It was the last day of our two-week vacation, and we had reached the point where we wanted the trip to end and to sleep in our own beds. Travel-worn and weary, my daughter and I wandered the streets looking for one last meal when we stumbled onto Drei Stuben. The excellent food, friendly staff, warm environment, and generous pours lifted our spirits and gave us the perfect ending to our vacation.
Postcards from Drei Stuben
Flash forward a few years and I am cleaning out my keepsakes when I find a postcard from the restaurant. This restaurant has a unique marketing plan. When they present you the bill they also present you with postcards that you can fill out, either to yourself or to friends, and they will mail the card to you in a month. I had kept the postcard I had written to myself and it was a perfect reminder that I should revisit the restaurant to see if it was as good as I remembered.
Beefsteak tartare served with poached egg, potato foam and black truffle. This was heaven in a glass. The beef was tender and flavorful, the potato foam light and fluffy, the egg perfectly cooked.Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with sage butter. These homemade ravioli were light, buttery, and full of flavor. I could have eaten a whole bowl full of just this dish.Veal meatloaf with mashed potatoes and buttered vegetables. Many locals make this signature dish their reason for visiting. I can understand the appeal of a homey entree after a long day of work, but I thought it too heavy for a 6-course tasting menu.Lemon Sorbet with Prosecco. This light and bubbly palate cleanser was perfect after the weighty meatloaf. I will be stealing this idea for my own dinner parties!Veal Cordon Bleu with fried potatoes and Mediterranean vegetables. This dish just didn’t work. The coating was a hard shell one had to break into, the veal and ham were also dried with a soppy mess of melted cheese in the middle. The vegetables and potatoes felt like they were an after-thought. It was an effort to take a few bites out of politeness.
Melting chocolate cake with sour cream ice cream and citrus fruit. This was a nicely made molten cake, warm and gooey on the inside, and the ice cream was delicious, but still…it was molten cake.
Overall, I enjoyed the meal and the service was as friendly yet professional as I remembered. I would definitely eat here again, but I would be more cautious ordering the tasting menu in the future.
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