Mrs. C's main dish was a homey (and homemade!) rendition of a classic pasta dish. The flavors were all there, the pasta perfectly cooked and the veggies tasty... but perhaps the filling could have packed more of a PUNCH to bring this dish to perfection. A solid 7... but they could improve it.

delicious Spätzle - homemade pasta with spinach, add cheese - happiness on a plate for little Carastian and for the parents as we get some veggies in ;-))

All the veggies in the house wave your hands in the air and say, "yeah!". Course 5 from the chef at Schloss Wirtschaft Wildenwart in Frasdorf (one of our favorite local places). Absolutely divine to look at, very light and tasty with extremely inspired bites when you swept through the two beautiful stripes of tomato salsa in the saffron foam. A delicate dish that really hit a home run at the halfway point through this epic dinner.

Used as the benchmark to judge any new Italian joint in town, they managed to pass the test. SUPER spicy (especially by German standards), big hunks of garlic and well cooked penne noodles. Things are looking up for Mrs. C!

Ok... now I know what you're thinking... chain restaurant? Really?! And while yes we are against such evil corporate eateries... we have to report being pleasantly surprised. Very child friendly while keeping it's upscale feel and offering half portion sizes, so you could sample around the menu properly. Mr. C opted for this rabbit dish - very tasty smooth stew served with fresh (made DAILY) pasta - which was perfectly balanced. Sorry for the low lighting shot... but ambience abounded.

Their signature spaghetti with pomodoro sauce - perfection! Lots of garlic and silky hunks of fresh buffalo mozzarella over perfectly el dente noodles. As tourists in the lovely town of Merano we got very lucky when we stumbled into here for lunch...

Wow. That's all one can say about these tender little pockets of homemade goodness. A lovely medley of fresh veggies swimming in a light, creamy sauce set the stage for some of the most delicious hand made raviolis Mrs. C has ever had.

Next course in Mrs. C's lunch - a SUPER robust pasta sauce on perfectly el dente noodles. That little pot held some fresh parmesan shavings to sprinkle about - a nice dish!

Off the regular menu was this really delicious homemade ravioli. Not much of a 'spring offering' but on a cold day like this one, it went down smooth. The red wine reduction was a very nice compliment to the gamey boar meat and sauteed red onions. A very nice dish!!

Mrs. C decided on ... (drum roll) a different pasta - although the last one was perfect for a "chain restaurant". this was perfectly cooed pasta on a well balanced chicken pieces and schpicy sauce. Good.

Zizzi might be a chain restaurant, and granted we have a very strict no chain rule, but dang it. They have good food and treat the Little C well... so it's hard to say no to a trip there when in London. Here's Little C's dinner, which came with stickers, hat, breadsticks and dessert. Not to mention it was a great dish of penne bolognese! Nice meaty sauce, well cooked pasta, happy child!

Bernard's in Oberaudorf presented an overly ambitious dish of homemade pumpkin ravioli. Not a good choice for an event of this size. The pasta just needed more attention to be cooked properly and the flavors weren't there. Shame... they usually turn out a good plate of food.

This dish ended up being completely different than imagined. Pumpkin stuffed ravioli are a much looked forward to fall treat in these neck of the woods... however the chef got a little too creative for his own good. The pasta ITSELF was made from the pumpkin and filled with MARZIPAN. Swimming in about a stick of butter and covered in a blanket of parmesan - it was not a winner. The marzipan was way too sweet and the dish overall was just reaching... in the wrong direction.

Once you doused it in salt, this was a fairly edible dish. The fresh rocket was a nice touch but the sauce was clearly convenience food. Hard to eat gourmet in the airport!

Last night in Baden-Baden found us around the corner from our little guest house on the Markt Square at this cozy German restaurant. Staff was bend-over-backwards friendly, but the dish fell short. The sauce was good but the noodles were old and therefor 'grainy' - and the menu suggested it would be smathered in cherry tomatoes when clearly they just meant one sitting on top.