Merkez – Mediterranean Food

It was late in the evening and we were hungry – fresh out from the FITS comedy show. So, we decided to head over for some hummus, because I love hummus. I’d been to Merkez before – back when I was on the Dukan diet we went there because you can order just a plate of meat, which was perfect. But now it was quite the opposite that I was hoping to have!

 

I had the plate on top and the boyfriend had the falafel above – both were very yummy and well priced. They made my plate up specially for me – lots of hummus and no meat. The staff were all very friendly too.

In the heart of a slightly dodgy area, it’s always nice when you can go to a nice place with good food like this. I often find that the yummiest restaurants have the dirtiest looks to them – but while this place isn’t dirty, it looks very much like every other greasy kebab shop on the street and so can be overlooked. However, I say it’s worth having a look inside. There was enough for vegetarians, enough for wheat free people too (though it’s hard to look at hummus and not take a chunk of bread to dip into with…)

You can find Merkez at Münchener Straße 33, 60329 Frankfurt am Main

Thoughts on Vegetarianism

On the first date with the boyfriend, we went for sushi, and he sat down and told me that he’s vegetarian. I’ve never dated a vegetarian before so I freaked out wondering what the etiquette is and ended up ordering the same veggie sushi set as him, even though I love fish based sushi so very much.

As we got to know each other more, and when it was obvious that we would end up together, I made the decision to be vegetarian when I am around him – if I was the veggie one, I would think it gross to kiss someone who had just eaten a load of meat, and also I don’t want to make him feel uncomfortable so it just made sense to me. What’s more, at home I rarely buy meat and the only time I eat it normally is when I’m out for a burger or some German food.

Since making this decision, I’ve seen food in a new light. Checking food labels all the time is kinda a hassle and finding that things I thought were clean actually having animal products in them makes me sad – things like Worcestershire Sauce and kimchi. I’d say that overall, Frankfurt is pretty good with vegetarians but still sometimes there are places with only one or two options. That kinda sucks too, especially when I’m restricted by my gluten allergy as well.

But when we cook together, it’s amazing. I’ve learnt that there are two types of vegetarian food – one type that pretends to be meat with all the fake mince and fake bacon and whatnot, and the other type that is just meatless by nature. He’s been teaching me lots about cooking the second type of food, though when I cook for myself I still like a good slab of pineapple curry flavoured tofu to replace the chicken I would have had otherwise.

I enjoy this new way of eating and I don’t feel like it’s a negative choice, or that he is forcing me to do this. However, I have been surprised by some people’s reactions to this small change. People turn their noses up at food I’ve chosen because it has no meat in it, even when it’s still veyr yummy. In this day and age where I can go to a bakery in Germany and get gluten free bread and where there are whole supermarkets dedicated to people who have special diets (Denn’s… you are heaven!), it should go without saying that you can live as vegetarian and still really enjoy food. But it seems that even now people sometimes treat vegetarians like they are just being that way to be difficult. It’s pretty shocking, really.

The only worry I have is that some day, I’d like to take the boyfriend to Japan and show him my “hometown” and all the places I used to go – Japan uses fish stock in pretty much EVERYTHING. So it will be a challenge like no other. But we’ll see. Maybe it’ll still be do-able…

Spring in Frankfurt!

Spring is a good time in Frankfurt. The dark days of winter are finally over and the Germans start to very VERY VERY excited about things. One of the things they like to get excited about is spargel – asparagus. You would not believe how excited these white sticks make the locals…

This was the area outside department store Galeria this morning – a man on a mic, lots of official veggie people, SO many people crowding round to get their hands on asparagus… and a bored sound man eating a sausage sandwich.

But this is what we came for – the green sauce festival! Green sauce is a big thing here in Frankfurt and so we wanted to check out the festival dedicated to this herby, eggy sauce.

There is a closed off section that I think wasn’t open when we went. There are a handful of stalls outside, though, with 3 different green sauces to try with eggs, potatoes and sausages. Sushi circle have some special green sauce themed sushi variaties (none of which are vegetarian friendly) so there are a few things to check out there!

 

Our potatoes, eggs and sauce was so yummy we forgot to take a photo before we dug in! The sauce was pretty sweet and creamy. I much prefer it when it’s chunky and herby but it was still very yummy! The festival is lasting through to next weekend so check it out at the Roßmarkt in Frankfurt!

Frohsinn – Afternoon Tea?

I’d been past Frohsinn a few times and seen that they do afternoon tea with scones and stuff, but I hadn’t really been moved to go in. However, some people on Facebook were asking for placed where they could have afternoon tea and I mentioned it and one thing lead to another so before long we were 12 strangers sat drinking tea together!

I say “tea”…I am beginning to get very tired of everywhere in Frankfurt either charging 5 euros for a cup of hot water and a packaged tea bag, or (like this place) being limited to Kusumi tea. Kusumi branded tea is ok. But it’s certainly not worth the price tag that comes with it, nor is it anything very special.

The scones were good and seemed freshly baked, but the sandwiches were kind of hard and there were no choices for them so you were stuck with fish and meat in them even if you are vegetarian.

More than anything, the service was TERRIBLE. Really bad. We got the tea and food we ordered a full hour after having ordered it, and the waitress was really difficult to deal with, too.

 

What saves Frohsinn, though, is the incredible decor they have going on there. There is this random picture of the queen but the whole place was lovely inside. It seemed that the other food on the menu was very good – and another lady in my party said that she’d had some lovely chicken there so I guess it’s worth another go.

I think the jury is still out on Frohsinn…if any of you have been there then please do let me know!

You can find Frohsinn at Börsenstraße 14 60313 Frankfurt am Main, just behind Galeria.

Piknickbank, Frankfurt (omg is that hummus?)

 

We had a busy Saturday running around town buying toasters and things to cook that evening. We planned a lovely lunch at Piknickbank, a Moroccan cafe/restaurant we went past once, and it was the perfect end to a busy afternoon.

The place itself is like a back-to-front Tardis – it’s much smaller on the inside than it seemed from the outside. Luckily we got the last table for two but other people were made to wait in the rain for tables.

The waitress was fairly aloof but she replied to our German in German and so she was all right by me.

I had the large Piknick Teller which wasn’t quite as large as I had imagined, but still filled me up. Boy had the vegetarian tajine and though he said I had ordered the best thing, his meal was very good too (though had hidden olives! Grown-up food alert!!) My hummus was lovely and the carrots were so good I am going to try to recreate them at home next week!

The other people there were surprisingly not young hipsters, but older, middle class groups. I don’t know what it says about the place but it was interesting anyway!

I hope to go there again soon – we both said we wanted to try all the things on the menu.

You can find Piknickbank at Weißadlergasse 7, 60311 Frankfurt am Main

Heroes Premium Burger Frankfurt

The other week I went with some friends to Heroes Premium burger restaurant in Bornheim – and you know how much I love burgers!

I LOVED the inside of the restaurant – the walls were full of comic book boxes and the staff were sufficiently geeky/hipstery for my liking. The burgers all had awesome names too (even a Luigi burger!!) and they had a lot of vegetarian options so I can’t wait to go again with the boyfriend. My German speaking friends asked if my burger could be wrapped in leaves instead of having a burger bun and when it came the patty was just sat on top of a salad but hey, at least it was wheat free!

The burgers were really tasty, and the chips came in a scoopable shape which made them perfect for trying out all their excellent dips.

Like I said, I can’t wait to go back again because it really was great – so I’d recommend it to all of you of course!

Find Heroes Premium Burgers at Leibnizstr. 13 60316 Frankfurt am Main

Savoy Cabbage?!

Recently I’m in the habit of going to the farmers’ market every Saturday and buying lots of random veg to cook. On top of this, my flatmates have a “lucky dip” box of veg delivered every Tuesday so I’m often faced with new veg to learn about. With kale being on the way out now, I’m sad I can’t make my kale chips anymore and need a new thing to obsess over.

Enter the savoy cabbage.

Savoy cabbage can be a little daunting and, well, no one really likes cabbage, right? But this is a thing of beauty! This is a recipe my mum often uses and it’s one of my favourite things.

1. Take some bacon and chop it up into little bits.

2. Fry the bacon in a little oil.

3. Rip the cabbage leaves until they are in small-ish strips.

4. Once the bacon is cooked well, add the cabbage and drizzle a little more oil in the pan.

5. Fry it all, turning it over often, until the cabbage has reduced right down and it cooked through.

ENJOY!

Mangetsu Japanese Restaurant

There was a time when every other week someone was arranging a trip to Mangetsu but it seems that it’s not really the flavour of the month anymore, and I’d like to bring it back.

Mangetsu is situated up near the messe fair hall and is a short tram ride away from the main station. It’s one of the few places in Frankfurt where you step inside the door and feel like you’ve been transported right to Japan – there’s even Japanese tv showing and a whole bookcase of manga I’m itching to dive into.

The staff can range from quite polite to “wow, she’s pretty rude!” but the food is excellent, and makes up for it. You can find your typical “izakaya” food but I went with some girlfriends for sushi the other week and that was some of the best sushi I’ve had in Frankfurt yet. Above is the “mika getsu” set which was around 15 euros if I remember rightly.

Mangetsu is always my first recommendation when people are asking for real Japanese food in Frankfurt.

You can find Mangetsu at

Varrentrappstr. 57
60486 Frankfurt am Main

 

Brunch at Lokalbahnhof

I was complaining for ages that I’d not been to this popular brunch spot and then I went twice in two weeks! I’d heard amazing things about Lokalbahnhof’s brunch – I’d been there in the evening and though the music is a tad too loud, it’s a really quirky, slightly hipstery place (and you know those are my favourite kinds of places).

I can’t remember how much the brunch actually was and it doesn’t list it on the website but I think it was something like 12 euros, no drinks included. There were breads and cold meats and some sausages and eggs. There was enough for vegetarian people to eat, and kinda enough for wheat free people like myself to eat (though I did take a croissant…) There was also a fresh waffle maker (above).

They even had Frankfurt “favourites” like handkäse for you to try!

I think this brunch was ok. I honestly don’t think it deserves all the raving people do about it – Merianbad Cafe is just as nice food-wise and has a lot more selection and order-your-own eggs. For Lokalbahnhof you NEED to book – especially if your group is bigger than 2 people. The boyfriend and I managed to get seated without one on Easter Sunday but normally I think it’s pretty much impossible. When I went with a group of friends, we had a table booked for 10 people but they don’t put a table aside for you, just estimate when people are going to be done around that time. So in the end we waited for a while and then were given a table that only 8 people could fit at – luckily 2 people didn’t show up.

If you want brunch near to old Sachsenhausen then this is a good place to check out. If you are able to get into town, there are much better options. But if you really do want to try it here, you can find Lokalbahnhof at Darmstädter Landstr. 14, 60594 Frankfurt am Main.

Hooters, Frankfurt

The other week the Friday Night Drinks Club had an event at Hooters in Sachsenhausen. I’d never been to a Hooters before so I was pretty excited…

First of all, let’s be honest, Hooters is famous for their waitresses, right? Well…I must admit I was a little disappointed. These girls weren’t the skinniest around which was good to see but they looked so scary and grumpy which made them a lot less attractive. It was Friday night so they were busy, but still…a smile doesn’t hurt!

The food is also famous there – I tried the wings but my friend chose the spicy sauce so I wasn’t a fan. I’m hoping that their lemon and pepper wings are something like the wings at the Nagoyan restaurant Yama Chan since I miss those so much.

Instead I tried the Hooters gherkin chips which were recommended to me by a friend. They were simply delicious and very very more-ish, going down very well with the beer there.

They have various offers – including sometimes 50% off for women! – so you should keep an eye out for those. If you can look past the cheesy/sexist/tacky cover, this is actually a nice American diner with good food.

Find Hooters at Kleine Rittergasse 4, 60594 Frankfurt am Main