Warning!!!! Berlin Weekend Brunch

 Photo: A quickie breakfast on our Sunday in Berlin, January 2011

On our January adventure to the spaceship city of Berlin, we made the mistake of not providing ample time in a whirlwind weekend trip for a legitimate brunch experience.

I fell in love with Berlin in Winter of 2002, partly due to such a weekend brunch experiences- Sunday morn with friends in a candlelit and spacious, yet cozy cafe that eventually unravelled into hours (and I mean hours) of dialogue, good food, coffee and later other libations....

It was humanity at it's simplest, and finest.  Good company, good sustenance in your tummy and the leisure and "freedom" to sit amidst a vaguely smoky (that has changed now) and nook filled cafe and celebrate a simple day with the ones you kno, trust and love.

Berlin.  Next time around, it's on.  Sunday brunch, we will not miss you.

Bavarian Snowballs

Heading up the hill to Neuschwanstein Castle, the sight and smell of these Bavarian Snowballs caught my senses.  I was hungry but decided to save the sweet delight for the descent.  They are basically light donut holes smothered in a powdered sugar that coated my outfit more than it did my tongue.  

The donuts were just a prelude to experiencing the Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein.  Upon being handed the Bavarian Snowball treat I realized that a) they looked and smelled delicious and b) I was very hungry and needed a proper meal.

So in we went.  I passed on the overpriced and slim choice of offerings at the cafe in the Castle, but was pleasantly surprised by the menu at this place.  At the end of the day I just had some fried chicken and pommes frites with mayonnaise.  The food was more than decent, especially for the price, and it was a lovely atmosphere.

Everything, everywhere has me thinking of summer and I can only dream about how lovely this restaurant is in the summertime, balconies overlooking the sprawling forest filled with travellers from all over the country and globe. 

It certainly doesn't look like it, but the restaurant was buzzing a little bit by the time we left (photo taken at the beginning of the meal).  I liked the food, and dug the atmosphere.

Bavarian snowballs led us here.

A Heart for Kartoffelpuffer, a.k.a. Bangers

I think I fell in love with potato pancakes (or latkes, as they were presented to me) at a Hanukkah feast some years back. Crisp and freshly fried, I immediately acquired a fondness for this treat, complemented perfectly with a smothering of applesauce.

Some years later, now living in Germany, I delighted to find out that the potato pancake has a degree of popularity here as well, in different forms.

Potato pancakes with applesauce at the Nürnberg Christmas Market

Experiencing a German Christmas Market for the first time late last year, in Nürnberg, my main treasure was to be found late at night, after exploring the stalls and passages for hours.

A plate of Kartoffelpuffer, with the complementary applesauce, before a train ride home. Fried up fresh at the stall, served simple and quick and devoured right there near St. Sebaldus Cathedral as the Christmas market revelry was reaching it's night peak, this for me was a perfect treat.

Night View on Bergstraße 19, Nürnberg in late January 2011

A couple of months later, I find myself in Nürnberg again. This time, en route towards an "exclusive" tour of the historic Nürnberg underground .

The meeting point, with a dear friend who had arranged the tour, was at the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof.

I could gather, from its' location on Google maps, that it was a very brief jaunt from St. Sebaldus Cathedral, where I had already been a few times- the fact of St. Sebaldus being the patron saint of the city now engraved in my mind.

I did not even bother trying to figure out the specific route to get to the street where I needed to be. I decided to leave things to on-the-spot navigation savvy (the slightly unplanned, "What the hell!" approach) as well as my current back up line now while travelling about Germany- "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

What's fun about asking this question is that, roughly 50 percent of the time the respondent will sort of purse their lips apologetically and shake their head no, at which point I will proceed in broken or simply bad German, with hand gestures and sometimes visual props like maps I have drawn in my journal, to try to still ferret out some help. So far, so good.

Except for that one time at the S-Bahn in Berlin when the Bahn representative clearly spoke no English (or did not want to) and simply did not want to engage....leaving my husband and I feeling both mystified and extremely foreign on the platform of a train in East Berlin.

Anyway, back to the story.....

I found my way to the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof. I had to ferret out some help on a street around the St. Sebaldus Cathedral. The words the lady spoke are still a mystery to me but her hand gestures "towards that way" were clear enough, and my destination was not far.

En route there, I got distracted by all the lovely and interesting shops and stopped in one, Bohne & Kleid, to look around. The shop was great but it took only a few moments for me to realize that I had neither time nor money to shop, so hurried out of there, but not before confirming with the shopkeeper the whereabouts of my destination-- which were confirmed as a few buildings up.

I arrived at my destination point, thrilled to meet my Berlin based friend for the first time outside of the German capital city and now near the land of the Wolpertingers. I was ready for a beer and some dialogue and the ensuing tour of what I would soon see to be a very rich and layered underground sector of Nürnberg.

But I was simply not ready or willing to really deal with a menu. For me, dealing with menus and food choices is sometimes like shopping for clothes. If I don't figure out something in about 3 minutes, the situation is hopeless and I need to move on or have someone else decide for me. No patience whatsoever.

This is particularly the case when I am hungry.

In this case I was hungry. And I am well aware of the dangers of foregoing food and having a few rich beers.

So, I gave the menu a few minutes. Immediately my eyes fell on the "Bangers."

"What are bangers?" I asked my friend.

He did not know.

A few moments later, I repeated the question, insistent that perhaps the definition of bangers might hold the cure to my hunger as well as food choice for the eve.

I am happy to report that I believe my own foodie radar may be in a nascent, yet vital stage of development. Throughout the entirety of our preliminary beers and menu exploration, I was absolutely fixated on these mysterious "bangers." The rest of the menu was, in fact, a complete haze of non-options to me.

The waitress was lovely and also appeared quite happy and matter-of-fact with the whole business of speaking English. When asked, she promptly explained the bangers as potato pancakes.

Bangers it immediately was.

Bangers at Hausbrauerei Altstadthof

Served up with smoked salmon and horseradish. I ravished the plate of food. I will return....

...And spend some time exploring why the Kartoffelpuffer is called bangers at this lovely brewery, up past St. Sebaldus Cathedral, in the vicinity of the reconstructed Castle, there in Nürnberg.

Altes Europa

Altes Europa came at the suggestion of a friend who met us at the Hackescher Markt S-bahn station and proceeded to navigate us through the corridors of this pedestrian yet somewhat posh neighborhood of Berlin, Mitte. Mid afternoon, on a Sunday, the area was alive with residents and tourists milling about, enjoying a crisp and sunny winter January day.

"Raucher Salon"

The smoking room

According to an image on its' website, Altes Europa cafe might have definitely chosen it's name as a humorous slam against a certain American politician's snarky comments about "Old Europe." Regardless, the sense of what might have been a salon or cafe in "Old Europe" can perhaps be imagined in the decor, in the "smoking salon" located within the cafe and the general hardwood floor ambiance and candlelit sessions of delicious food, libations and dialogue.

It's completely unfortunate that I didn't get any photos of the food. My dedication as a food blogger is, to date, a bit half baked and there are certainly dining moments that seem more critical to remember than to document. That said, I do have some regret that I did not snap some quick images of the dishes. Whatever chicken dish I had was outstanding and the other diners were sated and pleased as well. Atmosphere + delicious food= Altes Europa, I will return.

More than a Morsel in Munich

I am decidedly not the world's biggest fan of German food. In fact, I probably cannot even be found on the list of fans of German food.

But, at a traditional German restaurant I can usually find something to whet my appetite, and enjoy it in the process. And on our first visit to Munich, after a couple of hours of navigating the streets, I was more than happy to stumble upon Utzinger, in the University District.

My happiness was threefold in nature.

1- Hunger. I was hungry. Just plain hungry

2- Space. This first adventure of ours to Munich took place on the last day of 2010. The downtown area was sort of a pleasant, very crowded madness and we passed by many a good looking restaurant that just looked simply too crowded to deal with. Utzinger had a nice sort of busy relaxedness to it, and a handful of cozy tables to choose from.

3- Quality. While we chose the place sort of haphazardly and by default of being ready to eat then and there, I was glad to find that the menu looked great.

Good prices, good food, good atmosphere, good company. Who could ask for anything more?

Rosenkohl suppe

Oh my was this lovely.

After some investigation, found out that Rosenkohl is brussel sprouts.

I love brussel sprouts.

And now I know I love brussel sprout soup.

Just a burger and fries.

A really good burger and fries.

The other diner had this dish, named the "Nurnberger," consisting of Weiss sausages, sauerkraut and mustard. Seemed to hit the spot.

All in all, a simply lovely place to have stumbled upon. I am both adventurous but also a creature of habit, so may find myself popping in here for a morsel or a Hefeweizen on future excursions.

Sunday Morning Sea Dreams

Flashback:

Breakfast at Henderson Park Inn, Florida

Late Summer 2010

Recently moved across the Atlantic- from one country's "Deep South" to another's. Here in Bavaria, reacquaintance with winter and snow has been quick to come. I now relish Sunday mornings of strong, creamy cups of coffee, croissants or slabs of bread with crab salad and cubed morsels of cheese.

But this morn I had a dreamy resurfacing of the memory of this August breakfast overlooking the sea. Perhaps (just perhaps) the memory also served to span and reinforce the appreciation for all things seen. The late morning here, the the region of Germany we now call home, is quiet and bright. A light snow has been steadily falling for a few hours. Just over three months ago, we looked out upon the sea on a grey Sunday morning, over cups of strong black coffee and perfectly petite little waffles with strawberries. Clouds loomed over the Gulf of Mexico from our vantage point on the deck of a b and b in Destin, and though we knew where we were generally heading, we had no clear idea of exactly where, in mid December, we would be.

Greetings from our new home and looking forward to posting scrumptious morsels about life here....

A bevy of beer at Belga

After a day of requisite and enjoyable sightseeing around the United States capital earlier this month, we met up with friends and family (upon one of their suggestions) at the elegant but cozy Belga Cafe in Capitol Hill, Washington D.C.

The beer list here was jaw dropping, and pricey. Not an on-the-budget watering hole by any means. It is, in fact, the kind of restaurant that you perhaps go to on a special occasion to splurge a bit, unless of course money is never an object in your dining experiences.

I am always partial to open kitchen views. This particular view was taken from the bar, as we drooled, with some confusion, over the beer offerings.

On this particular night, with a rotating table of guests, an appetizer feast was in order. This evening, we reconvened with family and friends who are D.C. residents and there is something very festive and communal about catching up over a spread of appetizers. Pommes frites were obviously the way to go (particularly with children in the mix). As well as a cheese platter. The pot of Garlic Butter mussels lasted through the entire feasting session and I found myself spooning out the delicious celery broth after the mussels were gone. I like mussels though I am no certainly mussels aficionado. But I don't slurp mussel broth for no reason at all. It was indeed that good.

At the end of the day, upon a return trip to D.C., I would try to fit Belga cafe into my culinary adventures. I would also ensure that my wallet had ample funds, so I could sample the Belgian beer spread freely. One of my dining guests settled on ordering Stella Artois throughout the evening, a good but mundane beer in the spectrum of this restaurants offerings. Big mistake considering that a Stella here is an astounding 7 bucks or so a bottle. You are better off spending a bit more for the truly unique beer offerings.

Now that we have moved across the Atlantic, I think a culinary weekend adventure in the Belga Cafe's chef home country of Belgium is in order.