barbie comes to dinner

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i thought that today i'd write a brief post about some of my culinary adventures over the past couple weeks.

as you've probably heard, berlin is not exactly known for its superiour cuisine. they do, however, have the 3 (4? 5? 6?) am post-partying snack food pretty much down (thanks to the ubiquitous street-corner imbisses that serve a wide variety of multi-ethnic foods).

but in terms of your average meal, the quality of food for the price (esp. with the euro being as ridiculously expensive as it is at the moment) is often disappointing.

there are, of course exceptions - as i mentioned before, grill royal is VERY good (but also very expensive), as is alpenstück. oh, and near the funny farm there´s a place called pratergarten that has awesome salads and superlecker goulash....

and while these particular venues are admittedly upscale and high in foodie points (veal cheeks, anyone?) berlin barbie is not a total food snob, and by no means is suggesting that the only good food in berlin will bankrupt you.

for example:

the burger at white trash is both reasonably priced and really good. it's also served rare, which is nice for all us north americans who are sick of eating glorified hockey pucks. (the fuck you fries are an added bonus):



white trash also has great music, a warm and relaxed atmosphere, and fascinating decor (thanks to the superawesome laura of funny farm fame).

in fact, we went there with laura just the other night - this is her in another unbelievable outfit, with helen, a very cool artist currently practicing here in berlin - and despite it being a sunday, the place was packed until 3 am by the most diverse crowd i've ever seen.



this should give you a better idea of the vibe of the place (with live music):



anyway -

while i've enjoyed many different kinds of food here in berlin, as i'm sure you've heard, germany is first and foremost the land of pork:



now, you can get your schwein in a million forms, including several kinds of würst, weiner schnitzel so large that it covers the whole table (of course, schnitzel can also be made veal...) and schweinebraten (roasted pork). it's also added to a wide range of dishes for extra piggy flavour. and i've also found that it's common here to use pork fat in other dishes - especially vegetables (which means that if you are vegetarian, salad is probably the way to go).

i had a really fun dinner of roast wild boar the other night at this place, called schlesisch blau:



the best part about this meal was that there was no menu (the only choice you get is between veg and carni) and we all got to serve ourselves soup from a large bubbling pot on the side of the cozy, bustling dining room. of course, what made it so special were the ultracool people we dined with:



right now is the time of year for spargel, the plumpest, sweetest, juiciest white asparagus i have ever tasted. these are very commonly served with hollandaise sauce and a "side" of wiener schnitzel or ham. purists among us eat them with butter and perhaps a sprinkling of crumbled hard-boiled egg.

but no matter which way you slice it, this truly is a german delicacy, and a big hit with my parents who were visiting this week:



(and for all you etiquette enthusiasts, asparagus is the only veg that you're allowed to eat with your hands, which makes it taste even better. )

one thing i find disturbing about this city, frankly, is the number of sushi restaurants considering how few asian people i've seen around. having once been hospitalized after being poisoned by a sushi restaurant in toronto, i am very discerning about where i get my raw fish, and have not had the desire to eat any since i've been in berlin.

the other night, however, i attended a most wonderful sushi(!) dinner hosted by the lovely erica claus, the canadian cultural ambassador here in berlin. the dinner was in honour of david silcox, president of sotheby's canada who just won a governor general's award. the guests were fascinating, and the conversation was truly memorable...



plus, erica lives at what might be my favourite intersection thus far...



finally, i would like to mention a truly unique individual who i was fortunate enough to meet the last time she was visiting from amsterdam, where she lives. her name is marije vogelzang, and she is an eating designer. no - NOT a food designer. she said eating designer. she owns two restaurants (which you can check out here) and, being the ONLY eating designer in the world, she regularly teaches and lectures about her work, her philosophy, etc. - which is really quite fascinating.

if you're curious about what an eating designer does, exactly, check out this short vid of her talking about it - marije is a very articulate, sensitive and interesting speaker. definitely worth a listen:



okay, on that note i'm off - just got in from münchen and very tired.

i will be back soon with a post full of wide horizons and superiour design...

xo bohemian bratwürst barbie