Dinner with Friends

A few weeks ago, I posted about an old school friend, Amanda, who was here visiting her boyfriend.  Well, last night was her last night here, so we got together for a dinner with both Amanda and her boyfriend.  We went to the Dinkelacker Brauereigästatte, which is a restuarant run by Dinkel Acker brewery.  Joern had been there before, but I hadn't.  Joern said they had good food, but typically a native of this area, was concerned that the restaurant was not "nice" enough to bring visitors there.  My feeling is that a restaurant connected to a brewery is always a good choice :)
It was so enjoyable to meet up with Amanda again.  When we first met her for lunch, her whole trip lay ahead.  It was interesting and enjoyable to hear about the month that she has been here, and her experiences.  Once again, I was reminded of how little time Joern and I spend exploring our area.  It is so easy to run off to France or Italy, but to spend time around here, at first seems wasteful, but in reality, would be a really smart thing to do.  There is so much to do and to see right here!
It was also nice chatting and getting to know Amanda's boyfriend better.  It is so fun to meet up with Americans here, and even more fun when you know them already. 
Of course, we also enjoyed some yummy beer.  The restaurant offers a sampling of 5 of their beers, which is really cool.  Dinner was also really yummy.  The restaurant served traditional Swabian food, and Joern had a steak with onions, served with sauerkraut, maultaschen, and spaetzle.  Yum!

The restaurant also offered a variety of foods cooked with beer.  I remember Joern telling me that this was inacceptable to waste beer in such a way, but I guess a brewery is allowed to cook with beer.  I had turkey in an Apfelweizen (apple wheat beer,) sauce.  It was a little sweet, but also quite delicious!

The restaurant was a fantastic place to enjoy good food and good friends.  I am looking forward to Amanda's return to Stuttgart, and I am looking forward to returning to the restaurant with  new friends!