Day 2 in Baden-baden and what a day it has been. Spent the afternoon sampling wines at Robert Schatzle, yep, #reislinghunt is very much live people! For din dins, we went into town, restaurant Nigrum and OMD!
I know I bang on about details, but details MATTER! The space and decor vibe was no fuss, no clutter – more cosy than claustophobic. There was also a ‘foot stool’ provided for me to place my purse on; details, people, D E T A I L S! Whilst sipping on our aperitifs (g&t for Neal, rose for yours truly) we had us a moment of gratitude and excitement! We miss our food adventures and this was our first proper food taster since the pandemic! But we ready….
For our chef’s introduction, it was all about the olives. We had olive bread served with 2 kinds of olive oils. Now these oils were no ordinary oils, these were special – 1st placed (9 times, yes NINE times, Italian olive oil) and 5th placed (Spanish olive oil) and the butter? Butter with expresso, yes, EXPRESSO! Talk about setting the tone eh? The second introduction was also olive based and was just yummy, oh boy, we could not wait to get into this meal.
With that kind of introduction from the chef, we had to go for the 8-course taster menu, duh? The first course was a domestic salmon trout, pumpkin – goat cheese. Pumpkin goat cheese?! I like how the dish was plated up, pumpkin at the base, slices of cured Trout and then the goat cheese. The sweetness of the pumpkin combined with the smoky taste of the trout and earthy taste of the cheese was a delight to your palate. It was sweet and savory all in one when we took a sip of the chardonnay that accompanied this course!
Parley root, pear- date was our second course. A creamy but not too thick soup dish which was plated up at the table and served with gravier burgunder wine.
I love chorizo – sautéing it in a pan, adding seasoning (spice mostly) and tossing in pasta, noodles, or spaghetti for a quick meal. So good if I do say so myself. What I didn’t know is you could have chorizo with monk fish? Or any fish for that matter. This was our next course – monkfish & chorizo?! I didn’t know if the chorizo was going to be on the side like randomly, or diced or chopped? I really should have known better ha ha! Chef Ronald got this! The chorizo was grated (for lack of a better word) and formed what I can only describe as a topping for the monk fish. The khorlabi (German turnip), apple and parsley were both paste like sauces for the fish. I mean, it was a no-nonsense type dish and tasted amazing. The chorizo gave the monk fish an added layer of flavour whilst the Chablis premier cru really amplified the subtle tastes of the turnip and sauces.
Now the Onsen egg dish? It was the B U S I N E S S! I am beginning to have a renewed respect for eggs because the egg dishes I have sampled on our food adventures, got me like WTH? This is an egg?!!! Back to this egg course. An Onsen egg are slow cooked eggs prepared in hot spring water creating silky egg whites and custard like yolks. This egg looked like a scotch egg but without the bread and sausage! Take my word for it, if the egg was the only thing served, I would have been okay with it. However, this bad boy egg came with lobster tagliatelle and caviar fuss. Plated up on a black plate which was gave a stark contrast to the dish especially when you cut the egg open. You really engaged with your senses, the egg whites were as silky as you can imagine and the yolk custardy in texture, not running but enough to get that mix in your plate with the tagliatelle and caviar! Served with a glass of sauvignon blanc! Pimping!!! I am loving this combo of eggs and a drannk!
Usually with palate cleansers these tend to come just before you start pudding, but this happened before we had our veal course. Palate cleansers are usually a citrusy, lemony sorbet or the like which can be theatrical like liquid nitrogen type ish! Anyway, the palate cleaner here? Very posh! Plum sorbet in.. wait for it… Ruinart rose champagane! When the sorbet was brought in a clear bowl, I was about to tuck in when I was stopped and told that the dish was not ready? and watched as the champagne into the bowl! Lol it was a trip I tell you! And as sorbets go, it was delicious. There was a slight bitterness initially the champagne and plum but then that changes on your palate as the sorbet melts in your mouth.
Our veal dish came with celery, spinach, and truffle. The veal was tender and the truffle sauce was not overpowering in taste. A common theme with this menu, none of the sauces or pastes are ingredients I would think would go together – pumpkin & goat cheese? pear-date? Turnip, apple, and parsley? But it worked! Massive s/o to Chef Ronald, he was on IT!
Our cheese selection was a selection of fromage from Affineur Maitre Antony, a renowned cheese breeder whose family has been making cheese for 2 generations! With a repertoire like that, I don’t need to tell you how good the cheese was, and the chateau wine.
From fromage, we moved unto mascarpone (soft cheese, like cream cheese) with poppy seed and apricot. I particularly liked that the dish was colourful. After taking the last bite of dessert and drinking the last drop of wine, Guido (restaurant manager) presents us with a huge box which he opened and inside were little chocolate delights, and not just any chocolates but Lauenstein confisere chocolates. Lauenstein confisere have been in the chocolate business since 1964! Talk about heritage! Not going to front, at this point, Neal and I were slightly tipsy (don’t judge us, we were a little rusty), we had not done this in a while. Nevertheless, we still managed to devour the chocolates and end this food adventure on a very sweet note!
Guido!!! Danke for being an excellent host, knowledge, and charm. It was really our honour to be your guest. We will be looking up those recommendations and looking forward to our next visit.
Prost
Ndidi and Neal
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