The German lockdown finally lifted. Restaurants and eateries can finally accept dine-in patrons, although we're still limited to outdoor seating only. Regardless, it is good news, and we have finally achieved our lowest infections rates ever since this pandemic began more than a year ago. For that, I am thankful, and so are many others in Deutschland.
And now that we can sit at a restaurant (as opposed to IN the restaurant), I ventured out to join the throngs of people who have been waiting for this moment. Straight to the first restaurant I ever set foot in, here in Erfurt - a cozy, sidewalk Italian restaurant, Ristorante Tartufo.
The last time I was here was 3 years ago, on my first visit to this beautiful city I now call home.
The menu is authentically Italian, which is unsurprising considering the owners and chefs appear to be of Italian descent. So naturally, I ordered my favourite - pasta, and picked something I haven't tried before.
This was my tagliatelle (Bandnudeln) with salmon, mushrooms and asparagus. The sauce you see the tagliatelle doused in was not described in their menu, but judging from its taste, I suspect it is white cream with cheese, and a dash of some herbs I can't quite put my finger on. There was also a taste of asparagus in the sauce, although I can't say if it was purely the sauce, or because it was added into the mix and the flavours got entangled.
The end result was a satisfying concoction of pasta that wasn't too heavy, and the salmon pieces added an extra light lift to the dish, which I absolutely adored. I love my food when it's satisfying and I can get up from the table, and not feel like I actually ate a horse.
At this juncture, I need to highlight the asparagus. Where I come from, we're accustomed to green asparagus. In fact, I can quite safely say that that's probably the only type of asparagus you can find easily. Until I came here, I never knew that the white asparagus is far more popular than the green ones. The cooking styles are also different - the white asparagus is boiled while green asparagus can be boiled, fried or even dumped into the oven for a quickie.
The asparagus for my pasta was white asparagus, which is probably why they aren't really visible. They're cut into short cute cubes and boiled nicely, which meant they were soft and literally could melt in your mouth. Heavenly!
What I also loved about my tagliatelle were the salmon pieces. Like the asparagus, they were also in cubes. The thing about salmon is that it dries up when it is cooked, so oftentimes, it is less of the delectable luxury that it's purported to be. Here, my salmon pieces weren't too dry, and the generous dishing of sauce added to the overall enjoyment. Biting into each salmon cube was satisfying - imagine sinking your teeth into something soft and moist, and that combination of salmon and creamy sauce with a dash of asparagus flavour in it felt both wholesome and yes, healthy. I have never described my food as tasting healthy, but this time, I think that would be the best word I can think of at this moment.
Trying to make a guess for this, I would say it's because overall, I left my meal happily full without the bloated feeling. Again, I would have to state that the lighter flavouring of a dish is a huge factor. I feel bloated when a dish is heavily seasoned and as I am a light-salt eater, my taste buds are a little more sensitive towards foods that are heavy in it. Thus, not feeling heavily bloated after a meal is always a wonderfully feeling for me. And yes, I enjoy my meal a whole lot more whenever that happens.
The presentation of the dish was also a plus point. The pasta was served simply and tastefully, on a pretty gray-green porcelain plate. The plate alone added class to its presentation, which I can appreciate. The sides were a slice of lemon sprinkled with diced basil (I think) which gave off a lovely scent to whet the appetite. The salad on the side was fresh and crispy, which I loved.
Portion-wise, it is a little smaller than other restaurants that I have been to. Just a tad, so it isn't much of a difference to me. For someone with a penchant for burning calories at a monumental rate, a double portion may be necessary. [Which also means double the yumminess, so really no one's complaining!]
To sum it up, worth every Euro spent (less than 15 for this dish alone) and with its lovely ambience, worth every moment too.
Just to showcase other non-pasta options here, this was what the hubs ordered - asparagus with bulls-eye in homemade Hollandaise sauce. From my few picks at his plate, yes, this simple dish had a huge pick-me-up from that Hollandaise sauce, which I suspect is a private recipe.
As I've said before in my earlier blog
Penne Joy, I am an advocate of supporting local businesses (or any business for that matter), especially during these times. It has been a tough year for businesspeople, many of whom have had to make the difficult decisions of laying off people or closing down. Restaurants and eateries have struggled these past many months, trying to keep afloat and while I can't afford to eat in a restaurant everyday of the week, I do try to support one business at a time, when I can, even if it was only once a month.
If you're one of those who can afford to eat out more often than I do, find a local restaurant near you and support them. Or if it's not a restaurant, any business.
They survive, we survive.
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