Experience Places Through the Food

On March 22, 2017 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany, Recipes1 Comment

Now that we are back in the United States, we have been missing all of the food that we experienced during our time in Europe. We are strong advocates of trying a variety of foods when you are travelling, even if it takes you out of your comfort zone at times. We wish that there were more family owned, local, farm-to-table restaurants here for us to enjoy like when we were travelling. We haven’t had the opportunity to try and replicate any of the meals that we tasted since we aren’t in our new home yet, but we are looking forward to trying to capture the essence of some of those dishes. It wasn’t just about trying the local food, but sometimes simply about going into a small restaurant with authentic food from another region of the world. At the end of the day, what mattered most was the love for the food and the seasonally fresh ingredients.

Brazen Head Pub – The Oldest Pub in Dublin, Ireland

When looking for a restaurant, don’t always just go to the ones on the main streets of the tourist locations. Look for restaurants on the smaller side streets, talk to the locals and find out where they eat, read the menus and be inspired to give a place a try just based on the food that they offer. We were able to find many truly unique restaurants during our travels and each of them had their own worldly charm. The ambiance of the places can definitely add to the overall experience, whether it is the artwork or photos on the wall, the lights, stained glass windows, etc. We will continue to do our best to experiment with new places and look forward to finding places here in the US that have that same commitment to food, service, and atmosphere.

Dining in Würzburg

On November 30, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Germany, Recipes4 Comments

We mentioned this the other day, but we were very fortunate to find a wonderful little restaurant in Würzburg over the past weekend. We were walking some of the side streets, trying to get away from the larger crowds around the Christmas markets when we found Stachel, a restaurant established in 1413. The atmosphere was relaxing with wonderful stained glass windows and very unique chandeliers. In fact, we have found a lot of places to have beautiful chandeliers, which we have enjoyed seeing.

We don’t usually do starters as well as an entrée, which we shared of course, but we decided to do so this particular day. Game food is definitely on the specialty menus these days, rabbit, duck, goose, and venison can be found at almost every authentic German restaurant. There are also a variety of seasonal soups, including chestnuts, Riesling, and potato soups. We decided to go ahead and get the black pudding, also known as blood pudding, which was served with roasted potatoes.

Trio of Soup, Potato, Beef Broth, Creamy Riesling

For the entrée, we chose the half duck, which was definitely a lot of food for the two of us, but it was exquisite. Tender and moist, but the crispy skin was the highlight of the meal. We have had potato dumplings before and the ones that accompanied our duck were very similar, although it is hard to describe the texture of these springy sponges. A local beer was definitely the perfect pairing for the gamey taste of the duck.

Speaking of beer, our day started by stopping in a small pub as we arrived in town. We would later learn that there is a difference in how the people from the Bayern region view having a beer early in the day versus those in the Hessen region where Frankfurt sits. This was definitely the local watering hole and although it was only noon, there were not any empty seats as the local men gathered to share stories from the week and most likely talk politics and life.

It isn’t all about beer, though, Germany has wonderful wines and we have enjoyed many of those as well. We ended our day by stopping by a wine bar, Weinstube, which carried local red and white wines. Their logo is a monkey drinking wine with a pretzel in his hand, so we shouldn’t have been surprised when our wine glasses arrived with a plastic monkey hanging from the lip. Some cheese covered bread to go with the wine made our food day complete. We probably won’t have a chance to visit Würzburg again, but we definitely enjoyed the food and drinks that we were able to have during our brief visit.

Plenty of Choices for Food in Denver

On August 17, 2016 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes7 Comments

Whether on the 16th Street Mall or in the LODO (Lower Downtown) area, there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. We’ve said this before, but we are not big eaters. We do, however, like to try a variety of food so we tend to have small bites in several places spread out throughout the day. It was no different during our visit to Denver over the weekend. We ended up eating at five different restaurants before our weekend was over and each offered the opportunity to have something a little different.

When we arrived in Denver, it was time for lunch, so we walked down to Henry’s Tavern to grab a bite to eat. Because we like good service and we don’t always like to take up a table on a server when we know that we’re going to share a meal, we usually will sit at the bar for a meal, even if we’re not having any alcohol. Since we weren’t going to do any driving while in Denver, we opted for a glass of wine with our lunch. One of the interesting things about their bar was that there was a frozen strip around the bar where you can put your beer and it will stay ice cold no matter how hot it is outside. After perusing the menu, we weren’t sure what to have, so we asked the bartender for some advice. Based on her opinion, we ordered the bangers and mash, which was served with an incredibly rich onion gravy. It was delicious.

Later in the afternoon, we went to one of our favorite places called The Kitchen. We ordered some roasted beets and marinated olives, but overall were disappointed with the changes that had been implemented since our previous visit. They had raised their prices and reduced the creativity of their offerings. Unfortunately, they have most likely lost our business. After walking around for a little bit, we went to Jax Fish House. We had been to another one of their restaurants in Fort Collins, so we knew that we were in for a treat. Oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, seafood tater tots with salmon, and seafood sausage made for quite the meal. Although all small plates, we were quite full by the time we were done.

Before leaving Denver the following day, we had time for one more restaurant and we chose one near our hotel called Stout Street Social. It was brunch time and they had some really interesting brunch choices, but we ended up selecting their cheddar biscuits and green chili. It featured a large, homemade cheddar biscuit, scrambled eggs, bacon, and green chili. Even though we were splitting it, there was still too much food for us to finish, but it was definitely a savory way to start our day.

All in all, we had a wonderful time during our quick break in Denver and part of the reason was the delicious food that we tried. We try to go to new places as well as visit some of our favorites from past trips as well. Obviously we’re looking forward to the food when we get overseas, but for now we’ll enjoy opportunities to try some new places until we leave.