An impromptu adventure for burgers on Freßgass...

I didn't have much planned today other than signing up my daughter for after-school activities (this is a bigger deal than you would imagine), cleaning the house, and maybe running a few errands. But a friend saved me around noon asking if I wanted to rent a bike to ride into downtown Frankfurt, do a little shopping and grab a bite to eat. Do I ever?!? That sounded new, a little scary and fabulous. I've never ridden a bike in a major city before but I learned today that doing so in Frankfurt is just about as easy and civilized as it gets, and of course I finagled a great meal out of it too!

We rented bikes from NextBike, which has two "stations" nearby our apartments. What a breeze. Signing up on their website is easy: give them minimal information, most importantly your cell phone number, and sign up for "pay as you go" or a yearly pass--48 Euros--then pay the minimum account balance of 9 euros with your credit card or by bank transfer. This balance can be used on your rentals, which cost 1 euro per 30 minutes or 9 Euros for 24 hours. The website is easy to use, letting you know all of the pick-up locations. You can also download the app or just call them to rent a bike. One account can rent multiple bikes at a time, and you don't have to drop off where you picked up. I'm sold!

A beautiful view of the Freßgass

Once we got our bikes squared away we were off on our adventure....zooming towards the Altstadt like we were pros. We drove past the incredibly beautiful Alte Oper (Opera House) and right onto Freßgass...the famous "grazing street" of Frankfurt, so named because of its numerous hip eateries.  It is definitely Frankfurt's culinary main street, and it's super accessible because it's not open to cars...only to bikes and pedestrians. We weren't ready for lunch yet so we continued onto the Zeil to do a little bit of shopping, but after we'd worked up our appetites we returned and chose one of the first spots we saw, Maredo. Little did we know we were in for an amazing lunch!

Maredo is known for their steaks, but since it was lunch and we were "exercising" we both went for the cheeseburger. (Haha!) And let me tell you...it did not disappoint. The hand-formed patty was deliciously tender and served on a brioche bun (suck it, Anthony Bourdain...it was delicious!) with an unctuous tomato chutney. Listen to me...if you're jonesing for a burger, just go try it.  They also offer one of my favorite simple Spanish tapas...sautéed Padron peppers with sea salt (Pimientos de Padrón)...so let's just say I DID have vegetables on the side of my burger...and fries...and so-incredible-I-can't-say-no remoulade to dip them in.............ahhhhh......heaven.

Let me know if you get a chance to run by Maredo and how you like it. Enjoy!!