Tag Archives: Stuttgart

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Van Morrison and Lizz Wright in Stuttgart!

As I mentioned in my last post, Bill and I just enjoyed a two night “staycation” in Stuttgart.  We booked two nights at the Waldhotel in Degerloch so we would be very close to the Schlossplatz, which was where Van Morrison and his opening act, Lizz Wright, would be performing.

Normally, when we attend events in Stuttgart, we simply drive or take the train in.  This time, we decided to get a hotel room.  Originally, I was also supposed to see Dr. Blair in downtown Stuttgart on Tuesday of this week.  We live about 25 miles from Stuttgart and, with the traffic, it can be a real pain to get to and from the city.  Add in the hassle and expense of parking and the hotel idea becomes a lot more appealing.  My dentist appointment was rescheduled at the last minute, but we still had our staycation.  Enough about that, though.  This post is about the fantastic concert Bill and I attended last night.

The clouds threatened to dampen more than spirits last night.

Civilized crowds enjoying food and beverages outside of the venue.

We purchased our tickets to see the show back in April.  I love Van Morrison’s music, but had never had the chance to see him perform live.  I had also heard of Lizz Wright, because she did a gorgeous cover of James Taylor’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” that was included on a jazz compilation album I have.  I knew I’d enjoy her performance, even though up until this morning, I didn’t own any of her albums.  That situation has now been rectified.

The stairs lead to the business lounge, where free wine was pouring.

Anyway, prior to last night, I had no experience attending a show at the Schlossplatz.  The other concerts I’ve been to in Stuttgart were at the Liederhalle.  I didn’t know what to expect.  I also noticed that quite a lot of tickets had been sold, though mostly for the “stehplatz” area.  Basically, that means standing up for a few hours while you listen to the music.  Being an old fart whose married to an old fart, I determined that we’d rather sit.  Bill has some issues with his knee and we’re both pretty short and have trouble seeing over tall people.

I booked us business tickets, which were hella expensive at about 190 euros each.  There was a time earlier in our marriage when buying those tickets would have been out of the question.  Fortunately, we had the means to get the pricey seats.  An added perk was a much shorter line to get into the Jazzfest and access to the business lounge, which was pouring free wine and beer all evening.  And the wine they were pouring wasn’t the cheap stuff… or maybe it was cheap, but it didn’t taste cheap.  ETA: My German friend Susanne says that there was also hot food included in the ticket.  I thought I saw something about food when I booked, but wasn’t sure.  Oh well.  Next time, I’ll know for sure!  I also have a cute pink wristband to commemorate sitting in the expensive seats, too!

As we were enjoying Lizz Wright’s luminous vocals, a storm came rolling in and dumped rain on all the people in the stehplatz.  I looked at Bill and said, “You’re glad I got us seats, aren’t you?”  He nodded affirmatively.  The folks who were standing didn’t seem to mind too much.  The sound was great and they had room to move.

Lizz Wright on stage from where we were sitting.  She was very kind to the people standing and did some uptempo songs so they could dance and stay warm.

The music last night was… what can I say?  Fantastic.  Really, it was the most enjoyable four hours I’ve spent in a long time.  Lizz Wright is a phenomenal talent and I was very surprised that she didn’t pull in more of a crowd than she did.  Her voice is simply marvelous and her band is very passionate. But what I enjoyed most about her, besides her silky voice, was the fact that she’s very humble and gracious.  She told us that it was “surreal” to be opening for Van Morrison and basically said she knew that most everyone was there to see him play.  She said she also looked forward to enjoying his concert along with us after she finished warming us up.

I enjoyed watching Lizz Wright’s face as she sang.  I could tell that she was really enjoying herself, especially as she beat her tambourine with its picture of praying hands on it.   I also enjoyed her band.  The organ player was especially entertaining.  Sometimes, his face would contort into almost pained expressions, as if it hurt his soul to make music so beautiful.  I saw him singing along with Lizz and not really because he was backing her up.  I also liked watching her guitar player, who would curiously play with a guitar pick between his teeth.  Anyway, this morning when I got home, I downloaded all of Lizz Wright’s albums.  She’s fabulous.  Her alto voice is like warm, melted chocolate… smooth, sensual, and satisfying.

Another shot of the Platz.

Van Morrison hit the stage at about 8:15 pm, after a bunch of roadies squeegeed the stage and moved around the instruments.  Once he hit the stage, he was all business.  Van Morrison sang for about two hours straight.  He never spoke to the crowd, but was all business… and everybody was LOVING it.  The guy sitting next to Bill was dressed in a leather suit and scarf and danced frenetically in his seat, all the while conducting.  He reminded me of a drunk guy Bill and I ran into in Luxembourg City, though it wasn’t alcohol that was intoxicating our new German friend.  The drunk guy we ran into in Luxembourg happened to show up at the main square while a band from a Munich high school was performing.  He staggered out to the middle of the square with his misbuttoned shirt and a can of Carlsberg beer, conducting and lumbering about to the music.  At least at the Van Morrison concert, the conductor was reasonably sober and sitting down.  It was still fun to watch him getting into the music, though.

Some readers may know that I am myself a singer and frequently get moved when I listen to the right sounds.  I must say, there were some tears of joy last night.  When Van Morrison sang “Someone Like You”, I pretty much melted into tears.  I found Van’s performance very inspiring.  I tell you what, though.  The guy who really stole the show last night was the keyboardist/trumpet player.  I was in awe watching him shift effortlessly from organ to piano to trumpet in the course of a single song.  I love watching musicians who love their work and it was clear that he did.  Van Morrison himself was looking and sounding fine, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and not really doing anything but singing, playing saxophone, and harmonica.  He had a fantastic backup singer who was not introduced to us.  Pity, because I would probably download all of her albums, too.

As we were enjoying last night’s show, I marveled at how civilized it was.  The crowds were well-behaved, so there was no need for shitloads of security.  People were drinking alcohol, but there were no ridiculous restrictions on how much a person was allowed to consume.  Food and beverages were reasonably priced and there were a lot of high quality options available.  Even the bathrooms were civilized.  They were clean, plentiful, and there was no need to pay a Klofrau.

When the show was over, it was too easy to just hop on the U-Bahn and go back to our comfortable hotel.  While we were riding back to the hotel, a drunk guy got on the train.  He was holding a can of beer and mumbling incoherently.  I happened to catch the eyes of a German guy standing nearby and we both cracked up at the same time as the drunk guy continued to blather about whatever.  He stayed on for one stopped, then hopped off into the night to his next destination.

After another great night’s sleep, Bill and I got up, had breakfast, and said goodbye to the Waldhotel.  I think we’ll be back, though.  All told, I spent about $440 for the room, plus another 100 euros on breakfast and a nightcap at the bar and whatever Bill paid to put the dogs up at Dog Holiday.  It wasn’t a cheap staycation, but it was very restful and pleasant.  Now, thanks to Van Morrison’s fabulous show, I’m left inspired to make some music and plan a trip to Ireland at long last.

I don’t like to video during concerts, but I did manage to catch a few very brief snippets of last night’s show.  It’s only a minute of three songs, but you get an idea of what the mood was like…

If we’re still here next July, I’m definitely going to plan another Staycation during Jazz Open week.  What a great time we had!  I’m sorry I didn’t get us tickets to the other shows, like Keb Mo’s.  He’s playing tonight and I’m sad to be missing him.

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Staycationing at the Waldhotel in Stuttgart…

Since Bill and I have lived in the Stuttgart area twice, I never thought I’d get the chance to try a hotel in Stuttgart proper.  Then we got the chance to see Van Morrison in concert.  Having attended a couple of concerts in Stuttgart, I realized that if we tried to drive to and from Stuttgart, it could make for a long day.  Since we’re not as broke as we used to be and I had sprung for “business class” seats at last night’s concert, I convinced Bill that we needed a short “staycation”.  Since I like to do things as first class as possible, I booked us a superior room at Stuttgart’s Waldhotel.

The Waldhotel is very well regarded on TripAdvisor and is located in Degerloch, a rather leafy part of the city near the TV tower and a large sports complex.  I also noticed that Waldhotel was very convenient to the U-Bahn, had parking, air conditioning, and located near several restaurants.  It ticked all of the boxes, except for maybe the fact that it lacks a pool and a hot tub.

We arrived at the hotel at about 6:30pm.  I was a little stressed because I’d been worrying all day about my dog, Zane, who just had a lump aspirated.  I knew we would be getting the results of the needle biopsy on Tuesday.  Fortunately, the lump turned out to be a harmless lipoma.  Aside from being really happy that Zane doesn’t have a cancerous lump (that I know of, anyway), we also battled traffic while hangry and Bill was stressing needlessly about our dinner reservations at Ampulle.  So maybe we were a little edgy when we got to the hotel.  Fortunately, the kind, professional, English speaking receptionist had our room all ready for us.

First impressions.

 

I’m not usually one to spend a lot of money on hotel rooms.  I mean, I’ll spend more if I think the upgrade is worthwhile.  A lot of times, the higher priced room just means more square footage or a better view.  I decided to splurge at the Waldhotel because the superior rooms have either balconies or terraces and are facing the woods.  I don’t remember there being a huge price difference.  And, it could be that the less expensive rooms were booked, but since I booked in June, I don’t remember.

Our room was outfitted with a very comfortable bed complete with little Ritter Sports at the foot.  The linens and duvet were excellent was just right.  I slept a lot during our staycation.  The bathroom was enclosed with frosted glass, which I didn’t like so much because when Bill got up to shower, the light woke me up.  But the bathroom did have a fabulous rainfall shower head and excellent toiletries.

The TV welcomed us.  Our room had a complimentary “minibar”, which really just consisted of water and apple juice.  Bill drank the apple juice and said it was delicious.  The TV offered several news channels in English, at least one French channel, and of course, the usual German programming.  I watched a German show about Polizei yesterday.  It was surprisingly entertaining despite my tenuous grasp on the German language.

 

Breakfast was not included in the rate I booked, but we went ahead and had breakfast both mornings. It was 21 euros a person, which is admittedly expensive.  However, I can’t deny that the buffet offered plenty– there were scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomatoes, beans, and mushrooms (yecch).  There were cereals, cold cuts, cheeses, breads, yogurts, and plenty of drinks.  The wait staff was attentive, friendly, and professional.  Yes, it was pricey, but what the hell…  The hotel also has a bar that is open from 5:00pm until 1:00am.  The restaurant, which requires reservations, is very fancy.  We didn’t try it, but maybe we will on a future visit.  I am convinced that booking a hotel for concert nights in Stuttgart is a good idea.

The view from our terrace.  It was outfitted with a table and chairs, as well as an ashtray.  

Waldhotel has bikes for rent, as well as a fitness room and sauna (which I didn’t investigate).

The front of the hotel.  

 

Waldhotel has a couple of outdoor parking areas.  It also has a garage.  It costs 12 euros a day to park in the garage, but we lucked into an outdoor spot.  Bill took the train to work yesterday, which was super easy from the Waldau-GAZi Station.

Normally, when I accompany Bill on trips where he’s working, I’m hard pressed to find things to do.  I didn’t have that problem at the Waldhotel.  Yesterday, I took a walk and ended up at Stuttgart’s TV tower, which is located just down the street from the hotel.  For seven euros, I rode an elevator for 36 seconds to some of the best views in Stuttgart.  It was cloudy yesterday and actually pretty damn cold at the top of the tower.  There was also rain up there that wasn’t on the ground.  I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and got a bit chilly, but I did manage to get some good photos.  The TV tower offers discounts for kids as well as seasonal tickets.  It’s well worth a look if you’re in the neighborhood.

The TV tower has a little cafe in it that serves drinks and snacks during the day and offers cocktails at night.  There’s also a bathroom up there.  I thought about having some coffee, but it was close to lunchtime, so I decided not to.  As for lunch, I ended up at Luftbad Restaurant Der Grieche im Grünen.  I ate dorade with vegetables and potatoes, drank a glass of wine, and had a hefeweizen for dessert.  I did take pictures of my lunch, but accidentally deleted them.  Oops.  I’ll just say that the food and service were fine.  Other dining options in the area include an Italian restaurant, a Swabian restaurant that was having a ruhetag yesterday, but was putting off lovely aromas on Tuesday night, an Imbiss near the TV tower, and the TV tower’s own restaurant, Leonhardts.  I thought about trying Leonhardts, but was scared away by the reviews.

I went back to the hotel after lunch and ended up taking a really long, wonderful nap– probably about two solid hours.   Had I wanted to, I could have enjoyed a hike through the many walking trails around the Waldhotel.  I’m glad I got a chance to catch up on my sleep, though.  I was well prepared for Lizz Wright and Van Morrison.  I will be writing about their performances in my next post.  Stay tuned for that.

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Baden-Württemberg

Being beefy at Ampulle Dry Gin and Beef Club in Stuttgart…

I don’t remember who it was that suggested Ampulle Dry Gin and Beef Club, but I do know that I made a note and added the link to my bookmarks.  In my quest to find great food in the Stuttgart area, I am always looking for places where others have had good experiences.  Bill and I both enjoy good beef and Bill is a gin fanatic (and I like it okay myself).

Marketing…

Our chance to try Ampulle was realized last night, after we checked in to Stuttgart’s fabulous Waldhotel.  You may be wondering why, if I live close to Stuttgart, I am staying in a hotel.  Originally, the reason was because yesterday, I was supposed to have a final check of my new dental implant with Dr. Blair and tonight, we’re going to the Schlossplatz to see Van Morrison in concert.  Because Stuttgart is a bit of a haul from Jettingen and I have been itching to get away, we decided to have a two night “staycation”.  We put Zane and Arran up at Dog Holiday and I made big dinner plans.

But then, there was a crisis in Africa and Bill had a meeting to attend that made it necessary to reschedule the appointment with Dr. Blair.  So much for that.  But we did at least get a good night’s sleep at the Waldhotel and a good dinner at Ampulle.

I booked our 7:30pm reservation on Ampulle’s Web site.  They have a restaurant reservation app there; it’s not OpenTable, but an easy to use application that made booking our table simple.  Normally, I might have picked an earlier time than 7:30, but that was pretty much the earliest I could arrange it.  It turned out reservations weren’t even necessary because the restaurant wasn’t that busy last night.

The outside of Ampulle.

Ampulle is located very close to the Feuersee S-Bahn stop, so we took public transportation to the restaurant from the Waldhotel.  I would highly recommend using the train to get to Ampulle, because parking near the restaurant can be challenging.  If you do choose to drive, be advised that if you have too much to drink, a staff member can drive you home in your car for the cost of taxi fare back to the restaurant.  Since we live in Jettingen, that would be quite a fare!

Obligatory shot of Bill perusing the menu.  He just got a spiffy new haircut.  I bet it wasn’t the infamous blonde at Panzer who did it.

Anyway, we were right on time for the reservation.  They were expecting us and led us to one of the three little dining rooms in the cozy restaurant.  The first thing I noticed was the smell of tobacco.  A man was sitting by the bar smoking a cigar.  Fortunately, there is a glass door that separates the smoking area from the dining area.  It was closed for much of the evening, though there were a few times it was left open.  The guy smoking cigars was there the whole time we were, about 2.5 hours.  He was smoking the entire time, which I found annoying.  If we go back to Ampulle, I will request a table further away from the bar area.

I was seated next to the window, which offered a great view of the restaurant’s catering van.

The bartender, who spoke excellent English, handed us menus and offered us a drink.  We ordered a bottle of sparkling water and then Bill ordered a Gin Martini for himself and a Gin Basil Smash for me.  Ampulle has many different gins available, though we didn’t request a special one.  Curiously, they did not give us a menu with a list of gins and suggested cocktails.  I think they were pouring Bombay Sapphire, though, which is just fine.  Be advised that if you want to try different gins, you might want to spend some time in the bar so you can see what’s available.

Fancy leather menu!

After we ordered the drinks, a waiter brought us fresh bread with butter and olive oil.  I noticed the oil was in a little corked container that resembled an old time medicine bottle.  That was by design, as the building Ampulle was in was evidently once a drugstore.  Looking around the restaurant, I could see lots of old German ads for pharmaceuticals and old fashioned drug containers.  It was pretty cool.

Gin cocktails.  They were refreshing!

And good fresh bread.  I was hungry when we walked in and probably ate more than I should have.

Last night’s lovely Italian red.  Ampulle’s wine list isn’t overwhelming and they offer some good choices.

Finally, it was time to order the food.  Bill went with a Caesar salad for 10,50 euros.  I had a lobster based soup; I’m pretty sure it was a bisque, though that’s not how it was advertised in the menu.  That went for 11 euros.  In retrospect, a salad may have been a better choice, since it was a bit warm and humid last night.  Bill and I like to order different things when we go out so we can try each other’s dishes.  We also ordered a lovely red wine from the Piedmont region of Italy to go with our beefy meal.

For the main course, I ordered the 300 gram dry aged rib-eye for 36 euros.  Bill had a 250 gram strip.  We both had spinach as a side dish.  Ampulle offers a number of different cuts of beef, some of which are intended for two.  We saw one couple order an 850 gram t-bone, which was brought to the table on a cart and carved for them.  We didn’t order any sauces to go with our steaks; they have several that cost a few euros extra, everything from Béarnaise to BBQ sauce.

The first courses were very impressive and quite large.  Bill’s salad was loaded with three strips of bacon and plenty of creamy dressing.  It was a meal in itself.  My soup seemed a little smaller, but was a bit too rich to finish.  I ate about half before I stopped because I wanted to save room.  I did love the soup, though, and if it were winter, I think it would be the perfect comfort food.

Bill’s monster Caesar salad.  He really enjoyed it and ate the whole thing.  Bacon makes everything better, doesn’t it?


And my lobster soup.  This was very tasty, but rich and probably too heavy for a summer evening.  My fault for ordering it, I know.  In the winter, this soup would be fabulous.

The soup came with an accessory.  It was like a crispy rolled up crepe with egg in it.  It tasted okay, but I wasn’t quite sure what it was meant for.  I just dipped it in the soup. 

I catch Bill admiring the cart of beef that was rolled in for a couple in the next room.

The cart after the waiter served the couple.

Because the first courses were a bit more than we were expecting, we had a brief intermission between courses.  When our steaks were brought out, they looked wonderful.  The chef had garnished them with fresh rosemary.  Unfortunately, because of our intermission, the steaks were not sizzling hot.  My steak was kind of irregularly cut.  Most of it was cooked the requested medium temperature, but there were a few spots that were medium well and a few that turned out medium rare.  My steak had a bit of gristle in it, too.  The beef tasted good, though.  I think Bill’s strip was better than my ribeye was.

My ribeye, garnished with rosemary.  I’m not really a fan of rosemary.  I kind of feel about it the same way I do about lava cakes.  It’s overrated.  But, I will admit that it looked nice on the beef.  The spinach side was interesting.  It was creamed and served with raisins, bacon, and pine nuts.  The raisins and bacon gave the spinach an appealing salty sweet quality.  I didn’t eat a lot of the spinach, though it tasted good.  It was a bit rich.

Bill’s strip.  He really enjoyed it and the spinach.

I noticed that Ampulle offers a few lighter and less expensive dishes for those who aren’t looking for a steak experience.  I even saw one vegetarian option, though I don’t remember seeing anything for kids.  Actually, I would say Ampulle is a very adult kind of place and probably not suited for children.  The heavy smoking in the bar and focus on booze makes it seem less appropriate for little ones.  I also noticed the sexy mood music that seemed like it was lifted from a fashion show.

I usually get dessert when Bill and I have our dinner adventures, but last night I was getting a bit antsy.  Our waiter gave us plenty of time… perhaps a little too much.  As it got close to 10:00, I was getting tired and thinking I really just wanted to get back to the hotel, take a shower, and climb into bed.  If I had wanted dessert, I noticed they had several options available.  I probably would have gone for the chocolate soufflé, which would have really kept us up past our bedtimes.  We asked for the check and it was less than I was expecting at 159 euros.

The bill.

All in all, we had a good evening at Ampulle and would visit again.  Next time, we will request a table further away from the bar area to avoid stogie smokers.  Also, I will try a different cut of beef.  They had an Australian roast beef dish that looked very inviting.

And a pretty photo of the cathedral as the sun was sinking

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The making of my new tooth! And… tapas at Desiree…

This afternoon, I visited Dr. Blair, the dentist extraordinaire, to get my dental crown fitted.  This day has been a long time coming.  My ordeal started in the fall of 2014, when I noticed the gum above one of the two baby teeth I had left from childhood was badly inflamed.  We visited Dr. Blair for the first time in January 2015 and he told me that I had an infection.  He said it was possible he could try a root canal, but that it would probably be best to remove the tooth and either get a bridge or an implant.

Since I wasn’t interested in ruining the two teeth on either side of my abscessed baby tooth, I determined that I wanted an implant.  However, I am a big chicken when it comes to medical and dental procedures.  Also, before we got started on my expensive dental implant odyssey, I wanted to make sure Bill would still be employed after his first year in Germany as a contractor.  It took until September for me to go see Dr. Blair to have the tooth extracted.  I will admit, I was extremely nervous about it and didn’t have the benefit of drugs beforehand, but Dr. Blair is a pro.  He pulled the tooth out, noted that it had a vertical fracture in the root, and told me we were right to go the implant route.  A root canal would have definitely failed.

In January 2016, Dr. Blair did a sinus lift.  I went in and took a couple of Ativan, mellowed out, and Dr. Blair did a procedure that would allow more bone to grow so that my jaw would handle the implant.  He also put the implant in my upper jaw and I spent the next few months healing.  The sinus lift took about an hour and I’m glad I took Ativan beforehand, because it wasn’t a very pleasant procedure.  That part of the dental implant process cost about 2000 euros, which Bill has paid for.

In May, I went in and Dr. Blair uncovered my implant that had been ossifying in my bone.  Again, I opted for medications for that procedure, but I probably didn’t really need them too much.  He just exposed the implant, then put a “healing cap” over it.  Then in June, I went in and got impressions made for the lab to make my crown.  The impressions were not painful, but the process of making them wasn’t a whole lot of fun.  Fortunately, Dr. Blair’s got a great staff and is himself a very kind and competent doctor.

On my birthday, which was June 20th, we went to the lab and had many pictures taken of my teeth.  Then a few days later, I went back and tried on the new crown.  I was amazed by how real it looked.  We spent about a half an hour shaping it until it fit perfectly.

Today, I went in and had the new crown installed.

Before… you can see the healing cap on my top tooth.

Another shot.

Now the implant is complete.  Can you tell the difference between my natural teeth and my new fake tooth?  I can’t.  

 

I have to go back next week for one more appointment.  Dr. Blair is going to check to make sure the implant is okay.  Then, it’ll be back to normal until my next dental crisis.  We haven’t gotten any bills for the work that has been done since the implant was installed, but we’re expecting another 2000 euros or so.  We do have insurance, which we will have to file ourselves.  I think it covers a maximum of $2000 per year.  Since we have tickets to see Van Morrison on Wednesday, we will stay two nights in Stuttgart.  I will be travel blogging a lot next week!

After we visited Dr. Blair, we went to the Markthalle and picked up some wine, ham, tuna, cherries, cheese, and chocolate.  I love going there.  Someday, we are going to have to visit the Markthalle and load up on a whole lot of delectable edibles.  After we finished shopping, we visited a tapas bar called Desiree.  It’s located in the Markthalle and I had been curious about it for awhile.

These were the specials today.  I wanted to order one, but because it was only 4:30pm, we were there too early.

Bill being cute.

We each had a glass of wine.  Bill had a rioja and I had a tempranillo.

A shot of the sign.

And the charming downtown area…  It was a great day to sit outside.

We decided to share a plate of tapas.  Desiree has a deal where you can get five tapas for 12,50.  It comes with bread.  You can also get three tapas for 10,00.  On Fridays, they have paella.  Tapas are offered all day, while more substantial dishes are only offered at certain times, which I didn’t see listed in the menu.  The tapas were very good.  I especially liked the spicy chicken wings, olives, and meatballs.  When we were finished, we had another glass of wine to let the horrendous traffic on A81 die down.

All told, we spent about 32 euros for our little afternoon repast.  I think I’d like to go back to Desiree for paella or one of their big dishes.  At the very least, the tapas are fun, especially when the weather is nice and you can sit outside.

We stopped at the Shoppette on Patch on the way home.  Bill gassed up my car.  Has anyone ever tried “Perky Jerky”?  Is it worth the trip?

 

I’m already used to my new tooth and delighted with the end results.  I highly recommend Dr. Blair if you need a dental implant.  He does great work.  And it’s great to be rid of that big hole in my smile, too!  Edited to add:  The grand total for this procedure was approximately 4,750 euros or just over $5200 by today’s exchange rate.

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Lunch at Wirtshaus Hotel und Garbe…

Last week, after fruitlessly trying to get the pet smells out of our cheap AAFES rugs, I told Bill that I wanted to go to Robinson Barracks to see if we could find new ones to replace them.  We were unsuccessful on our trip to RB.  Since it was after 2:00pm and we were hungry, we needed to find a place for lunch with a kitchen that was open all day.  Bill told me about Wirthaus Garbe, a biergarten very close to Kelley Barracks where he and his colleagues have had lunch.

We parked in a private lot near at a business college near the hotel/restaurant.  I’m not sure if we were technically allowed to park there, but we had no issues.  The sun was trying to peek through the clouds, though it was a bit chilly.  It’s hard to believe I was running our air conditioner yesterday.

The Wirtshaus Garbe has a very nice biergarten with large tables, benches, and plenty of trees.  They offer beer on tap and typical local delights like Schweinebraten, Wiener Schnitzel, Flammkuchen (which are huge), and plenty of salads.  I was definitely ready for something hearty.

Bill checks out the menu.  You order your food from a server and get your drinks from a stand.

Bill got me a mas krug of the Kaiser keller beer.  He had a half liter of Paulaner Dunkelweiss.  You pay for your drinks when you order them and pay the wait staff separately for food.

 

The proprietors of the biergarten had brought out a large TV so people could watch football over beer and food.  I had my back to the TV, but could hear the game between Ireland and France.  Bill and I decided to split a Wiener Schnitzel and a Schweinebraten.  Both dishes came with cold potato salad and were priced at 12,90 euros.

Bill heads back to our table from the loo.

A picture of the food, which was very good!  We ended up splitting these dishes, so I can say with authority that both were just what I needed after our disappointing shopping excursion.  The menu is simple and includes items for children, too.  

The biergarten even has a fountain.  It’s a nice place to enjoy a beer or two or a good lunch.  

A picture of the front.  Indoor dining is also available, most likely when the weather is bad or during regular lunch and dinner hours.

 

Bill says this establishment is popular on weekends, though there were plenty of tables open this afternoon.  It made for a good stop on our way to Panzer, where we did end up buying three new rugs from the Turkish guy outside of the PX.  I think we may have been his only sale in days, so he was pretty happy after we left.  And I finally got to remove the stinky cheap rugs from the house.  Hopefully, my dogs will be gentle with our new rugs.

My German friend Susanne says this restaurant is near a park as well as a museum (free entry).

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dental

An early dinner at La Nuova Trattoria da Franco in Stuttgart

Yesterday, Bill and I had to go see Dr. Blair for yet another step toward getting my new dental implant.  He took impressions of my teeth and measured my jaw so that the lab can make my new tooth.  Although yesterday’s visit wasn’t painful, it was somewhat unpleasant and involved bad smells and a mouth full of sticky goo.

After we were finished with the dental stuff, Bill and I were hungry and I really wanted a glass of wine.  We’ve passed La Nuova Trattoria da Franco many times on our way to and from Dr. Blair’s office.  Many times, we have been tempted to stop in for a bite.  Yesterday, we finally took the plunge.  It was about 4:00pm and I was a little worried that all they’d have available would be cakes and such.  I needn’t have concerned myself.  La Nuova Trattoria da Franco’s kitchen stays open all day.  Bravo!  The waiter asked us to leave our wet umbrella in the foyer, then seated us near the window so I could watch people walk by.  When it comes to people watching, Stuttgart rarely disappoints.

This restaurant is rather chic and elegant, with modern decor and starched white tablecloths and napkins.  There’s a small bar and a couple was sitting there having a lively chat.  A well dressed older woman sat two tables down from us and looked like she was enjoying a nice break from the rain.  She carried a shopping bag from Aigner.  The menu had several “menus” offered– that is, two course meals offered at a discount.  They also had plenty of a la carte stuff.  I was tempted by some of the menu choices, especially since I was hungry.  But it did seem like a lot of food and we did have the traffic to face, so we went for a la carte items.

Obligatory shot of Bill right after we ordered food.  I was enjoying a nice glass of primitivo.

Our waiter brought out bread.  It was very good!

 

I had Seeteufel (monkfish) with a mixed salad.  I think this may have been the first time I’ve had monkfish in a very long time.  I ordered it not knowing exactly what it was until Bill looked it up for me on his phone.

My fish was very good.  The flesh was dense, well seasoned, and not too dry.

The fish came with a huge fresh salad, which I shared with Bill.  I dressed it with a little olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a few spritzes from my lemon wedge.  

Bill went with the spaghetti gorgonzola, which was exactly what it sounds like.  He said it was very good, though I didn’t try it.  It was too much like what I had for lunch (Egg noodles Alfredo).

 

Our waiter asked if we wanted coffee.  I said I’d rather have another glass of wine.  Bill put his hand over his glass and pantomimed driving, which made the waiter laugh.  As we were sitting there enjoying our early dinner, I told Bill that I liked this place better than Positano, another nearby Italian restaurant we tried a few months ago.  Bill agreed.  I liked the food and atmosphere better, although both are handy when it’s mid afternoon and you’re in downtown Stuttgart and hungry.

A shot of the elegant looking bar.  They also have an outdoor area that is covered by a tent, but it was raining too much for anyone to use it yesterday.

The front of the restaurant.

 

We enjoyed our first visit to La Nuova Trattoria da Franco and I have a feeling we could be back, especially if I need more dental work.  Props to them for keeping the kitchen open all day.

On another note, Bill managed to score us a table at a very popular gourmet restaurant in Wildberg.  Stay tuned for a review next week of a place we’ve spent months trying to get reservations!

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dental

Update to my dental implant saga in Germany…

I decided a few months ago to post about my experiences getting a dental implant in Germany.  I’ve been on this journey for well over a year, when I discovered one of my two remaining baby teeth had abscessed.  After visiting Dr. Blair in Stuttgart, we determined that it would be best to remove the tooth and replace it with an implant.

The process has not been without some anxiety both over cost and the procedures required.  But I think I will soon have a new smile and Dr. Blair has been great to work with.  So each time a new procedure is done, I write a post about it.  I had a fairly big sinus lift and implant procedure in January of this year.  After allowing the implant to heal in my bone, I went to see Dr. Blair today.  He cut away some tissue to expose the titanium screw that has been there since January.

I was told today’s visit wasn’t going to be nearly as bad as the sinus lift had been.  I requested calming drugs anyway.  Dr. Blair gave me two Ativan, which I took in the waiting room and I sat there for about an hour, waiting for them to kick in.  Once they did, I felt really mellow and calm, but not high or giddy.

I went into the procedure room and Dr. Blair and his assistant got to work.  First, I got two injections of numbing medications.  Both shots were uncomfortable.  One was going on the outside gum near the area getting the implant.  The other was on my palate.  There was a sting, then lots of pressure before the odd sensation of anesthesia set in.

I felt Dr. Blair get to work, but felt little pain.  His assistant kept suctioning out debris, but seemed to miss one side.  Or, at least that’s what it felt like to me.  The whole thing took about twenty minutes and ended with Dr. Blair putting in more stitches.  The worst part was sitting up.  Because my palate was numb, it was hard to feel my nose.  It felt like I was going to choke and/or throw up at the same time.  Dr. Blair reminded me to breathe through my nose, which was much harder than you might expect it to be.  I had to sit for a couple of minutes to get the hang of it.

Dr. Blair walked me out to Bill, who was waiting in the lobby, and told me to go home and take up to 600mg of Advil at a time.  Not one to question doctor’s orders, that is exactly what I did.  Bill put me in the car and drove me home on one of the most relaxing trips I’ve had on the Autobahn thus far.  I took a couple of Advil PMs and enjoyed a nice two hour nap.

I’ve been enjoying some really yummy Thai peanut soup Bill made me from scratch.  We go back to see Dr. Blair next Tuesday.  Bill will get a filling replaced and my stitches will be removed.  I’m guessing there will be new impressions made, too.  With any luck, I’ll have my smile back in no time.

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Uncategorized

Pushing beyond my comfort zone at Reiskorn in Stuttgart!

Calling all vegans, vegetarians, gluten free and Asian fusion lovers!  Are you finding it hard to find good restaurants in the Stuttgart area?  Well, this review is especially for you… although meat eaters may also appreciate it.  Today’s restaurant review is of Reiskorn, a restaurant Bill and I tried for the first time last night after I booked it on OpenTable.de.  I discovered Reiskorn a couple of weeks ago, while looking at the list of OpenTable restaurants in the Stuttgart area.

OpenTable is an online restaurant reservation service.  I started using it in 2002, months before Bill and I got married.  He wanted me to find a place for us to celebrate my 30th birthday in Washington, DC.  I ended up picking Kinkead’s, a famous but now defunct seafood restaurant downtown.  I’ve been using OpenTable ever since then.  I even used it when we lived in Germany the first time, though back then, Stuttgart only had two or three restaurants using the service.  I’m happy to say that there are now hundreds of OpenTable restaurants in Stuttgart, which makes getting reservations very easy.  Of course, it also leads to me finding new places to have dinner!  So far this week, we’ve used OpenTable three times to make dinner reservations.

I will admit that I chose Reiskorn in part because of reviews on OpenTable, as well as the photos of the food and their “Sommergarten” which, as far as I could tell, wasn’t open last night.  The place was described as serving “Asian fusion” food, as well as vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free dishes.  I was so intrigued by the beautiful photos that I showed them to Bill, who was definitely up for trying the place.  I made a reservation for 8:00pm last night, but somehow got the time wrong and we showed up at 7:00pm instead.

Reiskorn is located in downtown Stuttgart, very close to The Block House, another place we need to try.

The first thing to know about Reiskorn is that it’s a small restaurant.  The dining room consists of a single room with low tables and chairs.  There are several large tables that serve multiple parties and only a couple of tables for two.  When we arrived last night, the service was in full swing and it was pretty crowded, as well as very loud.  But a very cute and petite German lady with long brown hair very kindly found us a spot at a long table for four facing the street outside.  We shared it with two other ladies, who paid no attention to us.

Reiskorn specializes in Asian inspired cuisine, but Asia is a big continent and they put their own spin on their food.  So it’s not a Thai or Vietnamese restaurant per se, though you might find Thai or Vietnamese inspired dishes on the menu.  Likewise, you might find hummus or falafel, also foods from Asian countries.

When we sat down, our waitress asked us whether we wanted German or English menus.  We said we could read German, but she gave us English menus anyway.  Actually, I was okay with that, since there are a few foods that I really don’t like.  Mushrooms, which are often found in Asian foods, are at the top of that list!  Fortunately, we didn’t have any fungal surprises last night.

I also noticed that the restaurant’s drink menu was inspired by sustainable and “bio” friendly sources.  They had some very creative cocktails as well as non-alcoholic fruit and mint waters and juices.  Bill and I both drank natural hefeweizens made by Franziskaner, but I was tempted by some of the more unique choices.  I saw a lot of people drinking water with crushed oranges and mint.  I kind of wish I’d tried that last night.

We started off with this fabulous Thai inspired appetizer for two.  There were coconut chicken strips, chicken satay, shrimp rolls, vegetable rolls, and seafood “sacks” (tasted like shrimp).  The appetizer came with three housemade dips, including some killer peanut sauce.  

 

I loved our appetizer so much.  I was especially impressed by the chicken, which was very tender, juicy, and flavorful.  I could have ordered just this and been very happy.  Bill was reluctant to order it because he worried it was too big, but it turned out to be the perfect size for us.  But then, we came into the restaurant hungry.

A profile shot of Bill.  This was pretty much the only way I could do it because we were kind of cramped in our corner.

 

It was awhile before our main courses came.  I have read that service is rather leisurely at Reiskorn, though it was crowded enough last night that I didn’t get the sense the servers were slacking off.  In any case, I recommend relaxing and enjoying the vibe.  We also took the opportunity to use the restrooms, which are as tiny as the rest of the restaurant is.  I ended up having to wait for two ladies ahead of me, which killed some time.

I took a photo of the view from where we were sitting.  It was actually an interesting place to sit because you can easily watch life unfolding for passersby.  At one point, an ambulance showed up to help some elderly guy and we saw plenty of folks from every walk of life getting on with their day, some of whom stopped to check out the restaurant or gawk at us while we ate.  It was also fun watching groups of people enjoy the outside tables at the bar next door.  

My main course was a vegan, gluten free, low carb dish: falafel with a tomato coconut mango sauce.  It came with a seasonal salad that had a very tasty dressing.  I was almost able to finish the main course, though I only managed a little of the salad.  I’ve had a lot of falafel that I didn’t like much because it was too dry.  This falafel was excellent, especially with the delightful sauce and bits of mango.  It’s not often that I really enjoy something supposedly so good for me.  I’d like to try vegan food more often.

Bill had chicken strips in red curry with colorful seasonal vegetables, rice, and lemon grass.  His dish had some kick to it, though Bill described it as tangy and somewhat mild.  The dish was very “Thai” inspired, with coconut milk and lime juice.  I preferred my falafel and I think Bill did too.  He said next time, he’d order that, although he liked the chicken as well.  

As the sun set and it got dark outside, I was suddenly glad we got to the restaurant an hour early.  It was almost nine o’clock when we ordered dessert… yet another vegan creation…

Bill and I split this fabulous vegan, gluten free, and lactose free lemon pie.   The crust was made of chickpeas, but I never would have guessed it.  The pie was lemon and coconut creme, topped with a caramel creme.  I actually would not have guessed it was topped with caramel, but regardless, it was delicious.  And we didn’t feel stuffed when were finished.

 

Total bill for last night’s meal was about 56 euros.  Aside from being the most interesting of the three meals we ate this week, it was also by far the least expensive.

Bill and I really enjoyed the food at Reiskorn.  We also liked the funky decor, which looked like it was outfitted by Novica, one of my favorite cash drains.  One thing I didn’t like as much was the noise and the rather crowded dining room.  On the other hand, the fact that Reiskorn is so popular is a sign that it’s a good place.  I can see why people like Reiskorn and if we lived closer to Stuttgart, we’d probably end up being regulars, despite the crowds.

I think Reiskorn has something for everyone, but I would especially recommend it to people who have special dietary needs.  There are plenty of meat free, gluten free, and milk free options for those who require it.  And we thought the prices were very reasonable.  Needless to say, Reiskorn gets my vote!

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Sundays

Ten things to do in the Stuttgart area on a Sunday…

Hey there.  Yeah, you.  Are you an American who is just getting used to living in Germany?  Are you perplexed about how to spend your Sundays, when everything seems to be closed?  Well, this post is for you.

My husband Bill and I are on our second Stuttgart tour.  We spent two years here when he was still in the Army and we’re coming up on our second year post retirement.  My husband is a contractor, so we’ve found ourselves having to go it alone for a lot of things.  That has made us a lot braver than we were when we lived here a few years ago.

Last night, as we were enjoying a delightful meal in Waldenbuch, we talked about how we’ve been focusing on getting to know the Stuttgart area.  The truth is, there’s a lot to do here.  But on Sundays, it can seem like everything shuts down.  You may be even tempted to hole up in your house.  That would be a tremendous mistake.  It was one we made during our first two years here; then we had to leave early, which was a real bummer!

We left Germany with a lot of good memories in other countries, but not so many made in Stuttgart. Stuttgart and its environs have a lot to offer.  You shouldn’t waste your time here.  So today, I’m going to write a post offering ideas on how to spend your Sundays.  I’m sure I will miss a lot of activities, so if anyone reading this has something to add, by all means, leave me a comment here or on Facebook.

Many of these suggestions do require access to a car, though some are accessible by train or UBahn.

Downtown Stuttgart!

10.  Check out a museum… or perhaps the zoo?

 

A lot of museums are open on Sundays.  The Mercedes-Benz Museum in downtown Stuttgart and the Porsche Museum both have Sunday hours.  Not into cars?  Check out this link, which has a list of museums in the Stuttgart area, many of which are open on Sundays.  You can check out everything from art to wine culture.  When you’re finished checking out Stuttgart’s museums, consider a trip to Tübingen, where there are more museums and plenty of great restaurants, some of which are on the Neckar River.  Or, you could visit the Wilhelma Zoo in downtown Stuttgart, which has Sunday hours and is a crowd pleasing outing.

9.  Visit a castle… or maybe a cave? 

The Stuttgart area is blessed with a number of castles.  On a nice day, you can climb up to Hohenzollern, a very beautiful castle in Hechingen, south of Stuttgart.  Or you can visit Lichtenstein Castle, open every Sunday except in January.  Ludwigsburg and Tübingen also have royal residences that can be visited on a Sunday.  You can also visit caves on Sundays near Stuttgart.  I can’t comment too much on the caves because Bill and I haven’t gone yet.  It’s definitely on the list when the weather improves!

8.  Relax at the spa.

 

This afternoon, Bill and I visited the Mineraltherme in Böblingen, the big steamy complex near Panzer Kaserne.  We love visiting there on Sundays, although that is probably their busiest day of the week, especially when it rains!  The Mineraltherme has a restaurant and snack bar, so you can grab a bite during your visit.  Though there is no signage in English, it won’t be long before you get the hang of it.  Worried about nudity?  Never fear.  There is nudity in the sauna area on the first floor, but the second floor has lots of heated pools and a solarium.  And everybody wears a bathing suit in that area.  I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the Mineraltherme for small kids, though I have seen them there on occasion.  There aren’t any facilities like kiddie pools at the Mineraltherme.  There are other spas in the Stuttgart area, too, and they also have Sunday hours.

7.  Go out to eat!

 

If you read this blog with any regularity, you know Bill and I often go out to eat on Sundays.  The Auld Rogue is a good bet.  Today, we visited the Brauhaus in Böblingen, which runs a brunch every Sunday.  Although it’s a large restaurant with plenty of parking and seating, Sundays are usually pretty crowded there.  It’s a good place for German food and beer.  While a number of restaurants are closed on Sundays, quite a few are open.  You can easily make reservations on OpenTable.de, which is very convenient for finding new places to try that are open on Sundays.  Sunday is a great day to try out the local cuisine!  When the weather is good, you can find a biergarten and relax while you munch on pretzels and sip German suds.

A few photos from today’s lunch at the brauhaus.

6.  Take a walk in the woods.

 

The Stuttgart area offers many nature parks that are great for wandering through the woods.  We are fortunate enough to live right next to one and when the weather is good, we run into many hikers, horseback riders, dog walkers, and bikers.  Chances are good there’s a park near where you live… or at least some fields where you can enjoy some fresh air.  You can even visit parks where you walk barefoot.  Best of all, you don’t usually have to spend money to take a walk in the woods.

5.  Walk in the treetops.

 

Visit Baumwipfelpfad.  It’s a very cool treetop walk that is a bit of a drive from Stuttgart, but well worth the trip.  Get to the top of the walk and slide down!  When you’re finished, you can visit the spa in the neighboring town of Bad Wildbad.  It also has Sunday hours.  If you like fresh fish, you can visit the Zordel trout farm, a place that seems especially popular with kids, who are welcome to feed the fish.

The tree walk!

4.  Check out some ruins. 

 

There are lots of castle ruins in the towns around Stuttgart.  Last Summer, Bill and I hiked up to Hohennagold, ruins that are situated on a hill overlooking the charming town of Nagold.  Much to our delight, there was a snack bar at the top where ice cold beer in frosted mugs, coffee, and cake were being sold.  That was a nice treat after a long hot hike up to see some awesome ruins!  Herrenberg also has ruins, as well as a very cool bell museum and church that is open on Sundays.  You can also visit Hohenurach’s ruins, which pairs nicely with a visit to Bad Urach’s waterfall or the local spa.  Chances are good your area has ruins to visit, too.

Bad Urach.

3.  Visit Triberg and check out the waterfall and cuckoo clocks.

 

Triberg is a really cute town south of Stuttgart that boasts the highest waterfall in Germany.  It’s also home for many cuckoo clock stores and excellent Black Forest cake.  Because it’s a tourist friendly town, a lot of places are open on Sunday.  Parking may be a challenge; it definitely was when we visited last May.  We ended up parking at the Netto, which was closed on the day of our visit.  It was not a problem and we enjoyed a great day seeing the falls.

Glorious view in Triberg.

You could also visit other nearby cities like Heidelberg, Freiberg, Heilbronn, or Ulm.  They aren’t too far from here, though traffic may make you rather take a train rather than try to drive!  They’re all great places to explore.  Or, if you feel more adventurous, take a day trip to France or Switzerland.  They are both within a couple of hours’ drive.  But do your research before you go, because things are closed on Sundays in France and Switzerland, too.

2.  See a show!  

 

From the movie theater at Patch Barracks to the stages in Stuttgart, there are plenty of entertainment options in Stuttgart.  You can catch a film, a concert, a play, or a musical.  Bill and I have so far enjoyed two great concerts in Stuttgart– Lyle Lovett and Diana Krall.  This summer, we have plans to see Van Morrison.  Check online for showtimes.  You could also go bowling on Panzer if all else fails.  Or you could play ExitGames in Stuttgart, which I plan to goad Bill into doing someday.

1.  Make some local friends and have a gathering.

 

When Bill and I lived here the first time, we didn’t know very many Americans at all.  We didn’t join Facebook until we’d been in Stuttgart a year already.  There was no such thing as Stuttgart Friends, let alone any of the other speciality groups that have formed since we got here.  This time, there seems to be a group for everyone!  One of my favorite groups is the Stuttgart Beer Club, which occasionally has beer tastings.  Beer isn’t your thing?  Not to worry.  There’s a group on Facebook for you.  If there isn’t, why not form one?  Then, once you’ve made some buddies online, make some plans for socializing on those boring Sundays.

I’m in a group that is becoming famous for its BBQs.  Of course, we don’t usually have them on Sundays…  instead, we recover from them on Sundays.  😉  One great thing about living abroad is that your fellow countrymen tend to be friendly.  I find it a lot easier to make real life friends when I live abroad… and this is my fourth time living abroad, so I have a good frame of reference.  Also, when you make friends in the Stuttgart area, you get to see where other people live.  Some folks live in very cool houses or beautiful towns you wouldn’t have otherwise visited.

I hope this post gives you a few ideas of how to spend those pesky Sundays.  Really, I’ve just scratched the surface of things to do around here.  Once you get used to them, Sundays in Germany can be wonderful!

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dental

Steak served on hot stones! A review of Abacco’s Steakhouse in Stuttgart…

Bill and I had to venture into downtown Stuttgart this afternoon.  It was time to visit Dr. Blair for our semi-annual dental cleanings.  Afterwards, we decided to find some dinner.  I was pretty hungry because I hadn’t had anything to eat since about 10:00am.  Although we just had steak the other night at Tommi’s Bistro, I had been curious about Abacco’s Steakhouse, which is a place very close to Dr. Blair’s practice.  The weather was beautiful today and they had opened up the sliding doors on one side of the restaurant; so even if you were sitting inside, you were exposed to the lovely weather.  Since I don’t like sitting around people who are smoking, especially when I’m eating, we opted to eat inside.

I picked a spot right by a window, where the people watching was especially excellent.

Bill and I both ordered Paulaner hefeweizens.  Right next to the steakhouse is the Paulaner am alter Postplatz restaurant.  We enjoyed a great meal there last fall and might have been tempted today, but they were pretty packed.

 

Our waiter started out speaking German to us, but immediately switched to English as soon as he heard Bill and me talking to each other.  Although we were tempted by the cheeseburgers, which were part of a lunchtime deal that was to end at 5:00pm, Bill and I opted for steaks.  It was almost 5:00pm, anyway, so we figured we might as well try the specialty of the house.

Bill tried to tell the waiter he wanted his steak cooked medium, but the waiter explained that the steaks would come out rare.  All steaks at Abacco’s Steakhouse are served on hot stones, so you can control how done your meat is.

We both ordered rib-eyes, though Bill’s looked more like a strip than a rib-eye.  The steaks are about 250 grams each and they come with three different sauces.  One was like a sweet version of A-1.  One was a horseradish sauce.  The third was a basil chimchurri sauce.  We also had fries, though other sides are available and cost extra.

I had to get a shot of the steaming meat when it came out.  The second stone under the steak is kept simply warm. You move the meat to the warm stone, then cut the steak into strips.  Then you move the strips to the hot stone, and let each cook to your desired temperature.  It occurred to me that this technique probably means fewer steaks get sent back to the kitchen.  After all, you as the customer are ultimately in charge of how done your meat gets!  

 

I did notice that the steak tasted a little bland to me.  Bill also thought the meat was a bit bland, though otherwise enjoyable.  I don’t usually salt my food much, but I needed to salt my steak at Abacco’s.  It tasted like the meat might have been coated in oil instead of butter.  On the other hand, the beef was hot and juicy and, as steaks in Germany usually go, was pretty good.  According to the menu, our steaks were USDA prime beef.  I noticed they had steaks from Argentina as well as Iberico ham and pork steaks.  They also have salads for those who are more health conscious.

After we finished eating, our waiter tempted us with dessert.  We decided to have a round of double espressos and split a brownie dessert.

I thought the double espresso could have been hotter…  It was served well before the dessert was, so I couldn’t really hang onto it until the dessert came out without risking cold espresso.

The dessert was delicious!  The warm brownie was served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce.  It was the perfect size for splitting.  They also had ice cream, sorbet, apple strudel, and some sort of other dessert that I had never heard of…

I enjoyed watching people walk by.  These two ladies appeared to be identical twins who had to go a size up on their taxi.

A shot of the sign outside.  The location for this restaurant is pretty great.  It’s right in the thick of things.  The restaurant itself is very large and comfortable, with a very nice looking bar.

 

All told, we spent about 80 euros for dinner before the tip.  We both enjoyed the food and the service, though I think I still prefer Tommi’s for steak.   For us, Tommi’s is also less expensive and much more convenient, since it’s in our town and we can walk there.   On the other hand, Abacco’s offers burgers and other items that Tommi’s doesn’t have.  Aside from that, it’s in a convenient location downtown, which means that for many folks living in the Stuttgart area, it’s in a more convenient place than Tommi’s is.

I would recommend Abacco’s Steakhouse for those who are looking for a good hunk of meat.  However, given the hot stones the steaks are served on, I would recommend parents with small children be careful.  The stones are very hot and capable of burning those who are careless or overly curious.

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