Freiburger Eats

Here's a nice google map that I made with some recommendations of local restaurants in the area....
There are some really nice choices!


View Freiburger Eats in a larger map

Cheese Fondue Research

Yes, this goes to show that research tax dollars can produce relevant and interesting research!

Have a look at this link of a research paper:
Effect on gastric function and symptoms of drinking wine, black tea, or schnapps with a Swiss cheese fondue: randomised controlled crossover trial

Bravo!!!!

The Best Fleischküchle

Spring is here, which means it's time to go visit Straußenwirtschaften again!

We biked through the Hexental, past Staufen to Grunern, to go to the Schleifsteinhof of Weingut Probst, up on the hill with a great view of the nothern Markgräflerland and the ruins above Staufen.

The food was amazing!  Specializing in badisch specialties, I had the most amazing Fleischküchle ever since I arrived in Germany....Betty's Zwiebelbraten was also super-tender.  The sauce was great, with fried onions giving it texture.

That's opening the Straußi season with a bang!!

Zum Storchen

Schmidhofen is a little community about 3 km south from Bad Krozingen, but surprisingly, there's a Michelin starred restaurant there, called Zum Storchen. Excellent food, here's what we were able to sample....


Betty's appetizer: Gebratenes Zanderfilet auf Rotkrautsalat Apfelvinaigrette

My appetizer: Variation von hausgemachter Gänseleberterrine, Blätterteigtarte mit Zwetschgen

and Betty's in-between course: Perlhuhntortellini auf Kürbisragout mit Petersilienwurzelpüree

 

and her main dish: Entrecote vom Schwarzwälder Färsenrind mit weißer Pfeffersauce, Schnippelbohnen und Schupfnudeln

while I was able to feast on: Filet vom Schwarzwälder Bauernkalb auf geschmortem Kalbschwanz, Vichykarotten und Schupfnudeln

A nice way to spend a Sunday lunch!

Dad: Cheese Lover Extraordinaire!

Not only are they tapas fans, and not only is Mom a beer guzzler, but Dad is a Cheese-Head Maniac!

How else do you explain his fondue cravings in Chamonix?

And Tapas too?

And who'd've thought that they're also big tapas fans as well?!!!

Casa Espanola in Freiburg.......good place to go for tapas cravings....

Mom and Beer

Here's Mom again, drinking huge amounts of beer......

We never knew that she was such a Beer guzzler.....

Schwarzer Adler

In the midst of the Kaiserstuhl in a little town called Vogtsburg, lies a nice restaurant called the Schwarzer Adler:



A great restaurant, recognized with a Michelin star......the meat was oh, so tender.....

Three of us went for a lunch on a Saturday afternoon, and look what we ordered.

This came with a set menu: Stück aus dem Vorderwälder Rinderrücken mit Spätburgundersauce, Bohnen & gebackenem Kartoffelknödel



and some Lamb: Filet vom deutschen Weidelamm mit Gremolata Paprika-Tomaten-Mousse, Artischocken und Parisienne-Kartoffeln



This one was the best of them all: Filet "Rossini" vom Kaiserstühler Kalb mit einer Sauce von schwarzen Périgord-Trüffeln Blattspinat und Kartoffelravioli

The Flunch Deal

Well, I have to say that when it comes to value meals, it's tough to beat Flunch. This is a casual restaurant chain, in a cafeteria style. Don't expect any gourmet food, or top-notch service. Getting your food is self-service, but the portions are great, the food quite tasty, and the prices unbeatable.

The first time we tried it was in Aix-en-Provence last year, but we made another trip to Colmar just last Saturday. What made it especially delicious was that we had biked over 50 km to get there, so we were starving when we arrived. Needless to say, Flunch hit the spot!

Although, in my opinion the Flunch in Aix has a much better layout and atmosphere than the Flunch in Colmar. But hey, Flunch isn't for atmosphere, it's for good, cheap eats....(and the 50 km bike ride back enabled us not to pack on the pounds)

Mmmm....meat in Bad Krozingen!

Our bike excursions took us again into the Markgräflerland, where we stopped in Bad Krozingen for lunch. Some great meat dishes were served at a food stand, while a wind orchestra was playing some music.

The meat was really tender and delicious!

Betty had the Pork Hocks (Schweinshäxle) which is really a Bavarian specialty. This was the best one we ever ate in Baden, where it's also served at times. Usually Pork Hocks in Baden cannot compete with those from Bavaria, but this came close:



I had the Grillbraten (I assume pork) with Knödel, which is really a bread-ball, which was awesome:


A nice 50 km under our belt today, on racing bikes.....we'll have to venture further next time!

Straußwirtschaft in Opfingen

"Go west young man", and so we did.....west to Opfingen, a village about 13 km away from Freiburg.

A nice little Straußwirtschaft called the Sonnenbrunnen Strauße (the Sun-Fountain) was there, with outdoor seating:


We enjoyed some of the local made grape juice and Gutedel wine (Chasselas)


Betty was on a Wurstsalat binge, so here was her dish:


While I opted for the house specialty: Cheese-Potato balls, with ham, cheese, and other garnishes:


Some Rösti at the end really hit the spot:


A very nice Day 2 to our long weekend!

Straßenwirtschaft in Köndringen

So today was another day in the year of the Straußenwirtschaft....but this time we headed north to a little town called Köndringen.


Betty took my new racing bike, so it was alot easier for her to keep pace (she could have gone faster, but was following me on a normal trekking bike).....

Check it out, a brand new Giant Defy 2 (2010 model):

Ain't it a beaut?

Arrving in Köndringen, we ate at Blum's Gutschänke. Along with with a glass of Müller-Thurgau, we enjoyed a nice pork steakfilet, wrapped in bacon, with Baden-style salad:


and some yummy potato salad to go with it:


It rained pretty hard on our way back though, so we were soaked by the time we made it home!

Il pesciolino rosso

We spent a nice long Easter weekend in Stresa, Italy.......a nice small (albeit touristy) town on the shores of the Lago Maggiore.

The last lunch we had was at the restaurant called "Il pesciolino rosso", translated as the Goldfish. The clientele other than the two of us, were all Italian, and suffice it to say, the Pizza we ordered was the best traditional-style pizza we've ever eaten (Pizza con salame piccante).



Buon appetito!

Straußenwirtschaft in Gallenweiler

Another beautiful Sunday in Freiburg...April really is the nicest month here. This one was a bit cool, with a high of 17 degrees. We decided we would try the Markgräflerland once again, here are a couple of pictures with a view of the Black Forest from close to Bollschweil:





Gallenweiler (a really tiny village) is where we stopped for lunch at the Straußenwirtschaft called Belchenblick, named after one of the highest peaks in the Black Forest called Belchen.

Good stuff, I got the Schweinegulash with Spätzle.....


while Betty got the Schweinerückensteak.....


45 km on a bike, great scenery, and yummy food - too bad the weekend is only two days long!

Blanquette de Veau à Paris

French food.....mmmmm.....

At the Polidor in the Latin Quarter in Paris, you can dine for reasonable prices....here's a picture of a Blanquette de Veau which I enjoyed with a bit of Sauvignon Blanc from the Touraine region:


While in Paris, you might as well see some of the sides....

Here's a picture of the Palais de Luxembourg in the Luxembourg Gardens.


The Eiffel Tower is always a nice view at nighttime.




Of course, unfortunately, the main problem with Paris is the endless hordes of tourists.....

2011: The year of the Straußwirtschaft!

I declare 2011 the year of the Straußwirtschaft.....

This weekend we had 27 degrees Celsius of bright, sunny weather....so we did a very nice 50 km ride:
Freiburg - Hexental - Staufen - Heitersheim - Kirchhöfen - Pfaffenweiler - Freiburg

And given that 2011 is the year of the Straußwirtschaft, we stopped by the Lorenz-Straußi for a nice lunch. These Straußwirtschaften are great - they make their own wine, and serve very nice dishes.

Here's a nice view of the Black Forest from between Staufen and Heitersheim:


And some good eats: Bärlauchpfannkuchen mit Schinken und Käse and a Mixteller (Wurstsalat, Brägele, Frischkäse)


A closer look at the Bärlauchpfannkuchen....

Oh Poo!

La Fourchette

If you're ever in Avignon, you absolutely must go to the restaurant called La Fourchette....

The best thing you can order is the Daube d'Avignon - succulent beef soaked in a beef stew. It is so juicy and tender, it is a must-order. Unfortunately, in our excitement in eating it, we forgot to snap an appropriate picture.

Instead, here are some nice pics of a couple appetizers that were ordered....




The escargot were also amazingly delicious!

Mmmmmm, yummy!

Gordes

Provence is famous for perched villages, and Gordes is a very nice example of one.....the scenery in the Luberon valley is really nice. We had great weather, (though it was a bit too windy)....

What's more, the food was great! Here are some gambas with pasta::




I had the pork with lentils:


and of course, some of the famous French foie gras was ordered....

La cuisine provençale

So usually I find French food a bit overrated, and overpriced....I mean I enjoy it, but the costs don't seem to justify what one gets....

Well, on a recent trip to Provence, I definitely cannot say that. The food wasn't overexpensive, (although pricier than I usually eat), and it was very very good! Here are some pics from a restaurant in a small town called Fontvieille, not at all far away from Arles.

This goat cheese in a soft wrap was a very nice appetizer!



This piece of veal is juicy and succulent...


I had the duck thigh.....mmmm good....