Nino Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Hi, not all our dinners are as classy and formal as Rob believes – it’s just once a year when we dress up and attend a X-mas Cigar Club dinner . The other 364 days of the year we are just a bunch of rowdy, funny and barely civilized friends having messy, long and well”spirited” dinners, lunches and cigar smoking meetings in pharmacy labs. Something like yesterday when we had the pleasure to meet at Chez RW’s, a small restaurant run by an Alsatian chef and friend of ours in a small nearby hamlet and inaugurate his smoking lounge. Here’s the story : We are truly blessed in our region in that we not only live in a wine area with great natural by-products such as good food, great landscapes, good butchers, seasonal products like asparagus, goose, ducks, goats & lambs, good sausages and the best bread but in that we also have the places to enjoy the food in style and accompanied by a good cigar. The smoking-ban craze has not by-passed us but the non-smoking talibans have been beaten in court and so we still enjoy smoking-only pubs, restaurants and cafes that have smoking areas and basically all the comforts of civilized living ( you are still able to make a choice, which is a basic value ). An alternative restaurant to our regular Friday dining place opened a few months ago in the nearby hamlet of Rommersheim just 2 km from us and we have been quite satisfied not just by the food and service but also by the young, dynamic, experienced and good-humoured owner/chef Herve Messmer, an Alsatian living and cooking in Germany for ages now. After a long and distinguished career in the best restaurants of the Rheingau and Wiesbaden, he crossed the Rhine over to our side ( the right side ) and has now settled in Rommersheim leasing a renovated old farmhouse typical for our region. http://www.chez-rw.de/ He promised us a few months back that he would have a smoking lounge across from the main restaurant, see : http://www.flyingcigar.de/smoking_cigars/2011_08_chez_herve_steaks_und_ryj_vintage_1999.php He kept his promise and we were too happy to inaugurate it this Friday. It offers space for ca. 15 to 18 guests and while the air cleaning/removal system has been ordered, it will take a few weeks yet to install it – but the windows can be opened and certainly on-one complains. The food is very solid and hearty, German with a big French-Alsatian accent ( Flammkuchen, Frog legs, Goat, truffles, seafood ) and while being sophisticated it remains thankfully grounded in local culture. The wines are regional, the products as well and the prices are quite affordable ( The 4-course roasted goose menu with wines and dessert is 26,50 € and the fresh, delicious and giant Sunday breakfast brunch is 11,50€ p.P.). So we gathered with our wives and a few friends and had the lounge for ourselves and a fine, funny and long dinner ( almost 6 hrs ). Not only were we all happy and more than satisfied with the food and excellent service, we celebrated a long evening of good cigars and spirits until well past midnight accompanied by Herve who, despite having a full restaurant, came over frequently to check and finally decided to join the group, the drinks and the fun. The next dinner meeting will be soon again and we look forward to it. A fellow cigar club from Alzey has already booked for a few meetings as well and we will make sure that Herve is happy having gone out and installed the lounge. Cigars were RA Extra EL 2011 ( the box being funny in that it was papered upside-down ) courtesy of Andreas and I then had to enjoy a Cohiba 1966 EL 2011 in honour of celebrating this wonderful lounge, dinner and group of friends. Can’t get much better than this …. Living well. Nino For more pictures : http://www.flyingcigar.de/smoking_cigars/2011_12_cigar_dinner_chez_rw.php The smoking lounge The box : It's Cuba ... Roasted Goose The Horror ... goose coming back :-)) Men In Red - Nino & Herve Smoking double time - SLR Prominentes & Cohiba 1966 The Dutch raping the Frogs Good Times Looking In
maverickdrinker Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 glad to see that everything is going well with you Nino. I wish we had the opportunity to smoke AND eat in a restuarant. Makes me want to go back to Cuba again. Thanks for sharing. Hope you are well. Merry Xmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family.
CigarmanTim Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 How I love that Country. Thanks for the pics.
TankerT Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Wow. Is this lounge open to anyone? I'd love to stop by there on my next trip through the area.
riazp Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Great post Nino as usual, good to see you are well over in germany! Riaz
Pilgrims Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Great write up/event and a lot of fun by the look of it...shame that the same thing in the Uk is only possible without Cigars....looks a place (and chef) well worth visiting!
Nino Posted December 10, 2011 Author Posted December 10, 2011 Wow. Is this lounge open to anyone? I'd love to stop by there on my next trip through the area. Of course it is - what else .... Seriously now - it's a cozy small restaurant that has a smoking section opposite the main restaurant which is a great idea as you have your privacy and you can eat and smoke and enjoy your passions & friends without any hassle or people giving you a dirty look. Our regular place also has a smoking section inside the restaurant proper, which is also quite good. Again - we are blessed and we enjoy it.
Squarehead Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Einfach herlich diese atmosphere.Thanks for sharing. Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten rutsch,Nino
Nino Posted December 10, 2011 Author Posted December 10, 2011 Einfach herlich diese atmosphere.Thanks for sharing. Frohe Weihnachten und einen guten rutsch,Nino Herzlichen Dank aus Rheinhessen und die besten Wünsche zurück an Dich !! Thanks for the kind words - beim nächsten Mal einfach mit uns feiern und geniessen als unser Gast. Nino
Schumi5 Posted December 10, 2011 Posted December 10, 2011 Nino, thank you as always for the wonderful post and pictures. Always a brilliant read and so refreshing to see a country that still allows 'free choice'. Much appreciated!
peanutpete Posted December 11, 2011 Posted December 11, 2011 looks like a wonderfull evening Nino,glad to see at least one country in Europe has seen some common sense
scinmyheart Posted December 11, 2011 Posted December 11, 2011 man..how sweet is your setup! ...that's almost too much to comprehend
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