I really like holidays for being markers of the season, though I have to admit that Valentine's Day has never been one that I've much cared for. Sure, it's nice to show your loved one that you care, but I'm not too keen on fighting for a dinner reservation just to say "I love you." So because Matt was flying out last weekend on Valentine's Day, I was just as pleased to dine out the Saturday before and call it a date. As we're in the process of booking a spring trip to Tuscany, we've had Italian food on our minds and decided to try Il Pomodoro over in the Wilhelmsplatz...
I don't often get the opportunity to go out for lunch, and so today when Matt and I had a rare Friday off together, we decided to make the most of it by trying Origami, a local sushi restaurant that's been on our list for some time.
I love sushi, but I find that we eat the cute, tiny fish-topped rice rectangles less often here than we did in the States. I'm pretty sure the reason has something to do with Stuttgart being quite far from any major body of ocean water. Of the 3-4 sushi restaurants we've tried in the city, the quality has either been very good and expensive or abysmal (think tasteless, fried frozen, or worse -- fishy!) and less expensive. Despite my past disappointments, I'd heard good things about Origami from from friends and colleagues, and was looking forward to our meal there...
It could be because I'm American that I have a special place on my culinary palate for Chinese buffets. I remember going to one when my husband and I first started dating because we were young and didn't have much money; our local Chinese buffet located in one of America's never-ending strip malls was one of our few choices for a filling meal on a dime. Maybe it's that nostalgia or maybe it's the novelty of finding one in Stuttgart that influenced us to check out New Shanghai Restaurant today for lunch...
I swear I've been living here for almost four years, but somehow Heilige Drei Könige (translation: Three King's Day or Epiphany) caught me off guard. Here in Baden-Württemberg it's a federal holiday, meaning that everything (i.e. the grocery store) is closed on that day. And because we've been shopping daily for our meals since we moved to Germany, that meant that on Wednesday we were left without food in our tiny apartment fridge for dinner. Our solution? Look at our "Restaurants to Try" list, of course. And what piqued our interest the most? Burgers from Triple B -- Beef Burger Brothers...
It's about to get quiet again after all Christmas markets these past two months. Not a lot happens in Stuttgart in January and February, so it's a good time to start your New Year resolutions and (try to) stick to them. In the meantime, there's always one event in February to look forward to...
The Monday after Christmas, my mother and I decided to brave the post-holiday sales crowds in order to do a little shopping of our own and explore some areas of Stuttgart that she hadn't seen yet. Though I know that the new Milaneo complex by the library is quite popular, I much prefer the other new shopping mall at at the far end of Königstraße called Das Gerber. The mall is smaller and thus much more manageable, in my opinion, and there are several new stores there that I like. Apart from that, Das Gerber also houses our local Pano...
Strasbourg has long been one of my favorite short-range travel destinations outside of Stuttgart. It's just a little over an hour by train, and so the journey is very reasonable for a day trip or even a weekend. But what I love about Strasbourg the most is that it's just over the French-German border, making it a fantastic blend of culture and cuisine from both countries. Though I've been to Strasbourg several times, I'd never been to the Christmas market held there every year and said to be one of the best in Europe. And so when my mother decided to make the overseas flight to see us for Christmas, I knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to visit Les Marchés de Noël de Strasbourg...
When a company called Gaumenfreude started organizing Street Food Thursdays in the Karlsplatz this past summer, I was thrilled! I love the variety and portion sizes at food trucks, and although Gaumenfreude's first market started out a bit hit-or-miss, I stuck with it and returned again and again to try the new food trucks that they were able to bring to Stuttgart. Over time, I had some great burgers and pulled pork, and yes, even some halfway decent Mexican food. And so because they came through in the end, I decided to go check out their Großer Foodtruck Weihnachtsmarkt in Zuffenhausen today to see if they could still deliver...
This past weekend we took a trip south to Tübingen. Our goal was twofold: to eat some delicious Swabian Maultaschen and to check out the Chocolate Festival for the first time. While it can usually take over an hour to get there by train from downtown Stuttgart, we were lucky to have a friend with a car who was willing to drive our small party.
We set out early(ish) on Saturday and zipped along the Autobahn. Just 45 minutes later, we made it to our destination. The town was absolutely packed for the chocolate festival, and though we hadn't planned on having to drive around for 20 minutes to find a parking spot, I'm glad we arrived early. We parked the car at at a garage near the center of town, and walked the quick 15 minutes through the old town to Hotel am Schloss next to the castle. We were scheduled to have lunch there, at Restaurant Mauganeschtle, at noon...
