for pointing out this oasis of beefy goodness last week.  He and his wife went there, took some pictures, posted them in a group, and I realized Bill and I would have to go there.  After all, Gärtringen is not far at all from where we live.

Those of you who have been reading my blog may already know that I’m a big fan of a certain steak house in Jettingen, where I live.  I like it because there’s good food there and it’s close enough to walk to.  However, Gärtringen is not far at all from us and Buffalo Grill and Bar offers more liberal hours as well as a larger menu.  Buffalo Grill and Bar opens at noon and runs until late in the evening.  You can get burgers there, as well as steaks from Argentina, the USA, and Australia.  They also offer some very American friendly appetizers like fried mozzarella, chicken wings, and onion rings.

Bill and I arrived at the restaurant at high noon.  We were very pleased to find plenty of parking outside.  The door was wide open, but no one was dining.  In fact, I got the sense that the waitress wasn’t quite expecting people to be there right at noon.  But she offered us any seat we wanted.  Because the weather was so nice, we sat outside.

Look at all the parking spots!  Awesome!

They were offering burgers to go for five euros…

Door was wide open…. inside dining room was very inviting and nice.  Outside was also nice.

Pictures of all of the things you can enjoy at the Buffalo Grill and Bar.  I want to go back for the combo plate of appetizers.

 

We had a good look at the menu.  I took pictures of some of the pages because they offered treats that many Americans are missing.  Bill and I only had burgers today, but I could totally go back for a steak… or maybe just some of the awesome appetizers.  I love me some fried cheese.

I am dying to try the “Combi Buffalo”.

They have meat from many sources.

And salads for you non meat eating types.

Bill and I were still somewhat full from breakfast, so we both had cheeseburgers.  I had a plain cheeseburger and Bill had a “spicy” cheeseburger, which came with jalapeno peppers and a spicy sauce.  All of the burgers at the Buffalo Grill and Bar are 100% beef and they all come with steakhouse pommes.  They offer a “lady’s” size at 150 grams and a “man’s” size at 300 grams.  Bill and I both ordered the small size and it was plenty for both of us.

Bill makes a choice.

I had an Urtyp export and Bill had his usual weizen.

The burgers arrived, and boy were they excellent!  The buns were very fresh and homemade.  The beef was cooked thoroughly, but still juicy and fresh.  The patties were thick and satisfying and the toppings were flavorful and crisp.  All of the burgers were priced the same; they had several to choose from and they came in two sizes– small and large.  We had “small” burgers.

 

Folks, I’ll be honest.  There haven’t been too many burgers I’ve had in Germany that have thrilled me. I enjoyed eating at Triple B’s last year, but the experience was somewhat dampened by how crowded it was and how hard it was to find parking.  I believe Triple B’s has since relocated, but we haven’t been back yet.  What I love about Buffalo Grill and Bar is that not only is it very close to where we live and not only does it have plenty of parking… the burgers are also fantastic.  Our waitress was also very nice and seemed very concerned about the quality of the food.  I think they’d love it if some more Americans paid them a visit.  It seemed to be a kid friendly place, too.

I don’t know how long this place has been running (ETA: My German friend Susanne says they opened in July 2016).  It was our first visit to Gärtringen.  I get the sense that the proprietors are hoping for business, so I’m only too happy to offer this review.  If you’re nearby, I highly recommend stopping in for a visit.  And if you’re not nearby, it may be worth your time to visit if you’re looking for a good burger.  As it stands now, Bill and I will definitely be back again to try the steaks.

After we had our lunch, which was only 23 euros, we decided to see if we could find a beer tasting that was supposed to be going on today.  When it became clear the beer tasting wasn’t that close to the restaurant, we decided to head to Weil der Stadt, where a wine tasting was going on.  That will be the subject of my next post.  Stay tuned.  (I think the beer tasting is also going on tomorrow, too, so we will probably be back for that.)

I think it’s cool that there are places where you can charge your electric car and surf the Internet in Gärtringen.  We will have to visit this town again for more burgers… and/or more culinary experiences.

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