Thursday, January 15, 2009
Electric Lotus Restaurant review, Dresden
The Electric Lotus is located on Louisestrasse which is quite a hip area. There's a long counter with the menu posted above and about seven wooden tables with chairs scattered around the one large room. The atmosphere was pretty basic but the fresh flowers on all the tables cheered things up a bit. The restaurant bills itself as veggie fast food and the menu is simple: bio burger, dahl, thai curry, "mediterranean art", gulash, crepes, and a couple bottled drinks. They have a deal for 6 Euros where you get an appetizer, main, dessert, and some other stuff I couldn't understand because it was in German. Customers order, pay, and pick up food at the counter. The girl who took my order spoke English. I went with the dahl which came as a huge bowl with rice for 3.30 Euros total. The dahl was sweeter than the dahl (lentils) found in most Indian restaurants in American where I've eaten. It was not spicy at all but there were a variety of spices at the counter one could use to add some heat. I think next time I would try the burger or the special combo if I could figure it out. Electric Lotus was nice for a cheap veggie meal and I would return to try other dishes.
Brenn Nessel Restaurant Review, Dresden
I had my largest vegan screw up at Brenn Nessel. But first, let's get to the good stuff. Brenn Nessel is off the tourist path so you have to search it out. It's really cute inside with candles on all the wooden tables, a big wooden bar, a low ceiling, nice music, and good lighting. The menu was all in German and I didn't really try to speak English to the waitress, though this was probably my first mistake. I randomly ordered a cous cous salad because I could make out "cous cous", "salad", "avocado", and "vinegrette" in the description. A reviewer on Happycow.net had written that all the vegan options were just the menu options without cheese. However, in my infinite wisdom, I didn't try to ask for no cheese and just hoped there would be none. Of course there was a cubed white cheese all over the salad when it arrived. I didn't feel right sending it back because it was my fault for not asking. I spent half my time scooping out the cheese and when I was done it looked like I had only eaten half of the significant portion. I'm sure I still ate some of the cheese but I have only myself to blame. Otherwise the salad was really good. There was cous cous, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, and a light and fresh vinegrette. After my meal I had a beer and read for awhile in the comfy restaurant. The beers were 2 Euros each. I was slightly drunk when I emerged back into the pale sunlight.
I highly recommend asking for no cheese or help with the menu when hitting up Brenn Nessel. Still, the atmosphere and food were nice.
I highly recommend asking for no cheese or help with the menu when hitting up Brenn Nessel. Still, the atmosphere and food were nice.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Dresden, Germany
This entry is copied straight from my journal.
1/18/08
Dresden has been lonely. The old town is grand and imperial but walking through the streets I feel small and invisible. No one speaks English, which at one time I would have liked, but here, alone, it is daunting. All I want to do is sit in the sun and read but I am almost out of books.
I sat in the hostel kitchen tonight while a trio of Australian girls made dinner from food left on the "free" shelf. I was so happy to hear English I just sat listening to them excitedly devise their dinner menu. Then I couldn't think of an intro line. I sat there like I was invisible. Finally I asked them where they were from. All these images of drinking with them in the bar downstairs or walking around with them tomorrow flashed through my head. Our conversation was about 3 exchanges long. My meal finished I had no further excuse to remain there so I retreated to the solitary of my empty room. As I was leaving I imagined myself through their eyes, awkward and uncomfortable. All plans of company dashed. Another lonely night.
DRESDEN DAY 2 1/19/08
It was rainy when I woke up this morning. I got dressed and headed upstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon opening the little fridge I found that someone had taken 2 of the 3 remaining soy yogurts I purchased yesterday. Cursing under my breath I ate the last one with nuts and raisins left over from a larger mixed nuts bag my mom supplied prior to the trip and drank a chocolate soy milk.
I put on my rain jacket over my hoodie and stepped outside. It was only drizzling at that point so I stated down Krospergerplatz. I turned onto Louisestrasse. I had a litte map given to me by the hostel and I planned to visit Buchers Best, a used bookstore, first thing. I quickly discovered that Louisestrasse is a rather hip street lined with skate shops, head shops, boutiques, and restaurants. I reached Buchers Best just as they opened at 11 am and was led to the back room by a tall thin girl with cropped brown hair and an eyebrow ring. She proudly told me that she had just finished the English book shelf yesterday and recommended Herman Hesse and Gunter Grasse. She gave me green tea while I browsed the 5 small shelves. I ended up buying My Century by Gunter Grasse, Seducing the Demons by Erica Jong, Lonesome Traveller by Jack Kerouac, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. I was tempted to also purchase Hard Boiled Wonder by Murakami but I need to conserve funds and not weigh myself down. I had finished The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera the night before so I sold it to Buchers Best for 2 Euros. I liked the book okay. It was nice to read it just after Prague so that I recognized the location and historical references (well, not all of them). I find Jundera to be very preoccupied with sex. Most of his female characters don't seem to enjoy sex while all of his male characters certainly do.
Then I walked a bit more around the neighborhood before eating some Dahl at a veggie restaurant I had sought out before arrival. When I left the bookstore the sun was out and the threat of real rain looked to have passed. After lunch I walked to the old town to check out Grosser Gartens with the hope of spending the afternoon reading in the sun. As I crossed one of the many bridges I could tell this was not to be as the sun had taken refuge behind some ominous clouds. I made it to the gardens and found an open air market taking place across the street. Wandering through I smiled to myself as I watched old German women buy meat, cheese, vegetables, and sweet baked goods from the little stahls. I wanted to buy something myself but I only had a 50 Euro note and didn't want to try breaking it. Finally I crossed the street and walked into the park. I took some random paths off of the main trail and found a beautiful tiled fountain standing in the center of a small clearing. I sat on a bench further on under a large tree I was unable to identify and got started on My Century. After about 20 minutes I had to give up because I was too cold. The sky was still dark, the fun refusing to make a second appearance that day. I walked around a bit more but I was cold and wanted comfort so I began back towards the river with my hostel in mind. On the way I tried to get some money out of a bankomat but was rejected 3 times by 2 different machines. Now I am sitting in the bar at my hostel drinking a beer and a Dandy Warhols song has just come on. I feel quite happy to be just where I am.
THOUGHTS ON DRESDEN
-lots of punks around
-really good stencils and street art
-seems hip but I've run out of things to do far too quickly.
-tons of bikes but I haven't seen any fixed gears
1/18/08
Dresden has been lonely. The old town is grand and imperial but walking through the streets I feel small and invisible. No one speaks English, which at one time I would have liked, but here, alone, it is daunting. All I want to do is sit in the sun and read but I am almost out of books.
I sat in the hostel kitchen tonight while a trio of Australian girls made dinner from food left on the "free" shelf. I was so happy to hear English I just sat listening to them excitedly devise their dinner menu. Then I couldn't think of an intro line. I sat there like I was invisible. Finally I asked them where they were from. All these images of drinking with them in the bar downstairs or walking around with them tomorrow flashed through my head. Our conversation was about 3 exchanges long. My meal finished I had no further excuse to remain there so I retreated to the solitary of my empty room. As I was leaving I imagined myself through their eyes, awkward and uncomfortable. All plans of company dashed. Another lonely night.
DRESDEN DAY 2 1/19/08
It was rainy when I woke up this morning. I got dressed and headed upstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon opening the little fridge I found that someone had taken 2 of the 3 remaining soy yogurts I purchased yesterday. Cursing under my breath I ate the last one with nuts and raisins left over from a larger mixed nuts bag my mom supplied prior to the trip and drank a chocolate soy milk.
I put on my rain jacket over my hoodie and stepped outside. It was only drizzling at that point so I stated down Krospergerplatz. I turned onto Louisestrasse. I had a litte map given to me by the hostel and I planned to visit Buchers Best, a used bookstore, first thing. I quickly discovered that Louisestrasse is a rather hip street lined with skate shops, head shops, boutiques, and restaurants. I reached Buchers Best just as they opened at 11 am and was led to the back room by a tall thin girl with cropped brown hair and an eyebrow ring. She proudly told me that she had just finished the English book shelf yesterday and recommended Herman Hesse and Gunter Grasse. She gave me green tea while I browsed the 5 small shelves. I ended up buying My Century by Gunter Grasse, Seducing the Demons by Erica Jong, Lonesome Traveller by Jack Kerouac, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. I was tempted to also purchase Hard Boiled Wonder by Murakami but I need to conserve funds and not weigh myself down. I had finished The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera the night before so I sold it to Buchers Best for 2 Euros. I liked the book okay. It was nice to read it just after Prague so that I recognized the location and historical references (well, not all of them). I find Jundera to be very preoccupied with sex. Most of his female characters don't seem to enjoy sex while all of his male characters certainly do.
Then I walked a bit more around the neighborhood before eating some Dahl at a veggie restaurant I had sought out before arrival. When I left the bookstore the sun was out and the threat of real rain looked to have passed. After lunch I walked to the old town to check out Grosser Gartens with the hope of spending the afternoon reading in the sun. As I crossed one of the many bridges I could tell this was not to be as the sun had taken refuge behind some ominous clouds. I made it to the gardens and found an open air market taking place across the street. Wandering through I smiled to myself as I watched old German women buy meat, cheese, vegetables, and sweet baked goods from the little stahls. I wanted to buy something myself but I only had a 50 Euro note and didn't want to try breaking it. Finally I crossed the street and walked into the park. I took some random paths off of the main trail and found a beautiful tiled fountain standing in the center of a small clearing. I sat on a bench further on under a large tree I was unable to identify and got started on My Century. After about 20 minutes I had to give up because I was too cold. The sky was still dark, the fun refusing to make a second appearance that day. I walked around a bit more but I was cold and wanted comfort so I began back towards the river with my hostel in mind. On the way I tried to get some money out of a bankomat but was rejected 3 times by 2 different machines. Now I am sitting in the bar at my hostel drinking a beer and a Dandy Warhols song has just come on. I feel quite happy to be just where I am.
THOUGHTS ON DRESDEN
-lots of punks around
-really good stencils and street art
-seems hip but I've run out of things to do far too quickly.
-tons of bikes but I haven't seen any fixed gears
Lehkahlava in Prague
Lehkahlava ("Clear Head" in English) vegan restaurant is located down a tiny side street near the Charles Bridge. I walked by the street without noticing it on my first try. The restaurant is often packed at peak meal times so I highly recommend stopping in at odd hours. There are 4 different dining areas, each uniquely designed to be comfortable and interesting. Right as you enter that's a room with couches and pink and yellow walls. I imagine this room is used for large parties. There's another dining area that has creamy pink walls with giant silver flowers stenciled on them and another in the back that has blue walls with twinkling star lights on the ceiling. There's even a little courtyard where the toilet is and some tables to sit at if the weather is nice.
The menu is extensive with appetizers (chips and guacamole, various breads and dipping sauces), soups (soup of the day as well as red lentil with veggies), salads, entrees, desserts, juices, cocktails, beer, and wine. I tried the red lentil soup with veggies and was pleased to find the creamy coconut milk base soup with red lentils and pieces of red pepper simple and tasty. I treated myself to a Pilsner Urquell (I walked around in the rain all day!) beer for the reasonable price of about $2.50. As my main I selected the bulgar wheat risotto with red and yellow peppers, zucchini, carrot, and smoked tofu in a red sauce. The portion was large (I actually had to take some home. Be warned, they charge for the take home container) and the sauce was spectacular. It was almost like a sweet barbeque sauce. The total was about 15 dollars which is quite cheap considering I had soup, a beer, an entree, as well as leftovers. I really enjoyed the whole meal. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I stopped by again the next day for lunch.
On my second visit I tried a simple marinara pasta with vegetables. I could see everyone around me enjoying the special and was kicking myself for having chosen something else. That is until the huge dish of fat noodles heaped with vegetables was set in front of me. The dish was filling and delicious, leading me to think anything you choose on the menu will turn out to be wonderful. I highly recommend this restaurant, not only for the cute interior and friendly, English speaking staff, but also for the huge portions and tasty creations.
The menu is extensive with appetizers (chips and guacamole, various breads and dipping sauces), soups (soup of the day as well as red lentil with veggies), salads, entrees, desserts, juices, cocktails, beer, and wine. I tried the red lentil soup with veggies and was pleased to find the creamy coconut milk base soup with red lentils and pieces of red pepper simple and tasty. I treated myself to a Pilsner Urquell (I walked around in the rain all day!) beer for the reasonable price of about $2.50. As my main I selected the bulgar wheat risotto with red and yellow peppers, zucchini, carrot, and smoked tofu in a red sauce. The portion was large (I actually had to take some home. Be warned, they charge for the take home container) and the sauce was spectacular. It was almost like a sweet barbeque sauce. The total was about 15 dollars which is quite cheap considering I had soup, a beer, an entree, as well as leftovers. I really enjoyed the whole meal. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I stopped by again the next day for lunch.
On my second visit I tried a simple marinara pasta with vegetables. I could see everyone around me enjoying the special and was kicking myself for having chosen something else. That is until the huge dish of fat noodles heaped with vegetables was set in front of me. The dish was filling and delicious, leading me to think anything you choose on the menu will turn out to be wonderful. I highly recommend this restaurant, not only for the cute interior and friendly, English speaking staff, but also for the huge portions and tasty creations.
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