Vaivai – Italian steak in industrial chic

In Frankfurt, there seems to be quite a few fine steak houses. Vaivai is one of those, it’s a trendy restaurant with an interesting concept. They offer finer Italian cuisine and prime steak cuts. It has a trendy feel since its interior is designed in the industrial-chic-look. Yet, it is clearly upmarket and is a popular spot to eat dinner after a business day. We visited Vaivai the other Friday after work. We have had reserved a table already some time ago, then did not make it and now tried for the second time. One should indeed reserve quite some time ahead, because the regular dinner times of Friday are quickly booked out.

Vaivai is located on Grüneburgweg in Westend. This short street passes from Grüneburgpark to the subway station of Grüneburgweg on the main north-south line. There is a cluster of restaurants and cafés serving the surrounding residential neighborhood. There are also multiple small and medium-sized offices around, so that workers can get lunch deals or after-work dinner here. Vaivai is situated in one of the modern office blocks of the street. When we entered, I was surprised about the cool New-York-style feel inside. I just love the industrial charm of the interior design.

The menu basically offers three main categories: Mediterranean antipasti, pasta and meat from the grill. The dishes are not strictly Italian, for example there are also ceviche and tempura creations served as antipasti. But I did like the concept very much, especially because the food menu was complemented with a very good wine menu. Vaivai exclusively offers more upscale quality wine, matched with upscale prices, but totally worth it. I got a Spanish red that was really fruity and paired well with my food.

As for the dish, I went for a rib eye steak and my wife for a cheese bake. My steak was fantastic. The meat of high quality was grilled to the spot. It had a proper size considering that I chose the small version. The grilled vegetables on the side were also superb. My wife, too, was very happy with her bake, that contained various cheeses and vegetables. Eggplant and parmigiana were the main ingredients. I also took a bite, and indeed it was really good. I therefor had the impression that the other pasta and antipasti dishes must be pretty good as well. Overall, Vaivai is a great restaurant for a nice dinner. I really enjoyed the classy service, the trendy decoration and flair and of course the good meat and wine.

Style: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian/Mediterranean/Steak house

Location: Westend-Nord

Website: http://vaivai.de/frankfurt

eatDOORI – Mumbai street food on Kaiserstraße

I recently visited this extremely trendy eatery that endeavors to bring Indian street food cuisine to Frankfurt. eatDOORI is a small new food chain with two shops in Frankfurt and another one in the larger Rhine-Main area. With its location on Kaiserstraße, it is right in the heart of the hip multi-cultural melting pot of the Bahnhofsviertel. The rapidly gentrifying neighborhood that is still dominated by the red-light and the drug scene is an energetic place where new food options pop up all the time. Kaiserstraße is the central street of the neighborhood and boosts many vibrant new restaurants.

eatDOORI offers a twist on the otherwise typical Indian restaurants that can be found in Germany. It serves street food – some versions of known Indian dishes, some more unusual inventions – in a very trendy cool environment that usually gets very busy. That it gets crowded, is part of the concept of course, trying to resemble the noise and culinary flair of Mumbai. Indeed, in eatDOORI, the tables are cramped together in tight space and agile waiters are rushing through the corridors. The street food on the menu ranges from burgers with flavors from the Indian subcontinent, to sandwiches made with Naan and topped with chutneys. Variants of the traditional curries are also served.

I was craving some really spicy dish and therefore ordered the spiciest sounding curry. It came in a nice portion with plenty of rice. The curry was tasty and as spicy as expected. You can choose different meat that you want to have put in your curry. Unfortunately, the waiter misunderstood me and brought me chicken instead of lamb. Not a big deal, but I think a chicken curry is not very adventurous and I regret it a bit considering that the menu boosted so many interesting creations. I guess I just need to come back and try out some of the more creative dishes. The curry was very flavorful though. Overall, this place is a really trendy cool food shop with an unusual concept that totally works in the vibrant Bahnhofsviertel.

Style: Casual eatery/Dinner

Cuisine: Indian/Asian

Location: Bahnhofsviertel

Website: https://eatdoori.com

Takumi – Japanese Ramen culture brought from Düsseldorf

Ramen noodles are a popular Japanese dish that is also successful in Europe. It consists of thin noodles in a savory meat-based broth and is usually topped with different ingredients like slices of pork, seaweed, onions or eggs. Ramen restaurants conquered German cities already since some years. Düsseldorf has been a hotspot for that and boosts one of Europe’s most exciting culinary scene from Japan. Takumi is a successful ramen shop in the city on the Rhine and very recently opened a new branch in Frankfurt. They found a nice little location on a quiet neighborhood street in Westend, close to Messe.

We recently visited Takumi with our friends, who are also as interested in Japanese (food) culture as I am. The restaurant was full of people speaking Japanese – staff and costumers, which is already a good sign. In fact, the menu offers not only quite a range of different Ramen noodle soups but also some other Japanese classics like salted peas (edamame) and deep fried octopus (takoyaki). We ordered our edamame and takoyaki as appetizers plus some Kirin beers.

The main dish was obviously the ramen. They came in a huge portion and tasted delicious. I had a version that included a boiled egg, vegetables and pork. All in all, this was a very proper dinner, substantial, tasty, authentic. I cannot say how good is the Düsseldorf mother shop, but it must be popular if it is expanding to other cities. I agree that these are quite good ramen. I am a big fan of these Japanese noodles and will likely visit again.

Style: Casual eatery/Dinner

Cuisine: Japanese/Asian

Location: Westend-Süd

Website: https://de-de.facebook.com/TakumiFrankfurt/

MainNizza – Spring at Nice at the Main

Spring has finally arrived in Frankfurt, which is one of Germany’s warmest big cities. The sunny season regularly arrives a bit earlier in Frankfurt than in the rest of the country and because of its large green spaces, flowers and blossoming trees can be seen all around. Naturally, the Main-Ufer (river side) is one of the most pleasant areas to be in Frankfurt during spring. Walking from Willy-Brandt-Platz straight to the Main, there is a small section of the river side called Nizza-Ufer, as in the city of Nice in France. Here the waterside facing south creates a micro-climate that is reminiscent of southern Europe (maybe a slight exaggeration of sun-longing locals). A cluster of plantings of various flowers and cherry trees make this little area especially pretty in early spring.

Building on the Provence-flair of this setting, a restaurant called MainNizza is economizing on its fantastic location right in the middle of little Nice on the Main. Indeed, it is one of the few food places that is situated right at the Main river side and is correspondingly popular during the sunny season. It features a large terrace facing south towards the river. We were lucky to get a spot, even though not directly in the first row. This is definitely a great place to enjoy a small drink and let the first sun rays vitalize you.

The service was attentive and friendly despite being quite visibly very busy. The food menu offers down-to-earth German and international style cuisine with a touch from the Mediterranean regions. We find salads, fish, lamb and schnitzel on the menu as well as vegetarian options like gnocchi. We decided to go for the schnitzel with Frankfurter green sauce, the classic refreshing dressing made from regional herbs that is ideal for warmer days. We shared our schnitzel among us two and the portion was in fact so large that I was very glad we only ordered one. The schnitzel was well done with a crunchy crust. As topping, we received not only the green sauce but also a cranberry jam. I did not care so much for the jam, partly because the green sauce was just fantastic and way better. Overall, it was a very enjoying spring lunch on a terrace where one can immerse in a southern France flair for a short while.

Style: Casual eatery/Dinner

Cuisine: German/Mediterranean

Location: Innenstadt

Website: http://mainnizza.de/

Excursion: Visit to Monterrey – impression on northern Mexican food

This blog post has a special topic on my recent holiday visit to the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. Coming back from a two-week-long stay, I want to make a small topical excursion and summarize my impressions on the cuisine of northern Mexico. Monterrey is a large industrial center situated at the northern fringes of the massive Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range that stretches from the center of Mexico towards the US-Mexican border in the north. The large mountains with their distinct peaks dominate the city-scape and gave Monterrey its name as the king of mountains. A couple of hours away from the Texas border, the city is one of Mexico’s main business centers and the country’s second or third largest urban area (competing with Guadalajara).

The cuisine in Monterrey can be characterized as northern Mexican, with its main feature of being heavily beef based, and is very much distinct from central Mexican (more pork) and southern/coastal Mexican (fish and tropical fruits). Northern Mexican food relies on its cattle farming surrounding producing high quality beef and having a strong ranch tradition among others leading to the output of a variety of cheeses. On the other hand, the cuisine uses ingredients that are typical for the whole country’s food, especially tomatoes, avocadoes, beans, chili and habanero based salsas and corn and wheat tortillas.

During my stay in Monterrey, I visited a couple of restaurants and I picked out a few examples in order to give a quick overview of the regional food. One of our first visits was for breakfast at Lázaro y Diego (link). It can be taken as a typical Mexican breakfast, very heavy and filling for a European stomach. I had bacon and sausages covered with cheese and topped with fried tortilla pieces and mashed beans on the side. My wife ordered chilaquiles, which is fried corn tortillas soaked in red and green sauce, topped with chicken, cream and cheese. The typical Mexican breakfast is rich and of intense flavor. Unlike European breakfasts, it is not sweet, but rather resembles a lunch and can be even intensified with spicy salsas.

Now to the most comprehensive symbol of Mexican cuisine: the taco. They are eaten at any time, from a quick lunch snack to a proper dinner, and come with a wide range of fillings, from beef cuts (e.g. arrachera), to pork (e.g. cochinita) and to shrimps (camarón). Mixed in are different side ingredients with imagination being the limit. Spicy salsas can be typically added as one prefers. Everything is wrapped in either a wheat or corn tortilla. There are all kind of places where one can get them: taco stands on the street, in fast food chains, in fine dining restaurants. We went to a fantastic place called Chuchito Perez (link). We had the most memorable set of tacos of my trip. My shrimp stuffed version was delicious, very juicy and refreshing. I usually go for the corn tortilla since I love the taste of it and they are hard to get in Europe.

Another day, we went to a restaurant on the deck of a former steel foundry called El Lingote (link). The retired steel mill stands in the center of a now redeveloped industrial park in the heart of Monterrey and is symbolic for the past and present industrial character of the city. The restaurant boosted good food and great service. We ordered a few dishes to share. Among them was a Monterrey classic: chicharrón de ribeye. This is fried beef cuts and usually comes with guacamole. The name ribeye already indicates that usually the nice part of the cow is used and therefore this dish is extremely delicious. Together with guacamole, it is very nurturing food and indeed filled my stomach up quite completely, even though it is typically serves as an ‘entrée’.

Finally, we also visited other restaurants where the highlight was also a ribeye. Beef (and also the related BBQ culture) is central to northern Mexican food culture. One place was El Diego (link), which is actually an Argentinian restaurant. Indeed, beef is loved so much that even finest beef is imported from south America even though cattle farms are all around the neighboring regions of Monterrey. My ribeye steak was very juicy and just plain delicious. Another occasion was a visit to Mercurio (link), a fine dining restaurant in the upper-class neighborhood of San Pedro. We had a 1200g ribeye cut with bone, which we shared. The crust was nicely salty and the meat very tender. Overall, I loaded up so much beef during my holidays in Mexico that I had enough for the rest of the year. My highlights of northern Mexican food: delicious (corn) tacos and beef with a price-quality ratio nowhere to be found in Europe.