Krone · Pfälzer Stuben

Sto Castello

➤ Hauptstraße 62, 76870 Kandel, Germany

Tea • Pizza • Greek • Pasta

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"It's been a while since I was a guest at the old Kandeler Greeks "Sto Castello". The reason for my longer abstinence was not the food or the ambience – because both clearly stand out from the usual Greek gastro unit gross – but the annoying kind of the Oberkellner, who texted me at the last visit with completely inappropriate, partly genuinely embarrassing comments, so that we rightly asked ourselves at the table if he still has all the cucumbers in the Tsatsiki. That's why our yesterday's spontaneous idea was accompanied by a somewhat inappropriate feeling in the forefront after sporting revival, but did not scare us to revise the traditional place centrally located in Kandel. And just in advance: our first bias was very quickly a real relief when we realized that the service manager was not present. It was pretty crowded this Saturday night, but this is not unusual for this restaurant. Some major societies (first Christmas celebrations) ensembled together table rows. We had to thankfully reject a place in the back of the local area, as we were just too much going on there. We were placed at a two table directly at the entrance, not necessarily the best location, as with the devastating smokers also dull cold air. The interior of the restaurant is comfortable despite the size. The front guest room with about 5 or 6 tables is followed by a long counter that follows a few tables with comfortable wall benches. Finally, there is the already mentioned rear area in which larger groups can also find room. The division of the premises is coherent and sensible. The noise is not particularly low here, but is channeled at least very well by this classification. It is largely dispensed with Greek style elements from Pappmaché and tries to keep people in the mood by warm lighting. It is best to achieve this in the niche-like “seating departments” compared to the edging area. After the consumption of our standard starter salad, we were destined to be thankful. The very friendly and attentively acting service had a look at our not just optimal place choice. The menu, as you know from Greek inns, is very rich. “Ob lamb, pig or beef – everything is grilled!” So the motto here too. Many spear variations are striking in the fleshy map. But also a lot of marine animals find their way to the chic Tellerovale, which with their slightly elevated edge are beautifully dressed from the kitchen. On the slate table with the recommendations of the day were grilled octopus or Dorade in the whole. For fish lovers definitely an alternative. In addition, there is an opulent starter offer (grilled peperoni, panned mussels, squid salad etc., which also offers guests a solid selection with a small hunger. Outstanding: the Castello shoot with pork ends, turkey and beef fillet (including a metaxa, pepper and cheese sauces for 17.90 euros). As with the other plate and plate variants, the supplements can also be assembled as desired. And a salad will come forward anyway. The portion sizes in the Sto Castello can be referred to as “orderly peppery”. Nobody's hungry. Neither do we. The Saloniki plate we ordered (32.80 euros for two starved badminton players had to offer grilled meat on their metal surface. This was also done with various sauces (fried sauce, Hollandaise and other calorie owners, some vegetables (brokkoli and cauliflower, which was still bite-resistant! and onions very tastefully dressed. The Mediterranean spiced bifteki were served with a slice of melted cheese, while on the two pickets of the lamb crown aromatic garlic rasps provided taste accents and rounded the perfectly grilled lamb adequately. The Gyros was placed in the middle as usual and so crisp and tasty that it even put the “Olympia” cult Greeks in the shade. I was more than positively surprised. The chicken breast fillets were impeccable. The cheese sauce (hollandaise went into the juice of freshly grilled, marinated meat pieces a really intense taste season. The frying potato chips covered with sheep cheese can be excellently pulled through. The juicy pork skewers were grilled to the point and harmonized well with the fruity tomato rice. I admit that I finally had my trouble with the pig steak, which was the already advanced degree of saturation. Quite contrary to the Udo-Jürgens classic, we donated Greek wine this evening. Instead, a few really well-mixed cyclists were emptied (with a bad hoepfner beer). Two ouzo for digestion rounded off this delicious Greek food. The accommodating operation made previous experiences forget at the same place. The next visit will therefore not be long awaited."

La Taverna

➤ Hauptstraße 61, 76870, Kandel, Germany

Pizza • Greek • Pasta • Italian

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"Wir waren an einem Feiertag mit 2 Erwachsenen und einem Kleinkind ohne Reservierung essen. Da wir recht früh nach Öffnung kamen, hatten wir keine Probleme einen Tisch zu bekommen. Auch ein Hochstuhl ist vorhanden.Die Toiletten sind frisch renoviert und es gibt auch einen Wickelraum.Wir hatten Torteloni und ein Rumpsteak. Beides war sehr gut zubereitet.Für unseren kleinen bekamen wir kostenfrei einen separarten Teller.Der Service ist freundlich und zuvorkommend. Wir kommen wieder :-)"

Krone

➤ Hauptstraße 62-64, 76863 Herxheim, Germany, Herxheim bei Landau (Pfalz)

German • Terrace • European • Contemporary Cuisine

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"High quality food with a very welcoming and friendly service in a warm and comfortable atmosphere.Highly recommended! We will tell our friends and families."

Pizzeria Da Angelo Hatzenbühl

➤ Lindenstraße 1, 76770 Hatzenbühl, Germany

Pizza • Italian • Pizzeria • Specialities

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"There are them or better said: there are them again. The Pizzeria Da Angelo in the South Palatinate tobacco village of Hatzenbühl. For 25 years, pizzen have been baked and pasta is cooked in the rustic-urigen atmosphere of a converted barn. And that even if owners Angelo Muro and his family have recognized the service of the guest for reasons of age in August last year. With 37 years of gastronomy on the hump, no one took it, but in the area they were already worried what would become from the iconic pizza mood. The new operators have set it intelligently. During the transition period they looked at the processes exactly and seemed to point out very quickly what happens in Hatzenbühl's best and only pizzeria. To continuity. With a completely new concept one would probably have driven against the wall, because there are only too many regular customers from which the store lives. Thus the proven recipes were taken together with the premises. An idea that seems pretty good at local use. The guests have been coming from the South Palatinate for many years, some even from the bath environment and have appreciated the pizzas with the slightly thicker soils, such as and some even love. The pasta dishes have always been like that. Angelo finally came first to squeeze a juicy pizza. Or enjoy an Italian salad, whose very special vinegar oil dressing was one of the best kept gastro secrets in Hatzenbühl. There is also a quarter of Lambrusco or a dark andezer from the barrel – more it does not need for the small moments of enjoyment in the cozy pizza shed. During our first visit under the new direction about two months ago we were amazed that nothing had changed in the plant. The pizzeria with a variety of antiques still sprays its rural charm and affects the guest timeless and laborious. In the guest house distributed on three floors it is still loving-anachronistic and in so many small corners the candlelight still flickers in the past. The old piano, the red telephone cell and the stone pizza ovens belong here to the interior as the three-wheeled scooter “Piaggio Ape”, with which the old master Angelo Muro still enchants the fragrant all-round bakeries from the oven on the gondola. As regards prices, there were no significant increases when changing the operator. The menu has been sharpened. More than ever, the focus is on pizza and pasta. The Maxi version has first and foremost created a new “overdimension” for “durationesser”, which now produces the lush Italian pasta shops in four different sizes. Starting from the small Margherita for 4.80 euros to the Frutti di Mare in a very large amount for 9 euros, the price level is more moderate. In pastel dishes, the portions are still available in two sizes. The price difference is generally below one euro. The meat and fish offer is limited to fried Calamaris 8,10 Euro as well as fried schnitzel or Parmesan carvings 11 and 13 Euro in the large version. The mighty part of the band noodles with salmon from the past days has disappeared. It is good that we had reserved a place by phone before our last arrival. On this Sunday evening something was very nice in the Hatzenbühler Italo-Scheune. In addition to the obligatory salad it was as often as the pizza Frutti di Mare large for 8.00 euros, which made me the decision easy. The anchovies were thrown from the “Cushion Team” from the beginning, on sharp peperoni or I forgot garlic as an additional wound this time. Only the squid rings should land on the pizza for nostalgia. The young blonde service briefly asked her boss who saw no problem in it. In shells and shrimps, the new operators rely on a better quality, which is clearly good for the current Frutti di Mare. The slightly thicker floor was nicely fluffy and came well baked on the plate. In addition to the legendary seafood version, “Venezia” with mushrooms, salami, paprika and minced meat sauce as well as the classic “Angelo” with mushrooms, paprika, salami and ham with the predicate “especially delicious”. But my accompaniment chose the middle “Tricolore” 7,90 Euro with Gorgonzola, Broccoli and cherry tomatoes, which came a little pale. With her Veggie Pizza a little more material could be found to give the name "Tricolore" a visual honor. The large Italian salad iceberg salad with celery and carrot stripes, cheese, ham, tomatoes, green beans, egg, tomatoes and cucumber for 6.40 euros was divided as usual. The spicy vinegar oil dressing was almost a 1:1 copy of Angelo times. To suck with a few additional slices of white bread, we left an exemplary cleaned salad plate. The dark Andechser from the barrel, 0.4 l for 3 euros, and the slightly cooled Lambrusco, the area for 3.50 euros, was perfect for our defense courts. With a standard bill of nearly 30 euros, we left the Hatzenbühler Kult-Pizzeria and enjoyed the fact that despite the change of the operator last year, it tastes as good as Angelo Muro."

Kronen

➤ Hauptstr. 62-64, Herxheim I-76863, Deutschland, Germany

Cafés • German • Coffee • European

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"In April, together with a good friend, I visited the “Gourmet Department” of the “Krone” in the tobacco village Hayna near Herxheim for the first time. The generic brand known far beyond the borders of the Palatinate has always been at the top of my “to-eat list” and as “real Herxheimer Kenner” one should have been there. We would say: “I have to go with mere chin.” The “Crone” is also a very popular hotel address and can be referred to as one of the most important institutions of the upscale Palatinate cuisine. The owner of the “crown” enjoys a supra-regional level of the public. It is a star chef Karl-Emil Kuntz, who has received high ratings for his gourmet cuisine for decades in all restaurant guides and has already made many statesmen from George W. Bush, Jacques Chirac to Helmut Kohl. In his second restaurant, the so-called "Pfälzer Stube" there is something more casual. Kuntz is increasingly dedicated to an ambitious regional cuisine without saving quality and aspiration. The Haynaer “Krone” is a real family business. Their roots go back to 1908 when the grandparents Augustin and Katharina Kuntz have managed a village economy and the largest court Hayna. After the reconstruction in 1960 (a fire had attacked the property, the parents of Karl-Emil Kuntz took over the operation and put more and more on gastronomy. When in 1982 the son of Karl-Emil, after a cooking training with Bravour, his wife Martina, who is self-learning hotel expert, entered the parental institution, there was a two-part: with the gourmet restaurant and the "Pfälzer Stube" two locals were now accommodated under one roof. In 1986, Michelin-Stern, who had many more awards and the expansion of the “crown” came to an impressive estate with 66 rooms and all comforts. We were the first on Thursday night and were warmly welcomed by the Service Brigade. The dining room for the visitors of the gourmet restaurant looks like a noble separée that immediately lets you forget the stress and the hectic of everyday life. The focus is on the arrival and well-being of the guests. Behave music from the speakers, warm candlelight paired with pleasant indirect lighting. Decorative art on the walls, a classic elegant cover of the tables (of course with fabric napkins and silver shiny coasters as well as comfortably upholstered armchairs in Baroque look. The whole plant radiated a wonderfully dense atmosphere that we could not escape. We were curious, how starved Michelin testers, the treats would enchant the marathon man Kuntz today on the plates. For technical reasons and given the fact that we will certainly enjoy a good bottle of red wine on the menu for this special food, I have practiced to reproduce an aperitif. The alcohol-free aperos are honestly not my thing. To get a good insight into the Kuntz cuisine, my colleague ordered the large tasting menu (8 courses plus a whole range of culinary “Gaumenkitzler” as an amuse and sweet snacks afterwards for 124 euros, while I had the small “joyed” (for 116 euros). What is “small”? The “Lightversion” was only a small gear and had on the front in the form of numerous (it was approx. 8, if I am really mindful!!! Amuse taps, which were gradually served on small plates. A true pleasure ride that comes across us before the first appetizer. The Turkish choir with avocado and curry gamberoni made the beginning. It followed a mini-North-Sea-Cabburger, a chorizo muffin with pepper fresh cheese and a small piece of pickled beef with pumpernickel and red wine shading. The aromatic spices of the smoker aal went into an exciting aroma composition with the acidic cucumber and the salty fly fish caviar. On the other hand, the Nori Lachssushi with tapioka vinaigrette gave fresh taste accents. In addition to a glass with finely spiced cappuccino from the parsley root, there was a mini-saumagen on creamy herb, an absolute amuse classic from “Krone”-Wirt Kuntz. Here you can see that the Mastro seems to have grown up with Palatinate dishes, because he knows the traditional wort and keeps his basic structure with every sophistication. Well, so far these were all greetings from the kitchen and every little thing stimulated our taste friends in a wonderful way. “Let the menu begin!” The beginning made a perfectly dressed plate with all kinds of quail. Kross-fried Wachtelbrust, a small club in crispy panade, a role with Watchtelleber, which was processed into a kind of farce, a mini-brosche filled with delicately spiced “Wachtelslein”, as well as a Guardian mirror were accompanied by Walldorfsalat and Mandarine-Tupfern congenially. It's a first step where everything was right. A dish that can undoubtedly be understood as a German adaptation of the Nouvelle Cuisine and in which a basic product (wax, which has been placed on the plate in different textures, produces a complex taste whose individual parts are related to each other. Why such an avancated kitchen “only” deserves a star, probably only the Michelin testers know. Gang 2 approached. An imperial grenade rolling in Pancomeal, the really tasty “granate mode”, throne on an escape Vitello Tonnato variant, a kind of tuna cream in the calf bowl and an acidic and fruity tomato gel, which in turn on crispy Thai-Pagel. Wow! Now I had to take a walk because my colleague had one more for his big tasting star. I already saw a little jealous of his pink fried pigeon, which was a real eye-catcher with trumpet mushrooms, Vadouvan (Pfeffersack Sauce and Crème de Cassis). My third “strong” was a piece of screed that was perfectly fried on the skin (winter cadry, which was on smoked apple marks, and a fine connection, along with the bloodworm and the lynge vegetables. This court was also extremely successful. Apple and blood sausage are always a good combination. And the fish was a sensational product quality. It went in round four that gave the main course. A lamina baked in the bread biscuit à Point, in which the clear meat taste was in the foreground, lay on an oriental-Mediterranean bow made of couscous, oven paprika and poweraden (Artichoke type). Here Kuntz has really used very best material and thus the main course of the worthy tip of the menu. Time for culinary baptism created a glass of champagne bowl, refreshment with sea buckthorn and buttermilk. The jelly and mousse of apple, mint and coriander came as a Pré dessert and agreed the deconstructed Caipirinha à la Karl-Emil Kuntz, which was the actual dessert of the menu. From the point of view, this dessert – just like the Rhabarber-Butterkeks landscape my colleague had – was a real eyewitness. A wonderful lime freshness shaped this elaborate dessert composition, consisting of a cake slice, a sorbet, a truffle chocolate, a foam and a glass of caipirinha cocktail. In short, a spring dessert that awakens feelings. The sweet nasty (homemade truffles finished at the end of our marathon menus and let us pappsatt and pull very happy from then. A few more words to the service. It is attentive to a star place, but never intrusive. We felt very well and very well served and advised. The friendly Sommelière brought us the 5cm thick wine Bible, in which the whole Palat Who-is-who was represented. All known wineries and some underdogs are located in this encyclopedia. There are also many French, Italian and Spanish drops to discover. We chose a red wine from the Palatinate this evening, namely the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon “Kirchenstück” from the Stachel winery from the Maikammer (48 euros the bottle). A dream of a Cabernet with a wonderfully integrated wood note and neat volume behind it. Nevertheless, it is not plump or badly loaded, but velvety and rich in fines. Only to my lamb main course, this “Super-Pfälzer” made a formidable figure. Finally, note that both menus were really worth their money. There was no single weak point. This perfectly prepared menu sequence just swallowed my language. So much that I could not even write about this culinary experience. Last time I sat with my GG colleagues, who are known here under the name “Durationesser”, with the star chef Norbert Dobler and told him about my Gastro highlight 2015 in the crown, I was thrilled to write this review (a good half year later). She's a little longer and you need to read a little more time. But this fits the menu of Karl-Emil Kuntz and his team we enjoyed on April night."