Ludswigsburg,Germany

[Schneier]

Michelin lists two restaurants in Ludwigsburg, and I've eaten at them both.

Restaurant Alta Sonne (Bei der Kath. Kitche 3, +49 7141 925231) is the one star. I was there for lunch, and had the three-course menu for 34 euros.

Amuse: venison ravioli with mashed potato and beet juice. Tasty, and very haute German. I liked this place immediately.

?Gebratenes Rehfilet an Petersilienwwurzelmousseline und Cassis-Birnenchutney.? Cold venison with beets and salad greens. Very good; a nice starter.

?Dabarry-Safransamtsuppe mid mariniertem Ziegenfrischkase.? Cream of cauliflower soup with olive tepanade. Okay, but not great.

?Medallion vom mildgeraucherten Hirschrucken auf Rosenkohl und Haselnutspatzle.? More venison. (How many words for venison are there in German?) This time it was served hot with a sour cherry sauce, Brussels sprouts, and hazelnut spatzle. Very tasty.

They offered dessert for another 6 euros, but I was done. The three courses were all reasonably sized; I was full but not stuffed.

The next day I had lunch at Restaurant Post Cantz (Eberhardstrasse 7, +49 7141 923563) is a more informal restaurant. It's what I think of when I think of a German restaurant: noisy, lots of wood, good hearty food on the menu. Thankfully, it wasn't noisy.

I had some kind of wild boar steak with a mushroom cream sauce and red cabbage. Quintessential German food: filling and tasty.

Bruce

[cinghiale]

How many words for venison are there in German?

Hirsch and Reh are two different animals. Even Germans have trouble distinguishing between the two, allegedly due to the translation in the "Bambi" film.

The Hirsch family is Cervidae. It includes, i.a., moose, elk, reindeer, caribou, and wapiti. The Hirsch family has seven subfamilies. Hirsch (rot) (Cervus elaphus hippelaphus) belongs to the Echthirsch (or, "true Hirsch") subfamily, Reh (Capreolus capreolus) belongs to the Trughirsch (sort of "fake Hirsch"). The Hirsch family is also divided into two subgroups, depending on the structure of the metacarpals. Hirsch belongs to Plesiometacarpalia, Reh to Telemetacarpalia. They are more easily distinguished by their rear ends: Hirsch (rot) have a yellowish rear with a brown tail, Reh have a white rear and no visible tail.

The most common (Echt-) Hirsch is Rothirsch, or red deer, and this is closest to the type of deer we have in North America. I hunt whitetail, and they don't seem to fit the description of Rothirsch (or the similar Damhirsch). I never gotten a satisfactory answer to whitetail's place in all this. It is my understanding that we don't have Reh in North America.

As for taste, I've found that Reh is more tender than Hirsch (comparing comparable cuts, say Rücken, or loin/backstrap), but Hirsch has a stronger flavor.

Hope this helps.