My Mom's "Knoblauch Toast" (savory garlic french toast)

My mom makes those garlic toasts as a snack for supper. It's like a savory french toast but without the use of milk. They are easy to prepare and taste really good. And don't underestimate your appetite. It's easy to eat several slices... I eat about four :)

Ingredients:

• 8 slices of white toast bread
• 6-7 cloves of garlic
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3-4 tablesspoons oil (for frying)

Preparation:

1. Mince the garlic. Brush the garlic on both sides of each slice of toast.
2. Beat the eggs in a container wide enough for the toast. Add some salt and pepper. Heat up the oil in a frying pan. 
3. Wait till the oil in the frying pan is hot enough. Then drag the slices of toast through the beaten eggs, not before. The toasts would get soggy if you don't fry them immediately. Fry the toast for about 3 minutes on each side. Both sides should be slightly dark brown and crispy.
4. Pour the leftover beaten eggs in the fying pan and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Serve with a some fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.

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Maple Street Biscuits (Tallahassee, Fl)

Maple Street Biscuits is not your usual biscuit & gravy place. They do serve traditonal biscuit & gravy, but they have so much more. The place is really cute and it feels like they have a lot of dishes with a southern twist.

I am not a big fan of the traditional American biscuit & gravy breakfast. However, as I saw this little place at the FSU campus in downtown Tallahassee, I just had to give it a try. Their biscuits are served with traditional sausage gravy or a vegetarian shiitake gravy. They also have biscuits with fried chicken breast and a flavorful jam or jelly. Even though there is a lot of fried items, these options - having a tasty vegetarian gravy or some jam/ jellys - were much more up my alley :) The biscuits as well as the gravys, jams, and jellys are fresh and homemade from scratch.

The Squawking Goat

One of their famous items is the "The Squawking Goat" - a biscuit with a fried chicken breast and a fried goat cheese medallion with a sweet but spicy pepper jelly. This dish was supposedly even featured at the Foodnetwork. Of course I had to try it :) It did taste delicious. Maybe the chicken as well as the goat cheese could have been a little thinner as it is a lot.

The Sides

I also ordered some of their sides - a Hash Brown Cake and some Fried Green Tomatoes. The has browns tasted really good with the spicy pepper jelly from my squawking goat biscuit :) Also, I was especially blown away by those fried green tomatoes, a typical southern dish. I always was hesitant to order them, because they are fried and I did not think they would taste so much different then red tomatoes. But they are slightly more tarte which complements the fried crust. I thought they were really good.

Brunch at Keke's Breakfast Café (Tallahassee, FL)

Well, I love brunch. However, usually, for the good brunch places there are always long waiting times on weekends which makes the experience a little tiresome... I was more than happy as it worked out during my vacation in Tallahassee. My friends chose Keke's Breakfast Café. Wait time was ok and it was a very nice place with fresh and tasty food :)

Stuffed French Toast and Hash Browns - My Highlights:

Keke's Breakfast Café is known for the exquisite stuffed french toasts. They have different excotic versions including one that is called a "Pina colada stuffed french toast" (pineapple, coconut and cream cheese) and a "Turtle stuffed french toast" (pecans, caramel, chocolate and cream cheese). They also have an apple-cinamon stuffed french toast, a banana, nut & caramel stuffed french toast, and several fruit stuffed french toast versions for people who love it a bit more traditional. They cut the stuffed french toast in four triangles which looks really cute and then, the portions are not so overwhelming. As we were exactly four people, it was perfect as a table dish to share :)

They also have very nice and freshly cooked home fries as a side dish. I do not like the shredded hash browns or the potato cubes that have been precooked and reheated. I like my potatoes like a skillet dish and this hit the spot :)

Our Food:

• Pina Colada stuffed french toast (with pineaplle, coconut and cream cheese)
• Breakfast Fruit Salad (fresh fruits with yoghurt, granola and honey)
• Eggs Florentine (two poached eggs with tomatoes, spinach, and sauce hollondaise on an English muffin) with a side of home fries
• Southwest Omlette (with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, petal sauce, salsa) and a side of home fries and wheat toast
• Silver Dollar pancakes (the cute tiny little ones)

 

St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge

Afterwards, we enjoyed the rest of the day at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Unexpectedly, we arrived when they actually had a so called "controlled burn" or "prescribed burn". The fire is used to clear brush, control invasive weeds, fell old and sickly trees, restore natural nesting habitats, and open the forest floor for new growth. It shall improve the health of plant and animal communities and return nutrients to the soil. Besides that, we enjoyed the lighthouse with its little beach, lots of wildlife and a two hour hike around the Bayou Pools :)

Wilde Matilde (Berlin, Germany)

I love trying new brunch places and specialty restaurants. Looking at my options here in Berlin, I found this quirky place. It is called "Wilde Matilde" and during the day it is a patisserie and in the evening a cocktail bar, event restaurant, and cabaret. When you enter you first see the bar area, an old colorful circus or chain carousel. The main color of the restaurant is pink with big velvet armchairs and benches and white bistro tables. The staff are all wearing petticoats, ruffles and suspenders. There are oversized pink and white striped curtains on the windows, tied to the side. It all feels like out of the roaring 20s.

The restaurant is located very centrally in a nice area downtown Berlin ("Mitte"), within the Nikolaiviertel, next to the red town hall (Rotes Rathaus) and with view of Berlin's cathedral church (Berlin Dom).

Patisserie

You do notice that they are a patisserie, as there is a tall cake stand right at the entrance with lots of colorful and extravagant cakes. They do have the obligatory Black Forest Cake, but also very unique ones. They also offer a sweet afternoon tea with lots of cakes and candy. And, as part of the weekend brunch, they have an additional candy/sweet buffet and little cute colorful three tiered étageres with candy and fruit slices.

Weekend Brunch

The brunch buffet is located in the back room of the restaurant. There is a big white table placed at the side wall with multiple cubicle panels on top where you can find the food. The back wall of the room is covered by book shelves with actual books in it. Some of the shelves, however, are cleaned out and filled with further food options.

They offer:

• Bread station with crunchy seeded breads with some additional rolls in baskets placed in the shelves within the wall
• Salad bar including lentil salads, rice salads, potato salads, bean and chickpea salads, etc. My favorite was an Asian salad with very tender beef.
• Yoghurt bar with fresh fruits
• Deli section with different deli meats, cheeses, spreads and smoked salmon
• Warm dishes including fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, curry sausage, and kaiserschmarrn
• Candy buffet within the book shelves behind glass doors with chocolate and rice pudding, red jelly, cakepops, candy, cookies, etc.
• Cute three tiered étageres filled with little cake cubes, cakepops, cookies, eclairs and excotic fruit slices

It was a very pleasurable experience. The restaurant was cute, unique, colorful and intersting. I also enjoyed the buffet. While most of the food was quite common, I did really enjoy the very flavorful and diverse salad bar. Another highlight were the colorful three tiered candy étageres that just looked so adorable. They also served the tea in nice little romantic tea pots (the pot is actually sitting on top of the cup). Unfortunately, the orange juice is not fresh pressed. Also, some of the staff had quite an unpleasant attitude.

However, all in all, I would highly recommend it, at least for a one time experience, especially when you get the 50% off coupons on groupon for the brunch :)