Tag Archives: new restaurants

Hessen

We tried out a new Georgian restaurant near us… Kinto!

After yet another boring Saturday spent holed up in our house, Bill said he wanted us to go out to a restaurant. I agreed that we needed to go somewhere, simply so I could write something for this blog! Originally, he suggested that we go out to lunch on Saturday, but I just didn’t feel like it. So then he said, “Here’s a new Georgian restaurant over near the Globus. It gets good reviews.”

The Globus is very close to where we live– not even a fifteen minute drive. And we like Georgian food, especially when it’s coupled with wine. Bill noticed that the restaurant got good ratings, not just on OpenTable, but also on Google. So, he decided to make reservations for 6:30 PM last night.

The restaurant’s listing on OpenTable mentioned that the suggested dress code is business casual. Now that we’ve been to Kinto, I would say emphatically that this is a casual place. No need to break out your glad rags to eat there. According to the restaurant’s official Web site, it was founded by young David Shalikashvili, who is just 18 years old! Or, so I assume… Bill says the restaurant hasn’t been open for long, and it’s located in a rather industrial area. Kinto is also the first and only authentic Georgian restaurant in Wiesbaden.

It was already dark when we arrived at Kinto last night. The clocks just changed in Germany this past weekend. Bill found a parking spot on the street, as the restaurant doesn’t have its own lot. When we approached, a woman immediately greeted us and welcomed us to the dining room, which is separated from where the food comes out.

I was kind of intrigued by the dining room, which reminded me a bit of a large industrial shed, but with glass panes around it. The panes let in light, but don’t allow for easy viewing of the grilling area, which I could just make out from where I was sitting. It was not a chilly night, so I left my wrap in the car. In retrospect, I should have brought it with me, because although there were flame heaters in the dining room, it was just slightly chilly in there.

We sat down and waited several minutes before a server approached. She spoke German, but seemed slightly uncomfortable with the language. I got the sense that she probably comes from Georgia or perhaps Ukraine. I’m not criticizing her language skills, by the way. Her German is much better than mine is! I’m just saying that the staff seems very authentic! There was a man who was also serving, and we definitely got the impression that he isn’t German. Ditto to the clientele, as the people sitting next to us spoke Russian, and I think a young family on the other side of the restaurant might have been speaking Georgian. I think it’s great! I love that a greater variety of cuisine is becoming more available in Wiesbaden!

The menu at Kinto offers some familiar cuisine from Georgia, to include khinkali, khachapuri, and kebab, and other dishes made with pork, chicken, veal, and lamb. They also have soup and salads, and plenty of lovely Georgian wines.

Bill seemed to upset the apple cart when he asked for a bottle of Mukuzani, a delightful red wine from Georgia. I got the sense that maybe they don’t get a lot of people ordering bottles of wine at the restaurant. The server said that the wine wasn’t in the database. She left us for a moment to ask for assistance, and finally came out with the wine a bottle of sparkling water we ordered.

For dinner, Bill ordered the Georgischer Kebab, which was ground lamb served with lavash, tomato, onion, pepper, and a side of fries. Actually, when Bill asked about the sides, he assumed he would get fries, and the server said it would be rice. But then the dish came with fries. It wasn’t a problem, but it did seem like maybe she wasn’t quite sure of what we’d be getting.

I ordered the Mtsvadi, which was basically grilled pieces of pork on a strip of lavash, with the same vegetables and fries. Both dishes came with housemade Georgian sauce– tomato sauce with cilantro, onions, and peppers.

The menu was in German, but had an English description, as well. We didn’t try to speak English with the staff, but I almost think maybe that would have been easier than German. I don’t speak Russian, but I do speak some Armenian. Armenia is south of Georgia, but from what I can tell, it’s not a similar language… except some of the words for the food were the same. For instance, the word “badrijan” was on the menu. In Armenian, that means eggplant. It was the same on the menu. The word “lobi” was also used– beans– which is the same in Armenian.

We enjoyed some bread and some of the Georgian sauce while we waited for our food. It came out quickly. The food was very good, and a nice change of pace! I noticed the couple next to us had what looked like pork ribs, which they ate with much gusto. They even used their fingers to eat it, rather than the usual knife and fork. I’m teasing about this. Germans seem less inclined to eat things with their hands than Americans do! But the couple next to us were not from Germany… If I had to guess, I’d say they were Russian or Ukrainian.

Below are some photos from our visit:

We inquired about dessert. Although it was listed on their menu, there wasn’t any dessert available. So, they brought out a small plate of French macarons for us… and didn’t charge for it. The bill came to about 66 euros. Bill gave them 80 euros and told them to keep the change. Yes, it’s a big tip for Germany… but he wanted to keep it simple!

In spite of the few hiccups last night, we really enjoyed dining at Kinto. I think we’ll be back soon. Bravo to David Shalikashvili for bringing new flavors to the suburbs of Wiesbaden! It’s very impressive that he’s opened his own restaurant at such a young age! In America, he wouldn’t even be old enough to drink the wine he’s selling! I wish him the best of luck, and I hope we can help him succeed with our repeat business. If you’re in the Wiesbaden area, I highly recommend checking out Kinto!

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Hessen

American cuisine in a Germany based restaurant owned by Iranians…

The weather cleared up nicely this afternoon, so Bill and I decided to go to Wiesbaden. I read there was going to be a festival there, starting at 3PM. So we fired up my neglected Mini Cooper, put the top down for the first time since last year, and drove to town.

We actually got to Wiesbaden at about 1:30. I watched a lot of people walking around in costumes. Bill said there was some kind of Cosplay event going on… Glad he explained. I might have thought Let’s Make a Deal had made it to Germany.

We walked around a bit, enjoying the beautiful, warm, sunny weather. We passed a new looking wine bar that appeared to be inviting. But when we got to the end of the street we were on, we ran into what looked like an anti-vaxxer demonstration. We turned down another street and soon passed a new restaurant called Godfather. Bill said he’d just gotten a Facebook ad for the place, which opened on July 17th.

Since we didn’t have any other big plans, we decided to give it a try, even though I’m not always impressed by American style restaurants in Germany. The first thing I noticed when we went inside was the music. It was a bit loud, and consisted of a single female singer doing covers of somewhat recent hit pop ballads that mostly sounded like the same type of emotional song. The singing certainly wasn’t bad, but the tempo was a little depressing, especially for a burger joint. I heard the playlist at least twice through during our visit. I probably wouldn’t have noticed it or minded if there had been a mix, rather than just the one singer doing covers of songs like Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”.

I looked on the wall and noticed there was an “Uber Uns” (about us) statement hanging on the wall. It read that the people who owned the restaurant were from Iran and had come to Germany because the husband was getting an education in engineering. They decided to stay in Germany and open a restaurant. The wife is a singer and a writer. Hmmm… sounds like we have something in common. I also used to live just north of Iran, in neighboring Armenia.

The restaurant offers burgers, fries, quesadillas, pizzas, snacks, and a full bar. Bill and I decided to have a round of beer, and I had the Philadelphia burger. He had a quesadilla. I got a choice of what kind of bun I wanted, as well as the type of patty. The waitress also asked if I wanted everything on it, which in the case of my burger was “salad” (lettuce), tomato, avocado, guacamole, Godfather sauce, and there was supposed to be cheddar cheese (although my burger didn’t have cheese on it).

Bill’s Washington Quesadilla had beef, mozzarella, cheddar, tomato sauce, corn, pico de gallo, avocado, and their version of Ranch dressing.

We also had a round of pommes (fries) which reminded me of what we might find in Belgium. We couldn’t finish those and took them home with us.

Overall, I thought the food and service at Godfather was very good. The staff was friendly to us, and the serving sizes were ample, as well as reasonably priced. The only thing I didn’t like as much was the music, which I found a bit sedate and a little too loud. They did change it to something peppier as we were finishing up.

I thought the presentation of the food was very nice, and noticed there was a lot of fresh vegetables. I think my burger was also hand formed, which is excellent. One thing I don’t like about German burgers is that a lot of times, they’re very tightly molded, so they aren’t juicy or flavorful. Not so at Godfather. I had to eat my sandwich with a knife and fork, because it was a bit messy!

I think we’d go back to Godfather. We had a good experience. I do wish they offered some Iranian food, since there are plenty of places to get burgers in Wiesbaden. I noticed they had a burger called the Tehran Burger, though. Maybe they’ll come up with some interesting twists of their burgers with Iran in mind… even though Godfather is meant to be an “American” restaurant. I won’t get the Tehran burger, because it has mushrooms on it, although I guess I could ask them to leave them off.

Below are some photos from today. We really enjoyed the weather. Wiesbaden is such a pretty town!

Someday, I’m going to go in there and buy a new guitar.
Excellent pommes
Restaurant logo
Outside seating. We ate indoors.
Philadelphia burger. Not sure what makes it Philadelphia like. It was good, though.
Their story.
American food in Germany at a restaurant owned by Iranians.
Market church
Gay pride crosswalk!

As we were leaving, the car ahead of us had trouble getting out of the newly refurbished garage. Bill was getting irritated by that… but then we ran into traffic due to the breaking up of a football (soccer) game. It was fun to watch all the men walking down the street with their plastic cups of beer.

We never did make it to the fest that prompted us to go out. I was thinking about hitting a wine stand or something, but decided I’d rather just come home and hang out with Noyzi. It was good to go out for awhile, though… especially since there were so many people celebrating life.

Maybe tomorrow, we’ll do something truly different. We’ll see…

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Baden-Württemberg, Böblingen

We finally see the inside of the Sindlinger Hof and eat Greek food!

Bill and I have lived in Unterjettingen for almost four whole years.  Unterjettingen is just on the edge of Böblingen County, but feels pretty far removed from the area near Panzer Barracks.  We feel like we’re pretty much out in the country… more like we’re in Calw, the border of which is maybe two or three kilometers away.  When most Americans think of Böblingen, they probably think of the downtown area, which is very built up.  Where Bill and I live, it’s pretty rural.  There’s a tiny village called Sindlingen just next to us, where there’s a farm that sells fresh produce, there’s a Christmas tree lot, and a horse farm owned by a former Olympian.  I’m not sure, but I think the horse farm is a castle that doubles as a B&B.  Every year, there’s also a large horse show that I can’t bring myself to watch.

I must confess that my heart kind of breaks every time we drive through tiny Sindlingen.  I grew up riding and showing horses and I haven’t been in the saddle in decades.  I really miss having horses in my life; I would rather hang around them and dogs than most people.  I usually catch myself looking wistfully at the horses who cross the road as their riders take them on a lovely hack in the beautiful countryside.  Dammit, I miss that so much!  Someday, when Bill finally retires, maybe I’ll have a horse again… and a smart alecky donkey, too.

Another thing that has always intrigued me, at least until tonight, was the large Sindlinger Hof restaurant.  Ever since 2014, Bill and I have passed this impressive looking facility that always seemed to be closed.  After awhile, we got the sense that it only opened for private events.  So, since September 2014, we’ve been passing this restaurant, wondering if we’d ever have the chance to try it.  Well… tonight, we finally got the opportunity.  Apparently, the Sindlinger Hof was taken over by a Greek restauranteur.  Although it says “Sindlinger Hof” outside, the restaurant is now called “El Greco”.  Bill noticed a sign indicating it was going to be open, so we decided to try it tonight.

The first thing to know about El Greco in Sindlingen is that it’s got plenty of parking.  Right next to the restaurant is a country lane where I’ve seen many riders and horses… and tonight, we did encounter some evidence that horses had been near the restaurant.  Having cleaned my fair share of stalls, I know what fly picked manure looks like.  Not that I fault the restaurant for that, of course.  I find horse manure a lot less offensive than dog poo, and there was no sign of that tonight.

When we approached the very attractive and busy terrace, we were told that all of the tables were reserved.  We decided to eat inside.  I’m glad we did, even though it was a bit warm this evening.  The inside of the restaurant is very attractive.  There’s a long row of nice booths alongside wide windows, and plenty of comfortable tables and chairs.  The bar area is especially nice, although it doesn’t appear to be set up for drinkers.  I didn’t see a lot of different libations there, just beer and wine and extra dishes.

Bill prays Mormon style as he looks at the menu, which offers both German and Greek dishes.

One or two of the very busy servers appeared to be a little bit nervous.  I don’t know exactly how long El Greco has been operating, but it kind of had the feel of opening night.  There were a lot of people there.  I noticed that the staff was competent, but seemed like they weren’t quite in sync.  I’m sure that will come in time.  Since it was our first visit, we decided to have some tried and true choices.  I went with gyros and Bill had souvlaki.

We each enjoyed salads, which were very good.  I especially liked the dressing, which was kind of a light mustard vinaigrette.  Then, some time later, a cook brought out our main courses.

Bill enjoys his souvlaki, which was delicious… tasted like it came right off the grill.

 

And I had gyros that were better than usual… I even enjoyed the pommes, which tasted fresh.  I finished half of this and brought the rest home for later.  Takeaway was no problem.

A look at the bar area.  It’s very nice!  I’m sure this facility was built for the horse events that take place across the street, but we rarely saw it open.  It’s out in the country, so maybe it doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves…

 

There’s a lot of seating, although most people preferred to sit outside.  

 

Dinner was very good, although it took some time to get our plates cleared and the check presented.  Bill had to ask again for the bill.  Again, I think it’s because they just opened and had a lot of business.  The service itself was professional and friendly, if not a bit harried.  I think once they get into a groove and aren’t so new anymore, it’ll be a nice place to have Greek food.  And… bonus is that it’s within walking distance of where we live.  It’s not as close as Dimi’s was, but it’s certainly reachable by foot if the weather is nice.

 

Bill enjoys a house shot of ouzo.  I give them props for not giving me fruit juice!  Both the pepper and the ouzo had a kick, too.

And this is the view you get on the way out…

 

Not a great shot of the terrace, but I didn’t want to be too obvious.  

Total bill for tonight was 35 euros, which Bill rounded up to 40.  The waitress thanked us for coming in and said she hoped we’d be back.  On a side note, I had one of those thrilling experiences of actually understanding a lot of what was said to me tonight.  I call that a big win!  Hopefully, this place will stay open awhile so we can go back and try some of their other stuff.

Edited to add:  My German friend has provided a link to an article about the people running this restaurant and another they have in Horb.  Open the link in Google Chrome to get the translated version.

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