Sunday, November 24, 2013

Miscellany of Berlin Food

As a traveler, the food of a place is very important to me. A lot of times, everything else is the backdrop or the stuff I do until it's time to eat again. Here is the roundup of the other things I ate in Berlin:

kamps backstube cheese pretzel
A glorious cheese pretzel from Kamps Backstube, which was an extra welcoming sight after a very jet-lagged night.

dom curry currywurst
Currywurst is a local dish of "wurst" with curry powder. I've had currywurst before and thought it was fine, but I liked it more in Germany eaten at Dom Curry. When in Berlin.

German Coke
Obligatory photo of soda in a different country.

brauhaus lemke bratwurst
This meal of bratwurst took place after a quick visit to the Schloss Charlottenburg. I was fading quickly and had to skip the gardens to make a beeline for food. Thank you, Brauhaus Lemke.

This post concludes the Berlin series. I hope you've enjoyed reading about my travel eats; I would love to visit the other German cities (and eat their food) at some point. Usually when traveling, I'm already thinking about my next big trip (I am constantly trying to live more in the moment, I will get there). This time, I was relieved to be home and settle in before the holidays. November and December are my favorite months of the year, but we can probably agree that we all need a break between the end of sweaty summer and the peppermint bark and eggnog latte-fueled holiday cheer phase! That's basically what it feels like out here in southern California, at least.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Cafe Einstein Stammhaus (Berlin)

Researching food destinations for travel can become overwhelming very quickly. I always start big and whittle down. Past experience has shown me that I don't want to be too ambitious because a) there will be a time (if not more than once) when I cannot bear the thought of another subway ride and subsequent walk of x number of blocks just to try some ____ when I'm nowhere near peckish, and b) I need to leave room for the unplanned (you can't imagine how delighted I was when I came across a grocery store during a long walk in Berlin. Oh, the snacks and dairy section!). But, I always have a list to provide direction and two of my Berlin must-try dishes were Wiener schnitzel and apfelstrudel. So, I headed to Cafe Einstein Stammhaus, a Viennese coffeehouse in the Tiergarten area.

cafe einstein wiener schnitzel
Wiener Schnitzel with potatoes, cucumber salad and lingonberry jam (the English menu says cranberry, but I think it was lingonberry). Ladies and gentlemen, what you see here is the small portion. The jam was fantastic with the richness of the schnitzel; add a bite of the cucumbers and it was a symphony.

cafe einstein cucumber salad
Loved this cucumber salad. It was so simple, but the flavors were perfectly balanced. I enjoyed everything I tried, but these cucumbers with dill made such an impression on me. I also happen to love cucumbers.

cafe einstein apfelstrudel
Apfelstrudel with vanilla sauce. We meet at last! A refined dessert with lots of apple filling; I was happy to try this classic, but I was very full by this point.

I didn't take any interior photos because the place was pretty packed, but it's just so lovely. Think of a European cafe, a bit worn in, but with a lot of elegance and gorgeous light coming in from the windows. Just the kind of place where I imagine serious writers discussing broken hearts and the state of politics. You would be correct in guessing that I was in heaven lingering over my meal; a pretty magical experience for me.

Cafe Einstein Stammhaus
Kürfürstenstraße 58
10785 Berlin
Phone: +49 30 263 91 918