Tag Archives: Greek food

Baden-Württemberg

Venturing out to dinner on our boring weekend…

Bill finally finished his schoolwork yesterday afternoon at about 4:00.  Neither of us was in any mood to cook, so we decided to walk to our neighborhood Greek restaurant, Dimi’s.  When we entered the place, it was obvious we sort of crashed the end of a birthday party.  There were cake plates set up on a table and all of the tables in the dining room had been set up end to end to form a long table.  Several people were still there, though the party was pretty much over.

The very sweet proprietor, Kiki, welcomed Bill and me with a big hug.  Then she and her brother set up a table for us.  It was a little awkward, because it really did feel like we’d crashed a party.  Still, it was pretty obvious Kiki was glad to see us.  She’s become a friend, even though I speak neither Greek nor German.  She does speak some English, though she told me last night my accent is hard to understand.  That’s odd.  I have heard from others that I have a pretty generic American accent.  When I was in Armenia, all the language teachers said I was easy to understand, while the folks from Maine and the Midwest were harder.  Oh well.

We decided to try something different last night.  Bill had swordfish and I had shrimp.

This was a nice change.  It came with a green salad, complete with a pepper and a black olive.  The shrimps were very tasty and not as bad for me as my usual gyros…

Bill enjoyed his swordfish, too.  It wasn’t dry or too dense.  Next time, I might have to get this dish myself.

 

While we were eating, Kiki turned up “Zorba the Greek”.  The Germans turned up their sports scores.  Someone threw a paper airplane.  Finally, the Germans who had the birthday party cleared out, except for the one guy who was paying.  Kiki had a long discussion with him over the bill and Bill said it was pretty clear the guy was Swabish.  He was counting very precisely.  😉  I don’t know from personal experience, but I have heard it said many places that people from this part of Germany are tight with their money… not unlike the stereotypical Scot.  Being of Scottish ancestry myself, I think I might have skipped the tightwad gene.

After dinner, we enjoyed some retsina.  This was different than the kind we had at Agais (aka The Mad Scientist’s).  His came from a big bottle and was very piney.  Kiki brought us an individual bottle and it was milder.  I liked it.

We finished with a round of Metaxa, which was nice and kind of vanilla-ey, but made me miss Ararat brandy.

The paper airplane…  Very aerodynamic.

 

This concludes my boring weekend at home.  I am hoping next weekend will be more interesting.  With any luck, Bill will pass this class he just took and get started on the last one…  and then we can start having fun on the weekends again.

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Pause…

I swear, I could eat Greek food every day.  I got hungry a couple of hours ago and we didn’t feel like cooking, so we walked to Taverne Bei Dimi.  We got there at just after 1:00.  They have a “pause” in service from 2:00-4:00, so we had gyros and beer, then got out of there.  The very sweet lady who usually takes care of us made sure to tell me they had a new Web site, which I linked above.  I had been linking to their Facebook page, which is also very useful.

There are a few other restaurants near us that I want to try, including a couple that are Michelin rated. But honestly, nothing beats a neighborhood restaurant you can walk to for a quick lunch.  The folks at Taverne Bei Dimi know us and welcome us like family.  I even sang a couple of bars for them!

Bill is starting another course that he has to do work for this week, so we decided not to do anything special today.  I was really in the mood to go to the Mineraltherme, though.  I probably should have gone last week, while he was in Africa.  I could have tried out the naked sauna area.

It’s hot today.  We had to break out the air conditioner again.  Will be so glad when fall comes with a vengeance.

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A visit to Taverne Mykonos in Nagold…

Bill and I had been wanting to try Taverne Mykonos in Nagold for a long time, but never managed to get there until last night.  The weather was perfect and, as usual, I was game for Greek food.  Taverne Mykonos is very close to another of our favorite Nagold haunts, Osteria da Gino.  The weather was so nice I was almost tempted to just go have dinner with Gino last night.  But I pride myself on trying new places, so we stuck with the plan and had yet more Greek food.

The outside of the restaurant is nice…  

The inside is even nicer.  Bill looks at the menu.

 

When we arrived at about 6:30, Taverne Mykonos was hopping.  The biergarten appeared to be pretty full and so was the main dining room, which is where we were seated.  Service was a bit slow, likely due to the large influx of people, some of whom had to wait at the door or get takeout.

I decided on dorade, so Bill ordered me a glass of white Athos.  It was fine, though nothing really eye opening.  He had the red version of Athos to go with the lamb filet he ordered.  He had wanted lamb skewers, but they apparently were out of something.

I snapped this shot as they opened the blinds.  The sun wasn’t quite down, so I was temporarily blinded by the light.

Salads took awhile to get to us.  We each had a different kind.

Mine was lettuce, kraut, corn, carrots, cucumbers, a slice of tomato, and some kind of green garnish that had no distinctive flavor.  The creamy dressing was nice.  It reminded me a little of ranch dressing.

Bill’s salad was a little more Greek, with cubes of very red, ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, a sweet pepper, an olive, and feta cheese.

 

Our main dishes also took awhile to reach us, but they turned out to be well worth the wait.  I generally expect dorade to take awhile, anyway.

This dorade was served with a fish sauce and lots of oven baked potatoes.  It was very nicely done and completely cooked, which is more than I can say about the last dorade I had in a restaurant.

But Bill’s lamb was absolutely amazing.  I don’t even usually like lamb, but I would happily eat this dish.  The filets were extremely tender and not gamey at all.  The beans were lightly seasoned with herbs.  The t’zatziki was also good, made with plenty of lemon juice.

It took awhile longer for our plates to be cleared and the check to be brought.  The hardworking staff at Taverne Mykonos was working hard last night.  But we parted with a 45 euro bill and a couple of house shots of ouzo.  After we ate, we went over to Gino’s and picked up a bottle of primitivo to enjoy at home.  The weather was perfect.  I almost felt like strolling by the river, but Bill wanted to get home.

All in all, we enjoyed our first meal at Taverne Mykonos.  I suspect we’ll be back, though I still think I like Taverne beim Griechen’s version of Greek food the best, at least in our area.

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Rainy Friday night at Taverne Beim Griechen…

I wanted Greek food last night, but we had a big storm and that would have made walking to our local spot too wet and messy.  We hadn’t been to Taverne Beim Griechen since Mother’s Day, so we decided to go there instead of Taverne Bei Dimi, which is maybe a five minute walk from where we live.  Actually, we could also walk to Taverne Beim Griechen if we wanted to, but it would be more of a hike for us.  I thought about going to Nagold for dinner, but determined that it was easier to go to our local sportsplatz.  Parking is free and easy there.

The restaurant was somewhat quiet when we arrived.  We picked a table and sat down.  A friendly waitress brought us the mineral water and bottle of wine we ordered, along with ouzo…

The red was a new one for us… dry, yet fruity and satisfying.

I gave thought to having Dorade or perhaps the Wolfsbarsch, which I learned is sea bass (yum!).  But Bill wanted to go simple with gyros, so I had my trusty korfu platter.  I have to admit, I think Taverne Beim Griechen’s food is the best Greek in the area where we live, though Dimi’s is also good and closer to get to.  Taverne Beim Griechen also has a bigger menu, though, and is a little better equipped.

My Korfu platter.  I had it with rice last night instead of fries.  The rice was nicely seasoned with tomato.  Bill’s gyros platter looked the same as this did, only without the souflaki.  Unfortunately, as I was easing the meat off the metal stick, a piece shot to the floor.  I picked it up in under five seconds, though.

I think it’s funny that I come to Germany to learn to love Greek food.  I think I could eat it everyday.  There are still a couple of places I want and need to try, including a place in Nagold and one in Vaihingen.  I am never in Vaihingen at the right time of day to enjoy Taverna Olympos.  Oh well… I’ll get there sometime.

I had been craving sweets all day and we had none in our house (for once).  So Bill and I decided on dessert.  We usually don’t bother with it unless we are on vacation or want to waste time.  I’m glad we did last night, ‘cuz yum…

This was mine…  It was called Galaktobureko Eiercreme in Blätterteig und einer Kugel Vanille.  Basically, it was like a dense, spongy, flourless buttery cake with a layer of phyllo on top.  It was lightly drenched in syrup and liberally sprinkled with cinnamon.  The ice cream and whipped cream were a nice touch.  

 

I really enjoyed the above dessert.  It was delicious.  I won’t lie.  It really hit the spot.

Bill went with vanilla ice cream and warm raspberries with cream…

And we had another house shot of ouzo with the check…

We paid about 54 euros for a very nice meal (topped up to 60 euros with tip).  Once again, I am pleased to recommend Taverne Beim Griechen.  The food is excellent and there’s plenty of room and parking.

I will eventually get to a new restaurant.  In the next town, there is another sportsplatz that is always busy.  They serve German food, but specialize in cakes.  I’ll get there someday…  maybe even next week, while Bill is in Africa.

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anecdotes, Sundays

More Greek food… and a lovely Sunday walk!

Yesterday, Bill made a beautiful lunch of steamed cod with vegetables.  We had wine with the lunch and soon it became clear that we didn’t have anything decent on hand for dinner.  Because of the wine, we didn’t need to be driving…

Bill even broke out my china for yesterday’s lunch!

Arran loves the table.

A little Kessler Sekt and strawberries for dessert.

So we walked to Taverne Bei Dimi for dinner.  I might have gone to Tommi’s Bistro, but they’re closed for most of August.  The sweet lady who runs Taverne Bei Dimi was there last night after her time in Greece and was so happy to see us.  She and her brother shook our hands as they welcomed us.

Wine, water, and ouzo…

More salad…  My body was liable to go into shock.

Since Bill and I also had Greek food on Friday night, we decided to try something different last night.  I had calamari and Bill had bifteki.

Mmm… fried squid rings…

And beef with cheese in it…

It was totally dead when we got to the restaurant, but had filled up by the time we left.  I was glad to see them getting some good business.  I think we are now official regulars.

This morning, we decided to go back to Wurmlinger Chapel and try our hike once again, now that my mom is back in the States.  Today, we were successful.  We brought the dogs with us and all four of us enjoyed a walk to the top of a large hill.

The way to the chapel… it’s a steep hike.

Map of the area.

So many pretty views as we ascended.  I was huffing and puffing as my out of shape body carried me higher. 

I always take pictures prematurely as I walk up hills.  It doesn’t occur to me that there will be even better views as I go higher.

Lots of grape vines.

200 meters to go.  I was way out of breath!

I can see our old village in this photo.

Finally, we got to see this chapel up close.  When we lived in Germany the first time, I saw it every day from our backyard.  I even have a small painting of it in storage.  

This shows you where all the points of interest are.  I love that scenic places in Germany have these.

The crypt is very cool.

The caretaker was an older German lady who drove up to open the church.  She told me there was water for the dogs.  That was about all I could understand as she kept talking to me.  I tried telling her I didn’t understand, but she was undaunted.

Blackberries ripening on the way back down.

The dogs enjoyed the view, too.  

Sheep grazing.

Dogs have to stay out of the courtyard.  Bill and I took turns having a look.

Zane enjoyed himself and the ride back.

I’m so glad we finally got to see Wurmlinger Chapel.  It’s a very pretty little church and the views are just lovely.  Today was a great day to hike up there.  It wasn’t too hot outside.  My mom would not have been able to make it up the hill, but I think we could have driven up there.  It is discouraged to drive and I certainly needed the exercise.  I did alright for an out of shape fat chick, though.  Just as a reminder, there is a bathroom in the parking lot for those who need the facilities.

I took this photo in 2008 from our old house in Pfäffingen.

We might have to go back before it closes for the winter.  I bet it’s lovely in the fall.

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A lovely al fresco meal at Agais…

We had gorgeous weather yesterday.  I spent most of the day kind of wishing Bill was at home so we could enjoy it together.  The temperature was perfectly comfortable.  The sun was shining.  The sky was a lovely shade of blue.

I had to take Arran to the vet again because I found another mass.  It may be a lipoma of some sort, but I don’t wish to take any chances.  I had the vet aspirate some cells just to see if that can tell us anything before I subject him to another surgery.

It had been awhile since our last visit to see “The Mad Scientist” at Agais in Entringen.  Since the weather was so pretty, we decided to drive down to see him.  The dogs were a little pouty before we left and Zane turned his nose up at a consolation cookie.

I had been meaning to get a shot of this before…  It’s not the prettiest view of the church, but I did get a picture of an airplane too.  Entringen and the surrounding area is so beautiful.  I miss living down that way.

 

The Mad Scientist greeted Bill and me warmly and asked if we wanted to go sit out on the terrace.  Normally, I like to eat indoors because of bugs and such, but it was so pleasant outside that I was game.  We took our usual spot in Agais’s biergarten, though I think 2009 might have been the last time we actually ate out there.  There was one other family there, enjoying something that smelled delicious.

I was preoccupied and probably talking too loudly about a Facebook discussion I’d had just before we went to the restaurant.  The discussion was about Cecil the Lion and how I think people shouldn’t be exacting mob justice on Dr. Walter Palmer, the guy who killed the famous feline.  Note, that doesn’t mean I don’t think Dr. Palmer is an asshole of the first order.  It just means that I don’t condone harassment.  I think people should let the law deal with him.  Anyway, several of my friends disagreed, and we had a bit of a chat about that and I was still discussing it when we sat down.

Had to snap a shot of Bill, who claims he doesn’t take good photos.

 

I thought about having salmon last night, but ended up with my usual gyros platter.  It comes with a salad.  The Mad Scientist was in a good mood and seemed to be more like he was six years ago.  He asked us if there were things we wanted left off.  Bill asked for the onions to be omitted.  I probably should have, too.  When it comes to onions, a little goes a long way.

But I still managed to enjoy most of this…

 

Bill ordered souvlaki and let The Mad Scientist talk him into a small salad.  I noticed that he was speaking a lot more German to us than he used to.  When we were here the first time, our favorite Greek restauranteur very happily conversed in English, which he spoke perfectly due to having spent years living in Canada.  I think maybe it’s easier for him to speak German now, which is fine… I need the practice.

Nice presentation.

My gyros were good, too.

While I have had better Greek food in other restaurants, it’s always a pleasure to visit our old friend.  I asked him if he was going to go to Greece in August, since he used to go every year and close up his restaurant for two or three weeks.  He said that this year, they don’t have the money to go.  I said we’d have to come back down to Entringen and visit this month.  He agreed and added, “We’ll be open!”  I’m amazed by how much Greek food we eat in Germany.  We almost never eat it when we’re in the States.

Last time we lived here, our friend used to close out a meal with pistachio nuts.  I noticed he quit offering them.  Last night, he brought out peanuts for the first time to go with our second round of wine.  And of course, we had ouzo, too.

It looks like today will be a bit cloudy, which is a bummer.  I would have loved another day like yesterday.

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anecdotes

Bill’s birthday…

Yesterday, my husband Bill turned 51.  We decided to go to Taverne Bei Dimi, the local Greek joint , for dinner.  The sweet lady who is usually there was absent last night.  Her brother, the chef, told us she went to Greece.  I hope she’s enjoying herself, despite all the upheaval going on right now.  Despite her absence, we had a good time.  Though there were several people in the smoking area watching TV and gambling, we were the only ones in the dining room.  Bill got a kick out of one lady’s t-shirt.  It said “Math sucks”.  I agree.

Local hefeweizen.  One of these days, we’ll have to visit the brewery, which is near where we live.  Baisinger’s Teufel (devil) Weisse is pretty decent.

 

We didn’t get too fancy last night.  I decided to have gyros and Bill had souflaki.  Both came with the cabbage salad featured below.  I actually ate the tomato, which I don’t usually do because they usually disappoint me.  Last night’s tomato was quite good!

A windy night in Germany…

My gyros… The fries usually come with cheese.  I was glad when the chef asked if I wanted cheese last night because I’m not a big fan of it.  Bill loves it, though.  These gyros were very good.  So were the pommes.

And so was the souflaki.  

There’s no shortage of decent Greek food in our area.  I can’t believe it took so long for me to discover how good it is…  especially tz’atziki.  We enjoyed a pre and post meal shot of ouzo, too.

I guess this isn’t a bad way to celebrate 51 years…

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BeNeLux

Our trip to The Netherlands via Luxembourg… part 5

On Tuesday, I was truly lazy.  I woke up sore and cranky and just wanted to rest.  So I was determined not to do anything at all and I mostly succeeded.  I started out by going to the pool, where I read more about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology.  I dozed off a couple of times and was a genuine pool rat until a couple of hours had passed and two women showed up to swim.  By that time, the room was made up again, so I went back down there and took a nice hour long nap.  That did a lot to help restore me.

After my nap, I went down to the lobby/bar and had the same lunch I had on Sunday…  asparagus and ham soup and a grilled tuna salad and cheese sandwich.  The tuna salad was made with olives and tomatoes and it tasted like they used Gouda cheese.  I washed it down with beer.  Then, at about 3:30, I went back to the room and started watching TLC.  I found myself watching Say Yes To The Dress and some other show about weddings.  Bill came back and we decided to go out to eat.

He drove us back to the Centrum.  We parked in a large garage and picked up some cash at an ATM.  I get the sense that the Dutch are not as cash oriented as Germans are.  Seems like credit cards are more easily used here, though we’re now in the habit of using cash.  While we were getting cash, a woman belched loudly and unabashedly.  It made me laugh.  We also witnessed a bunch of street workers (as opposed to street walkers) howl at a woman trying to climb over barriers they set up near their construction site.

We ended up having dinner at a Greek restaurant.  I think it was called Parthenon.  The guy who greeted us wanted to know where we were from.  Bill said we are Americans, but we live in Germany.  Then he said, “Maybe I should tell people we’re Canadians.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because people don’t seem to be as angry at Canadians as they are Americans.” Bill replied.

“Or you could act in a way that doesn’t embarrass anyone and be a good example of an American citizen…” I suggested.

“Yeah…” Bill agreed.

We were approached by a tall woman who appeared to be Greek, but was super tall like so many of the Dutch folks we’ve seen here.  Her English was passable.  She didn’t seem to understand when we said we wanted a bottle of water and a bottle of wine.  She brought us a pitcher of ice water (which I think was from the tap) and two glasses of Nemea red wine.  No harm, no foul.  She also brought out a couple of amuses that were made of eggplant.  I made the mistake of saying the eggplant reminded me a little of snot.  That immediately grossed me out.

Ice water in a pitcher!

Snotty eggplant…

A salad… this was confusing to us, because it looks like it’s for one person, yet it had serving utensils.  But we had no plates to share it on, so we had to wait until our main courses came out.

I had the Thalia platter, which was gyros, souvlaki, and a very small sirloin steak.  Bill had the Nemea platter, which was gyros and souvlaki.  The meals came with rice and potatoes as well as a small salad and t’zatziki.  Gotta say, I think it was some of the best Greek food I’ve ever had.  Afterwards, Bill had raspberry sorbet with whipped cream (slagroom) and raspberry sauce.  I had an Irish coffee.  There was no parting house shot of ouzo, but that was okay.

Thalia platter… yum!

Bill’s Nemea platter…

And our sides…

 

Irish coffee in a Greek restaurant…

 

And raspberry sorbet.

Parking cost five euros.  We passed a beautiful park on the way back that I may explore today.  We went back to the hotel and turned in somewhat early.

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Gyros at Taverne bei Dimi and cross cultural education

Saturday night, Bill and I decided to go back to that new Greek place in our neighborhood.  Part of the reason we went there was because it was hot outside and we didn’t want it to get hotter in the house due to cooking.  I also wanted to try the gyros, since the dorade had left me somewhat unimpressed last time we were there.

When we walked into the restaurant, the lady running it positively beamed at us.  She remembered us from the previous week and was obviously delighted that we’d come back for more Greek food.  Bill and I both ordered gyros priced at 8,50 euros.  It came with cabbage salad, pommes with cheese on them, and t’zatziki.  We also had beer and a couple of house shots of ouzo.

Ouzo time!

Small cabbage salad… I have to watch how much cabbage I eat, otherwise my guts go crazy.  This was a nice salad, though.  The tangy dressing really set it off.

 
 

And gyros… Personally, I could have done without the cheese on the fries, but Bill liked it.  It was pretty mild, which is a good thing in my opinion, but I’m weird about cheese.  

The food was good and the restaurant had more business than our last visit.  As we finished up, the lady chatted with us and told us more about how much she loves and misses Greece.  She said that she finds Germans “cold”.  She is not the first person I have heard say that.

I will admit, sometimes Germans can seem aloof and unfriendly.  I have found that usually, once you give them some time, they warm up.  I have also found that a lot of Germans are true friends once you break the ice with them.  In a way, they remind me a little of folks from the midwestern United States, which makes sense because there are a lot of German immigrants in that area.  I grew up in the southern United States, where people tend to be very warm and friendly, but maybe aren’t as sincere as they could be…  “Bless their hearts!” 😉

Likewise, it often seems like Italians and Greeks are a lot more gregarious and friendly than Germans are.  And yet, I don’t always have as much trust in them as I do in many Germans.  I know it’s wrong to judge people as a group because everyone is an individual and there are often exceptions to stereotypes.  I just thought it was interesting that this lady from Greece laments the same way some people from the United States do when they are living in a different culture, be it within the US or in some other country.

Anyway, as we were talking, her co-workers were nodding in agreement about her comments about Germany and how Germans can be “cold”.  I told her that since we live in town and tend to be lazy, she may find herself learning more English!  😀  She gave me a big hug.  So now Bill and I have yet another Greek restaurant on our roster where we’ll probably be regulars.

If I’m honest, I think I like the food better at Taverne Beim Greichen.  But since it’s easier to walk to Taverne Bei Dimi, we’ll probably go there more often.  And, of course, anytime we go to Tubingen, we will stop in to see the Mad Scientist in Entringen…  At this rate, we may be eating gyros every weekend.

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Baden-Württemberg

A new Greek restaurant in our neighborhood…

Last week, as we were telling our landlords about our wet basement, the conversation turned to food. They asked if we’d tried the new Greek restaurant in our neighborhood.  We hadn’t, though Bill had seen signs for it.  I wanted to go out last night, so we decided to walk to this new place.  To be totally honest, I’m not even really sure of the name of the restaurant… and when I left there last night, I was feeling no pain.  I did take a picture of the sign out front, though, as we were leaving.

Bei Dino?  ETA:  Bill says the restaurant is called Taverne bei Dimi…

As we approached this place, the chef was standing outside.  He followed us into the restaurant and a lady sitting in what appears to be their smoking lounge got up to greet us.  The smoking lounge is walled off with glass and has a TV and several electronic gambling machines.  A few folks were in there drinking, smoking, and gambling.

The lady who waited on us beamed when we told her we were Americans who live in the neighborhood.  She spoke very broken English, but I got the sense that Americans don’t visit their restaurant very often.  She told us she had spent a long time in Germany, then moved back home to northern Greece for a few years.  She also told us that she and her brother had moved back to Germany from Greece so she could send money to her daughter, who is studying at a university back home.  Evidently, the economy is not so good in Greece.  Yes, I’d heard about that… but she made it sound like she and her family were very personally affected.  I got a kick out of her comment that America is too dangerous.  I’m sure people who watch the news but have never been to the States could easily get that impression.

Bill checks out the menu…

They had some interesting art on the walls…  I kind of like this painting.

Smoking lounge…

I decided on the dorade, which they offer on Friday and Saturday nights.  Bill had lamb cutlets.  Our very kind waitress brought out a house shot of ouzo for us as we sipped dry red wine.  As we waited for our food, I looked around the restaurant, which is kind of plainly decorated.  A few more people came in for dinner.

The salad that came with my fish.  It was a little salty.

Bill’s salad seemed to be more Greek inspired.  It included feta and more peppers.  

Bill’s lamb.  He said it was very good.  I don’t like lamb very much, so I didn’t try it.

My dorade was mostly good, except it was a little cold/underdone in the middle.  It could have used a little more time on the fire.  I didn’t complain, though, because by the time I realized it was underdone, I had pretty much had enough anyway.  We could have taken the fish with us if we’d wanted to.  The t’zatziki that came with this dorade was absolutely fantastic… probably among the best I’ve ever had.  I liked the thick cut fries, too.

A nice little foyer near the restrooms…

Specials…


While I have had better dorade elsewhere, I liked this restaurant because I enjoyed talking to the lady/waitress who took care of us.  She was very friendly and kind and even showed us pictures of home and her family.  It made me want to go to Greece.  She brought out more ouzo, too…

We will have to go back and try their gyros and souvlaki.  I like that this restaurant is within stumbling distance of where we live.  That allows us to drink lots of red wine… which we definitely did last night.   

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