Restaurant "Schwarzwald Stube", Traube Tonbach, Baiersbronn, Germany
Today was the absolute highlight in my culinary life. I had lunch at the fabulous restaurant “Schwarzwald Stube”, headed by Harald Wohlfahrt, one of Germany’s 3-Michelin-Star chefs. We went for the great 7 course menu which kept us entertained for about 4.5 hours. Following an amuse bouche, we started with tartar and mousse of mildly smoked sturgeon with imperial caviar and oyster vinaigrette. A glass of a white burgundy accompanying it was surprising in that it had the honey bouquet of a sweet desert sautern but was ultra-dry on the tongue with fruity, mineral notes.
A fried goose liver with artichokes and a caper pesto on balsamico glace formed the second course. I’m not commenting on quality – everything with no exception at all was just fabulous – fantastic material, creatively combined, cooked to the point. The service was also flawless, with a special price to be awarded to the sommelier whose recommendations where always right. The goose liver was accompanied by another white burgundy, this time with pronounced notes of oak.
The third course – scallops with a truffles from the Perigord – was especially nice because it was combined with a local specialty, Topinambur roots, their earthy, moldy 🙂 taste perfectly complementing the truffle. The main course, a potpourri of lamb with fennel compote and a mild garlic jus underpinned again Wohlfahrt’s dedication to flawless ingredients combined with uncompromising craftsmanship.
Although already slightly overwhelmed by what we had so far and time approaching 3 o’clock (we had started at noon), the cheese cart selection easily managed to revive our excitement. My memory being as bad as it is, I can only recall an ash-covered creamy goat cheese and a perfectly semi-liquid brie, but all six specimens on my cheese table where equally sensational. For both the lamb as well as the cheese we went for a Rioja, which was smooth with a well-balanced rich full body.
The first of the two concluding deserts consisted of a warm lemon biscuit on rhubarb compote, with a ginger lime sorbet served in a separate glass. The latter combination of tastes is one of my eternal favorites which I try to get where ever I can. The sommelier recommended a 1992 Riesling Beerenauslese for desert, which have lost a lot of its initial intense sweetness over the years and was now just incredible, with a wonderful acidity over fruit and honey notes.
The last course served its purpose of completely equilibrating our taste buds. A simply surprising apple-cilantro sorbet was set on a bed of mango and hibiscus juice, with a crunchy eucalyptus oblate on top.
So, it was simply astounding. We would have preferred to go there for dinner, but you need to book a dinner table up to a year in advance, depending on when you want to go (I guess, Saturday evening is the hardest). However, if you consider visiting Harald Wohlfahrt’s Schwarzwald Stube, just book a table – it will be an unforgettable event, no matter how long you wait for the evening to arrive.
Categorised as: Michelin Star Chef, Restaurants
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