Bill and I are always on the lookout for good places to eat.  We had heard a lot about [M]eatery in Stuttgart and noticed that it’s located very close to where we go to the dentist.  I told Bill we should visit over the weekend.  He told me that he’d heard that PETA was going to be protesting on Saturday.  Not knowing what kind of presence PETA has in Germany, he said maybe we should try to visit on Friday instead of Saturday.  But then it turned out [M]eatery was booked solid both Friday and Saturday nights.  So we decided to go there for lunch today and brave the PETA protest.  I grew up sorta near Norfolk, VA, which is where PETA is based, so I got a bit of a kick out of the prospect of seeing a protest here in Germany.  We heard it was only going to be about 20 people anyway.

On the way to Stuttgart, we ran into a slight traffic problem.  B28 is completely shut down for roadwork.  Consequently, a whole lot of people were trying to get to the autobahn through one two lane road via the city of Herrenberg.  It was very backed up, kind of like my colon after a Schlactfest.

On the way through backed up Herrenberg.  Two different guys on motorcycles cut in front of us.  Bill looked exasperated after the second one went and the guy casually scratched his head… but we noticed his middle finger extended.  I say, if you’re going to be ballsy enough to flip someone off, especially in a country where that’s illegal and everyone has a camera, at least do it openly.  None of this pansy ass subtle shit…

The traffic was very annoying, but didn’t delay us too much.  We got to the parking garage a few minutes after 2:00.  Our reservation was at 2:00.  The garage was packed, but we managed to find a spot anyway.

Outside at [M]eatery…

A server seated us at a comfortable two top with a nice view of the open kitchen.  We perused the very [literally] large menu.  Bill ordered wine and water.

Waiting for our first courses.  You can see the kitchen over Bill’s shoulders.  The chef was appropriately pierced, though not as much as the chef at Tommi’s.   The waitress brought out some hearty brown bread and butter.

Bill started with the “Beef Tea”, which sounds kind of gross.  Basically, it’s a soup that tastes like it’s made from the drippings of a roast beef.  He loved it.  I thought it wasn’t too shabby, either.

I had lobster chowder, which was rich and tasty and finished with watercress.  I didn’t eat the whole thing because I wanted to have room for my steak.  The chowder was basically good, though the potatoes were just a tiny hair underdone.  

Bill opted for a sirloin with a side of fries… The fries were a little greasy, which is kind of the way I like them.  They had a rich potato flavor, though… like they came from Idaho or something.  

I had the 10.6 ounce rib eye with a side each of herbed mashed potatoes and spinach.  I enjoyed my steak, though I wasn’t able to finish it or the sides.  It was the smallest rib eye they offered and cost 34 euros…  the funny thing is, I can get a similarly sized rib eye at Tommi’s in my town for about 14 euros and change.  It tastes about the same and costs less than half as much as this did.  However, I really liked the sides at [M]eatery.  The spinach was done perfectly and wasn’t too mushy and the mashed potatoes were surprisingly flavorful and comforting.  Tommi’s doesn’t offer the same sides– I usually end up with frites there, which is fine, but given a choice, I probably would choose mashed potatoes to go with a steak.  Sides at [M]eatery are four euros each.

Halfway through lunch, our waitress changed clothes and took a break.  We were then looked after by a very professional male waiter who lit up when I asked him for brandy.  He wrapped up my leftovers into a basket.  I should have taught him how to make a swan.  😉

Bill had a double espresso.

I had a heavenly snifter of Hennessy XO, which runs 25 euros a pour.  That was the midrange cognac on offer.  The cheapest was nine euros and the most expensive was 49 euros.  All three were Hennessy.  I gotta say, the XO is very nice.

We finished up at about 4:00.  Our original waitress had changed back into her working clothes and presented us with the check.  Our bill before tip was about 165 euros, which was slightly less than what we were expecting.  Bill was able to pay with a credit card.  After we settled our check, we headed to where the PETA protest was.  I was expecting to see a bunch of picket signs and the like.  I must say, PETA surprised me by being clever…

Look in the distance and you can see a table set up with made up young people…  They were dressed like zombies!

I didn’t want to get too close, though one of the zombies did hand me some literature…  Sorry these are not great pictures, but again, the protest was not very big.  Look toward the back right for black signs with purple lettering.  Some of the “zombies” were really taking their roles seriously.  Not only were they dressed the part and in full makeup, but they were even walking like something out of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video.

I walked away with the leaflet, along with my meaty leftovers from [M]eatery…  The “protest” was very low key and kind of funny.  I liked that they took advantage of Halloween to make a statement, even though I’m not a vegetarian at all…  Frankly, I kind of admire people who don’t eat meat.  Wish I wanted to do it.

The PETA literature… not nearly as offensive as a Jack Chick tract!

And next weekend, it appears that Stuttgart is going to have a big shopping event.  Since Herrenberg will likely still be STAU-ified, I doubt we’ll take advantage…  Beyond this sign, a young man was playing new age piano versions of ABBA songs.  I must say I enjoy visiting Stuttgart.  Should have done it more when we were here from 07-09.

One last Stuttgart city view…

I don’t know why, but we completely forgot about Halloween on the military installations.  We decided to stop by Patch on the way home for a pit stop and to pick up a few items from the commissary.  We were confronted by a huge line of cars and people waiting to go trick or treating.  I must admit, we saw some truly great costumes.  Bill saw one kid dressed as a Dalek, which is a character from Dr. Who, and he said the kid must be a real “geek”… but he meant that in the nicest possible way.  Bill is a geek himself and he is a big fan of Dr. Who.

Overall, we really enjoyed our lunch at [M]eatery, although to be very honest, I didn’t think the steaks were better than what we have had at Tommi’s Bistro here in Unterjettingen.  Tommi’s is also a hell of a lot less expensive, offers live music, and we can walk there from our house.  I don’t know if or when we’ll be back to [M]eatery, though I would certainly recommend it to meat lovers who are in Stuttgart.