Top Tipps for Local Gourmet Restaurants
Schwarzer Hahn near Kaiserslautern
Deidesheim, near Kaiserslautern, almost 40 kms to the south-west of Frankfurt, is a good bet for wine-tastings in the area. Here, the local food is honest Pfälzer fare. Portly ex-Chancellor Helmut Kohl eats the local Saumagen, a meat dish likened to haggis, which can be tried at Schwarzer Hahn in the elegant hotel Deidesheimer Hof.
Top Tipps near Cologne
Near Cologne, there are two wonderful, upmarket hotel restaurants within easy reach of Bensberg station. Young chef Joachim Wissler, working at Vendome (Kadettenstrasse, Bergisch Gladbach T. +49 2204 420), the Grandhotelschloss Bensberg’s Michelin three-star, shows genius in transforming traditional German dishes. Gault Millau named him “chef of the year” in 2003 for dishes such as pike with artichoke sauce and truffles, and ice cream made with chicory. There are only nine tables, though. At the Schlosshotel Lerbach Bergisch Gladbach (T. +49 2202 2040), 13 miles from Cologne, where Brazil will be staying if (if!) they make it to the final round, chef Dieter Müller has also cooked his way to three stars. His 21-course amuse bouche, featuring delicacies from goose liver to saddle of venison from Eifel, is legendary.
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