Recap: Visiting Little Tokyo in Düsseldorf

Recap: Visiting Little Tokyo in Düsseldorf

My husband and I have long wanted to visit more cities in the north of Germany, especially Düsseldorf. I read last year in a Germanwings magazine that Düsseldorf has an area known as "Little Tokyo" with tons of authentic restaurants and shops. This is in large part because Düsseldorf reportedly has the highest population of Japanese citizens in Europe, thanks also to the bi-weekly flights between the city and Tokyo. With our interests piqued, we decided to use the long Easter weekend as an opportunity to see if the city lives up to its hype. 

To get there, we used our Deutsche Bahn cards to purchase train tickets on the ICE. It's only about 2-1/2 hours from Stuttgart to Düsseldorf, and the discount we get with our bahn cards make them well worth it. The train followed the course of the Rhine River, a fact I wish I'd have known before so that I could have positioned myself on the right side of the train as we travelled north. The views were stunning! It seemed as if around every bend we passed another castle and another picturesque German village. Perhaps there could be a Rhine River cruise in my future...

Always a Good Meal at Takeshii's

Always a Good Meal at Takeshii's

I mentioned Takeshii's a while back in my post on the Bohnenviertelfest, but I've been meaning to devote a full post to it for a while now. Finally the opportunity arose this past weekend when a friend of mine decided to host her birthday party there. Since Takeshii's is one of my neighborhood favorites, I couldn't turn her down. 

We met for a late dinner outside the restaurant in the Bohnenviertel. The restaurant sits in a corner spot halfway between the Charlottenplatz and Rathaus U-bahn stations and up a flight of stairs. The interior is beautifully decorated with greenery and flowers all around, a stunning black bar, gold detailing in the ceiling and walls, and giant floor-to-ceiling photos of tattooed men that add just a bit of an edge to the space...

Authentic Mexican Food at Mezcal^2 (closed)

Authentic Mexican Food at Mezcal^2 (closed)

Last weekend we really wanted to try a Mexican restaurant in town that had been recommended to us by a reader of my blog (thank you, Nico!). Good Mexican food is not as easy to find here as in the States, and we still haven't found a good go-to place. Unfortunately, our lack of planning and the restaurant's popularity meant we were unable to get a reservation. Not to be put off, we planned ahead and made a reservation for Wednesday night. 

We walked to Mezcal^2 (yes, the name is Mezcal to the power of two) with our dog from our apartment, which only took about 20 minutes or so. When we arrived at around 7:00 pm, the one room restaurant was a bit empty, which was a surprise after we couldn't get a table the previous weekend. The restaurant takes up a corner room at the edge of building, and is a big, open space with turquoise walls, colorful bunting, and a number of Mexican dolls for décor. We sat down at one of the smaller wooden tables with metal folding chairs (very rustic) and were quickly waited on by the only server in the restaurant...

Cheap Eats at DO's Vietnamese Street Food

Cheap Eats at DO's Vietnamese Street Food

Since it's Saturday night, we wanted to try a new Mexican restaurant for dinner tonight, but it was booked. No matter -- we opened up our list to find another casual restaurant in the area. Our selection? DO's Vietnamese Street Food. 

Matt first found DO's on one of our many walks through the city with Leo. It's located between the new Gerber mall on Tübinger Straße and the main shopping street of Königstraße. Much of the area was closed when we first moved here for construction, but now that it's finished, I feel like we're rediscovering all the new shops and restaurants there, DO's being one of them...

Recap: Food and Family in Charleston

Recap: Food and Family in Charleston

Ever since I visited Charleston, South Carolina for a family reunion as a child, I've wanted to go back. The city has loomed in my imagination as the city of mansions, home-cooked collared greens, and my mother's slight Southern accent for as long as I can remember. And so when my mother asked me what I wanted to do on my recent return to the States, a trip to Charleston was at the top of my list. 

We planned a short, three-day visit to the Holy City (named as such for having over 400 churches in its limits) filled with sight-seeing and food. Though my mother was born and grew up in Charleston, she hadn't ever really experienced the city as a tourist, and was all-to-happy to tour the city with me. Here's a short recap of what we did...

Recap: Sunny Florida and My Return to America

Recap: Sunny Florida and My Return to America

Over the holidays I made my first trip back to the States in two-and-a-half years. While I wasn't exactly returning home (I come from Maryland and Virginia), I did consider my trip a kind of return to my "mother culture". I was both excited and curious by how much might have changed, either in me or in the US, and I was not disappointed. 

My visit took place over the course of about nine days, during which I spent most of my time with my mother in Florida and on a brief trip to Charleston, South Carolina (though I'll save that for another post). Here are my overall impressions...

    Superb Brunch at Taverna Yol

    Superb Brunch at Taverna Yol

    One of my colleagues decided to get a group of us together for brunch before the start of the work week. His proposed destination: Taverna Yol. I'd never been to Taverna Yol, but my colleague promised delicious Turkish food at their all-you-can-eat brunch and I just couldn't turn down the opportunity. And so this morning, we rushed out the door last minute (per usual) in order to meet the group of about 20 of us. By the time we arrived at 11:15, the restaurant was already packed and brunch was in full swing. 

    The brunch buffet was set up near the entrance. They had a huge table piled high with food including fresh-baked breads, olives, fresh cheeses, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted eggplant and zucchini, rice with pine nuts, sausage cooked in a tomato and egg sauce, chicken in a cream sauce, spiced tuna, dolma (stuffed grape leaves), and sigara boregi (long, thin pastries stuffed with cheese)...

    Valentine's Dinner at Goldener Adler

    Valentine's Dinner at Goldener Adler

    The last time we were in the area of Marienplatz we passed Goldener Adler and had a peek at the menu posted outside. We'd never heard of the restaurant before, but the appetizer special with a chorizo-saffron risotto looked delicious. And so when Valentine's Day came around last weekend, we scrolled through out list to see what looked good, and Goldener Adler won. (Note that we ate on Friday night -- really, Valentine's Day was just an excuse, and since they were booked for the actual day, we happily went with the day before.)

    We (almost) promptly arrived for our reservation at 7:30 pm, by which time the restaurant was packed. I didn't get a picture of the inside, but it was nice -- old-world style elegance, but somewhere between German pub and hip-modern. The atmosphere was somewhat laid back, and I noticed a mix of businessmen after work, families with kids, and young couples like us. The restaurant was also happy to accommodate Leo, which I always appreciate (as did the toddler who kept making eyes at him, I'm sure)...

    The Best (Fresh) Kebabs in Stuttgart: Alaturka

    The Best (Fresh) Kebabs in Stuttgart: Alaturka

    People have been telling me for over a year now that Alaturka is the place to go for a kebab in Stuttgart. Maybe it's because I have trouble justifying going out to dinner for a kebab (I think of it as I'm-too-lazy-to-cook-food or I'm-hungover-food) or maybe it's because we've been so satisfied with our local kebab shop, but whatever the reason, I hadn't made it to Alaturka until last weekend when my husband suggested it.

    And so, after a lazy, relaxing Saturday catching up on TV shows and reading, we finally bundled ourselves up against the cold and walked down the hill towards Olgastraße. We hadn't walked far before my husband said we'd arrived and opened up a low door into a rustic, almost cave-like interior. The stone walls were lined with wooden shelves piled high with Turkish trinkets and various bottles of spices and wine. It would have been dark except for the large center island finished with bright blue tiles...