Good things come to those who eat

Good things come to those who eat

Let’s face it folks, the gastronomic delights around the Simon-Dach-Straße and Sonntagstraße are rather scarce – the Schwarze Hahn, good old Schneeweiß and vegan deli Laauma being superb exceptions, of course. But mostly it’s a blur of Berlin „fusion food” along the lines of simple burger and pizza joints and Happy-Hour-Texmex-Thai restaurants with ever changing management. We were in the area the other day – we were starving and made a great discovery. About a year ago, a new restaurant opened right next to the Ostkreuz train station, across from Hähnchen Hütte and the 1stFloor hostel. With its wooden panelling, handwritten menu boards and earthy Scandinavian chic it was nothing like any of the other places close-by. When we entered Milja & Schäfa, we had absolutely no expectations – a perfect start to the culinary surprise of the week. We took our time reading the menu over and over because everything just sounded so delicious and rather special. We went for beetroot, parsnip and sweet potato wedges with a lime-basil-garlic dip, a beetroot Carpaccio with smoked salmon and five different dips with lovely fresh bread – each one better than the next. All dishes were perfectly balanced, boldly flavoured and anything but random. Our current breakfast favourite is the avocado sandwich with tomato, lemon-basil-aioli, pine nuts and a fried egg. Pictured here to your right. There’s no doubt about it: Milja & Schäfa know what they’re doing. A relaxed, down to earth atmosphere and signature food – that’s just how we like it. Oh, and everybody is really nice! We’ll be back again soon.
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Milja & Schäfa, Café und Soul Food Restaurant | Sonntagstr. 1, 10245 Berlin | Facebook

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Kategorien: Places | Autor: | Datum: 22. April 2015 | Tags: , , , , |  Keine Kommentare

Stella, oh Stella!

Stella, oh Stella!

Just strolling along the – um, let’s say more „original“ – part of the Weserstraße in Neukölln on a Sunday afternoon and all of a sudden you find yourself in a food paradise gone Ottolenghi only to then stumble upon the famous Chinese cellist Trey Lee giving a free mini-concert just a few minutes later. Cooking and music work with similar principles: it’s about passion and gusto, about craftsmanship and using a recipe with a range of ingredients and tools to create something truly sensual. Both disciplines bring forward prodigies or those that tend to stick to the same simple melody forever (Chopsticks ring a bell?!). Most of us have at least one recipe, that friends are crazy about and ask us to cook it over and over again. Well, Suzy has dozens, nay hundreds of them. Everything she cooks will make you want to have second and third helpings. We love the little posh but hidden Fortuna’s Table in Neukölln’s Weserstaße. No Sign, no opening-hours – the temple of sweet treats and tasty morsels opens exclusively for private dining events. If you’ve been lucky though, you might have been able to enjoy Suzy’s delicious catering specialities – we had the chance to feast on them at one of our Weinmomente and at the Briteday. But alas, there is an end to this reserved pleasure! Tonight, just across the street at Weserstraße 166, Suzy is opening Stella – a lovely deli almost too good to be true. There’s plenty to choose from – small or large, hot or cold. NYC Style Sesame Noodles, meatless meatballs or sausage with a secret tomato sauce you’ll want to swim in – each dish a dream. If you order more than one, Suzy will give you a discount. Oreo-Chocolate-Chip Brownies and Froot Loop Marshmellow Treats – a reminder of an American childhood – are perfect for dessert. Your order is not to go? You can also enjoy your meal at one of the little white tables in the beautifully decorated dining area. At first, Stella will open weekdays from 12–6 pm (and slightly longer). Good luck and bon appétit!

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Stella | Weserstr.166, 12045 Berlin | Mo – Fr, 12 – 6 pm | Facebook

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Kategorien: Places | Autor: | Datum: 15. April 2015 | Tags: , , , , , |  Keine Kommentare

Happyli ever after

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Happily ever after

Everybody knows it, everybody likes it, although nobody knows exactly why: The Märchenbrunnen (fountain of fairy tales). Even grown men get this dreamy look on their faces and are enchanted by the fairytale characters in this lovely corner of the Volkspark and turn into a tame softies. Let’s face it: Hansel and Gretel, Puss in Boots, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Snow White send us straight down memory lane and back to a time when children’s fantasies were part of reality, life was made of miracles and there was no daily routine. We still want to dream, we still want to believe. No matter how big, strong or evil you are, if a two year old hands you a toy phone, you’re going to answer it. Well, the fountain of fairy tales is no longer alone. Just across from the Märchenbrunne, the Fairytale Bar now takes us to the land of good and evil, happiness and horror and damn good drinks. With all the magic going on inside the Fairytale bar, it’s still all about enjoying exceptionally composed cocktails and long drinks. Come and sip on some magic potion, ease your mind and let your imagination go wild. If the phone rings and there’s no kid standing in front of you, just let it ring – you deserve it.
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Fairytales | Am Friedrichshain 24, 10407 Berlin | Facebook

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Kategorien: Places | Autor: | Datum: 25. März 2015 | Tags: , , , |  Keine Kommentare

The real meal.

The real meal.

What would it be like to open up a restaurant that used only regional, nay, local products? Withdrawing from a world of plenty and returning to the pace of life, where Nuremburg is as far away as Darussalam or Ulan Bator, and the season´s harvest dictates the menu and not the other way around? Sure, there is loads of regional cuisine out there, but what about a restaurant kitchen that strictly processes local produce and avoids using ingredients that have been shipped across the world altogether? No lemons, chocolate, tuna or even pepper – for example. Nobelhart & Schmutzig is the new restaurant where sommelier superstar Billy Wagner and chef Micha Schäfer do just that. Muscovy duck from the Prignitzer Landhof near Perleberg, or wild beet from the Wilde Gärtnerei, an agricultural collective in Rüdnitz – the Nobelhart & Schmutzig uses traditional techniques like fermentation, brining, pickling, acidification, salting and marinating to prepare food made only from seasonal products from around Berlin. Creativity through self-restraint is the recipe for success here. Exactly one menu is served at the rustic oak bar per evening. No à la carte or can-I-have-that-with-different-sides-please-rubbish here. Nope, no can do. The set menu has 10 – yes, TEN – courses, costs 80 Euros and is worth every single penny. Tap water included, too. Finally, someone has read the signs of the times and banished bottled water from the menu. Ever since we’ve had our Leogant system, we know just how good tap water can taste and what good it can do, once it has the same quality as spring water. Apart from that, you can of course indulge yourself in fantastic wines selected by the maestro himself, as well as brandies, local beer, teas or Kreuzberg coffee. Go on, live a little and treat yourself to a culinary self-experience and savour the origin of taste gone rock ’n’ roll. By the way, guess where our next muxmäuschenwild FAMILY STYLE is going to happen…?
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Speiselokal Nobelhart & Schmutzig | Friedrichstraße 218, 10969 Berlin – Kreuzberg | Tue–Sat from 6.30 pm | nobelhartundschmutzig.com | Reservierung | Photo: Caroline Prange

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Kategorien: Places | Autor: | Datum: 11. März 2015 | Tags: , , , , , |  Keine Kommentare