Every time we go to the Mövenpick Weinkeller in Stuttgart-West, we pass a restaurant called Rat-Rat on the way up the hill. I remember noticing it for the first time about a year ago, but something about the name didn't sound so appealing to my English (language) ears. However, after a particularly long tasting session at Mövenpick, our group decided to give the restaurant a shot and discovered that, to our surprise, they serve some delicious German food.
We returned again this past weekend after Mövenpick's Degustation Frühlingsfestival (spring festival tasting), during which we found a lovely Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington state and a Rivaner Pur! from the Mosel river valley. (If you're interested in trying them for yourself, Mövenpick is having another tasting May 21st-23rd.) Following the tasting, we stumbled down the hill to Rat-Rat and discovered that they had set up their outdoor patio for the summer. We chose a table under an umbrella (which turned out to be a good choice later when it started to sprinkle a bit) and sat down to order.
On our last visit, Matt enjoyed a delicious Flammkuchen (Alsatian-style flat bread or pizza) from their lengthy menu, while I had a crispy Schnitzel (breaded and fried pork cutlet). On this occasion, however, they had their special Spargel (asparagus) menu, and I couldn't turn down another chance to enjoy some white asparagus before the season is over. Asparagus, especially white asparagus, is seasonal in Germany, and most German restaurants come out with their own menu for it around this time. If you want to learn more about the Germans's love for this seasonal vegetable, check out this great post on A Sausage Has Two, one of my favorite local food blogs.
After some deliberation, I chose the white asparagus with new potatoes and pork medallions. My pictures don't do the food justice because of the low lighting, but you can at least see the lovely presentation with a separate dish for the pork and potatoes and a silver gravy boat for the hollandaise sauce. The asparagus was cooked to tender perfection and had the characteristically mild, slightly sweet and buttery flavor that one expects of white asparagus. The potatoes were roasted through with a slightly crispy outer skin, and the pork was nicely pan-browned, though still juicy and tender.
Matt got a mixed plate (maybe the Swäbisch Teller) with Käsespätzle (cheesy pasta), Zwiebelrostbraten (onion fried roast beef with gravy), and Maultasche (a kind of meat ravioli). His dish had a similarly fancy presentation with three separate dishes on a long wooden board for each food. I did manage one bite of the Käsespätzle before he finished it all, and can confirm that it was delicious as well.
Thus far, that makes two good meals at Rat-Rat, and so I'm sure we'll be back again the next time we go for a wine tasting. They also have a Sunday brunch which looks quite impressive if their website photos are anything to go by. Rat-Rat is open daily from 5:30 pm until midnight and on Sundays for brunch from 10 am until 2 pm. They're located just up the hill bearing left from the Herderplatz U-bahn station along the U2 line.