This past week a new colleague of mine threw a birthday part at Breitengrad 17, a Vietnamese restaurant downtown (déjà vu, anyone?). The restaurant has been on our list to try for some time, but with Takeshii's being one of our long-time favorites, we've usually just gone there instead. However, with such a great opportunity, we couldn't turn it down...
I've been so thrilled to experience the recent boom in street food in Stuttgart. Ever since the first (slightly unfortunate) event back in May, it seems organizers have been trying hard to learn from past mistakes and make these kinds of festivals worthwhile. I've been particularly impressed by the recent Street Food Thursdays in the Karlsplatz. If you follow me on Facebook, you've probably seen my photos from the past couple of Thursdays, which have offered more craft beers, more vegan and vegetarian options, and more international cuisine.
In fact, Facebook is how I first heard about the Street Food Festival in Böblingen-Sindelfingen. They've been posting teaser photos for months, so I knew this weekend's festival was going to be good. Unlike past events, they extended the festival to cover three days, helping to prevent a rush all on one day. They also charged a 3€ entrance fee. Now I know that they can be controversial, but I understand the need when you have to cover costs like trash cans, security, and toilets. And although the festival was a 20-minute ride on the S-bahn from the city center, it was located in the spacious "airfield" right next to the station...
With summer winding down, my husband and I decided to take one last weekend trip to enjoy the beautiful weather. We've stayed local this summer after our amazing trip to Ireland, choosing to visit some of the nearby sights of Schwäbisch Hall and Schloss Hohenzollern instead. We've been all over Baden-Württermberg, but one location remained on our list: the Bodensee.
I remember before we moved to Suttgart three years ago that a friend of ours who studied abroad in Konstanz (also known as Constance in English) on the Bodensee (or Lake Constance) said it was the most beautiful place he'd ever been and that we had to visit. Still, we always pushed aside our plans to travel there as the train fare was either too expensive or we couldn't find an affordable hotel at short notice. However, with a little planning ahead and a creative definition of a weekend (Sunday-Monday), I was able to pull something together. And so, with our tickets booked and our bag packed, we set out on the 2-1/2 journey south of Stuttgart to Konstanz...
The Esslinger Zwiebelfest (translated: Esslingen Onion Festival) has been going on now for the past week, but with the Stuttgart Sommerfest and Thursday Street Food Market also in town, we've pushed this one back until this weekend. With our Saturday free, we decided to make the trip out for lunch.
We had an easy 15-minute ride from the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof to Esslingen's main station on one of the regional trains. From there we walked to Esslingen's Marktplatz, about another 10 minutes from the station and through the weekly Saturday produce market along Bahnhofstraße. We were greeted by a large blue sign announcing the onion festival in the Marktplatz, which is also the site of Esslingen's yearly Christmas Market. It's a really lovely square surrounded by half-timbered houses, and you can even see the old Medieval wall and the vineyards surrounding Esslingen in the distance. Along the south side of the square is the imposing St. Dionysius Church and the location of Kessler, Germany's oldest Sekt (sparkling wine) producer...
My intent in starting this blog was to share my culinary adventures in and around Stuttgart since I enjoy food and make an effort to find good dining experiences. However, my husband and I spend most of the work week cooking and, to some extent, trying to imitate many of the delicious meals that we've eaten here and abroad. With this in mind, I thought it might be useful to write a post on shopping for groceries in case you, like me, are an expat in Stuttgart looking for the right ingredient for your favorite meals...
I was really excited to find out last week that someone recognized the high demand for street food in Stuttgart and decided to organize a weekly location for food trucks. The group called Gaumenfreude seems pretty serious about it, too, though it was only through a casual mention by a friend last week that I learned about it. Though it was too late for me to attend their first Thursday at the Karlsplatz downtown, I made sure to mark my calendar for the second and got my chance last night.
Because it's been so hot in Stuttgart lately, we didn't make our way down there until about 8 pm. I was immediately relieved to see that there weren't huge crowds or long lines (probably helped by the Sommerfest currently going on). I was also amused to see foosball tables, beach chairs, and a live band set up for the evening...
There's something about summertime that always makes me want to grill my food. Unfortunately, we live in an apartment without a balcony or yard, and so our chances for grilling are few and far between. That's one reason why I was so excited to hear about an American BBQ restaurant in Stuttgart called TC BBQ.
A quick note on American food: My reaction upon seeing the "American" food section in our German grocery store usually varies between laughter and tears. Forget the culinary complexity of dishes like Louisiana gumbo, New England clam chowder, and Chicago deep dish pizza; the grocery store aisle seems to reduce the U.S.'s contribution to world cuisine to pop tarts, cheese wiz, and marshmallows. But I think the U.S. has a whole lot more to offer to the world's cuisine, including the South and Midwest's barbecue...
One of the great things about living in Stuttgart is that there are always plenty of opportunities to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I hesitate to say more, because I remember more farmer's stands growing up around farms in Maryland, and in Charlottesville, VA we had a Saturday farmer's market. Still, it seems that Stuttgart has all of that between the many tucked-away produce stands, the covered Markthalle, and the many smaller village markets. The best, though, has to be the Wochenmarkt that makes an appearance not just on Saturdays, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays, too...
We've been fortunate enough to have several family members and friends come to visit us over the last three years. As a result, we've developed a pretty solid list of things to see and do in and around Stuttgart. Whether you're just visiting Stuttgart or have lived here for a while and want to take some time to experience the city like the tourists do (which I always recommend), I hope you'll find our list helpful, too...
