perfectly grilled steak with perfect green asparagus. what could take this dish even faster to the LOVE level? a BACON stuffed baked potato that is! Ahhh... the fine people of the Ranch know what makes their guests happy.

O.M.G... 20 Eur worth of pure beefy meltinyourmouthcan'tbelieveitisthatwonderful USDA beef. the nice lady at the meat counter was almost ecstatic, when Mr. Carastian pointed out this hunk of meat and she was right. it was the most tender, most awesome most wonderful steak ever. Grilled on the rare side, just a wee bit of grilled asparagus on the side. heaven. seriously. heaven.

Mrs. Carastian read this: "dry aged and rubbed with herbs and spices, house made demi-glacé, grilled asparagus, whipped potatoes" it translated i to (Samuel L. voice): It's like getting a personal visit... from God!. Wonderful.

Tears of joy are rolling down Mr. Carastian's face.. After several very disappointments this beauty hit his plate.. slow-roasted with yorkshire pudding, horseradish sauce, whipped potatoes, and vegetables du jour. This cow didn't work a second in her life... it was a juicy, tender, tasty slice of heaven.

A sea of steak... Beautiful, juicy. Thick. Perfectly aged. Mrs Carastian Grilled it to an exact medium with a caramelized crunchy layer of fat. Feeding two people. T-bone from heaven. Ahhhhh

Perfectly medium grilled steak, a salad with a balanced mix of fresh greens, pine nuts and light dressing. Well done plate of food. Nothing to fancy, but good food doesn't really need to be. This dish is probably not changed much in the last century... and it doesn't need to!

Kudos to our slightly overwhelmed waitress - 8 of us, everybody a slightly different request on the mains (well done medium rare, with a little overweighting on the rare, rare lamb...) and she got that all right. the meat was great - tender, tasteful and grilled to the point. It originally came with béarnaise or green peppercorn sauce - but Mr. Carastian considered this to be a crime to this lovely meat. so.. NO SAUCE! The Fries were all right. Although I loved it - the price tag of 22 quid was a bit steep.

the piece de resistance to my US guests... although the kitchen was taking their time to finally serve the main course (We began eating at 8 pm - main course was at 10 pm) this was putting this insanely happy smile you only see on little kids on their faces... Über tender Bavarian Ox Sirloin, grilled to perfection. add home made crispy onions, and home made delicious glaze... served with hash browns on the side.WON.DER.FUL!

Mr. Carastian's main. Steak? Perfectly done. Sauce? too much for my taste (good taste though). But the "Creamy garlic mashed potatoes" as were advertised were a bit to solid and heavy for my taste. And in my Asparagus...I like to see MORE Asparagus then just these three sad little guys..

Bavette is the Bavarian name for flank steak, and this one was über tender with hints of bbq'y goodness, slightly acidic marinade, melt in your mouth fantasticalness. The rich and creamy celery puree helped to balance the flavors and the swiss chard was in there to make you think you were eating something very healthy. The popcorn? That was just there for fun. Florian (one of the chefs in our epic 'kulinarischer herbst' program we do every year) really outdid himself and elevated a very classic dish to a funky new level. applause!

While Mr. Carastian was going in for the whole nine yards, Mrs. Carastian went for the Zwiebelrostbraten. Ox Steak, in a rich reduction with onions. tender, perfectly prepared and just yummers.

Giant slab of garlicky beef, anyone?! Stuffed with slivers of garlic, grilled to perfection... this juicy slab was well enjoyed. Throw in a baked potato with herby creme fraiche and you've got the perfect duo. Plus the swan foil wrapping was cute! ;*)

Boy those people love their creamy sauces! Although the chanterelles and sauce were quite lovely - this tender piece of steak really didn't need to be smothered as such. But we can proudly say we both sampled the chanterelles special menu properly.

Oh tender slice of cow... with your smoky grill flavor, chunky onions and juicy balsamic sauce. Delicious and cooked to perfection.

A tasty recommendation from the waitress off of the Swabian menu page - perfection! The steak was super tender and pink (as requested) smothered in onions and gravy with a side of those homemade spaetzle... hmmmmmmmmm.

Mr. C had a salad - but before you get too excited for his green intake, have a look at the meat topper! Succulent slices of oxen sirloin clearly stole the show!

CPF (Carastian People Food) ;*) tee hee A tender slab of sirloin, cooked a bit over medium (which is why maybe it took too long) but the meat was good. The potatoes were subbed out for this mediocre salad. All in all a good dish but not great. No bother though, as we were only having a quick stop before heading back to get ready for the Herbsfest (fall festival - think Beerfest meets Bavarian fall carnival).

Mr. C's main course was a winner (although sadly some of the other's in our group was not - so sorry!) with a buttery tender filet of young Irish bull sitting in a succulent bath of it's natural juices and fresh porcini mushrooms. The dish also came with a potatoes au gratin which he subbed out for a salad (gasp!). Mrs. C would really have liked to gotten a bite of those potatoes!

Mr. Carastian's dish. a nice little Sirloin with Salad. it was ok - though the service was overwhelmed with the crazy number of guests at this fair and the kitchen apparently as well. a bit too overdone. a bit too long to come to Mr. C's belleh!

Where to start?! Meat was cut too thin, overcooked, tough, basic pan-fried and both veal and ox tasted the same, which was the boring and nondescript diner-level brown sauce. Even the potatoes were mealy and tasteless... epic FAIL. Should be a black and white photo.

Why Mr Caratian came- steak. And sadly, this one could be labeled v1.0: looks great but was basically a salt lick stone. That cow died in vain and this was the second item we sent back. It's replacement was (in retaliation?!?) not crispy at all without ANY seasoning. Not even worth taking a shot. Shame. The quest for beef steak continues.

While visiting the posh casino in Baden-Baden, we decided to also try their terrace restaurant (complete with live violin music). Food was OK but not that exciting. Like this steak with a very heavy mustard crust. Almost like a mustard pancake sitting on top of a decent steak. Weird.