Notes on most of our restaurant experiences during a one week trip to Berlin.
Sunday 10 April
Mogg, Auguststr. 11-13, is a limited-menu sandwich shop in the Old Jewish Quarter. They're located in a building which was formerly the Jewish Girls School (Ehemalige Jüdische Mädchenschule). The building dates to 1927, That, of course, was closed down as Jews were deported to be murdered under National Socialist policies. After the war the building saw a number of uses. More recently it was refurbed and now houses a number of small restaurants and art galleries.
We went back a few times over six days. We had both Rubens and Pastrami. Both are on a German rye bread, square loaf, sliced thickly (about 2 cm). Generous portion of meat, nice balance of cheese, dressing, and sauerkraut. Side of cole slaw and half of a small pickle. Seats were in demand, and we were lucky to get in when we went. If you can, I recommend you make a reservation.
On the way back to our hotel we noticed Wiener Brot Holzofenbäckerei at Tucholskystraße 31. The shop window is only a couple meters wide, but we liked the look of what we saw and went in. Good choice! The pastries are, not as is common in US bakeries, overly sweet. This allows the flavors of the fillings (fruit, cinnamon, chocolate, poppyseed) to come through clearly. Over several visits we tried strudels, struesels, and rolls. Hard to say a favorite, but I'll give my top three as the sour cherry streusel, and the cinnamon and chocolate rolls. This place is well worth going out of your way for a treat. They have a cute logo of a fox (with long eyelashes) carrying a baguette in its mouth. I would have bought one, but they don't sell t-shirts.
Monday 11 April
Jewish Museum cafeteria inside the Berlin Jewish Museum (Jüdische Museum Berlin) there is a well-reviewed cafeteria. The offerings seems to change, and the day we visited the items on the printed menu were not available. They did have daily specials, and we tried the cauliflower curry soup, and tandoori chicken. The soup was good, the chicken not so much. Although I would go back for the soup, I don't know how to be certain what offerings they have on any given day. Hit or miss.
Tuesday 12 April
There is a big deal in Berlin popular culture (maybe in German popular culture) for a dish called curry wurst. The legend is that it was invented in Berlin, and now there is a lot of buzz about various curry wurst shops. We went to one of the famous ones Konnopke's Diner. They are convenient by public transit, located underneath the U-Bahn tracks at Schönhauser Allee.
Okay, so now I've eaten official (East) German currywurst. And I don't see what the big deal is. It's a boiled bratwurst, cut into chunks, smothered in ketchup, and sprinkled with what seems to be canned curry powder. Some people claim, quite passionately, that this one was the best, but I can't see why any boiled bratwurst smothered in ketchup wouldn't serve just as well.
Rausch Schocoladehause is a fine chocolatier located at Charlottenstraße 60. They have three stories open, with the first devoted to sale of chocolate goods, the second where you can custom order a particular blend of ingredients at a particular "darkness" level. The third level (in European numbering, the second floor) has a cafe. We ordered coffee and cake. Quite delicious. Quite pricey. Nice for a splurge, but I wouldn't eat here on a regular basis. The store is decorated with a number of sculptures made of milk chocolate. Prominently displayed in the cafe is a chocolate Titanic. Wow! I hope their air conditioning system never breaks down.
Down the street from the New Synagogue we noticed a wall decoration characteristic of Thailand. On investigation it turned out to be the front of a Thai restaurant, Kamala at Oranienburger Str. 69. Their menu looked authentic enough (many of the Asian restaurant menus we had been seeing had odd combinations of offerings that left us unsure of what cuisine the chef actually knows how to make) so we gave it a try. From the street you take a few steps down to the restaurant door. Inside the restaurant is in three or four levels, with a few tables on each. Still concerned about COVID we liked that we could be mostly isolated in our own room (it was not crowded on our visit). Although the menu has many offerings, it seems that for the most part they have a few sauces which you can order with a few different proteins. We both ordered a Phanäng curry, mine with chicken and my wife's with duck. We were both satisfied. It had just enough spiciness to leave a little tingle in the mouth, and good balance of flavor.
Wednesday 13 April
After touring the Pergamon we felt we needed a snack, so we went to their cafeteria. It was a warm day and they were only seating outside on the terrace. This was nice because it overlooks the Spree River, and was quite pleasant surroundings. We ordered a Flamkuchen, a thin-crust German version of pizza. It was good enough. This was the only place where the waiter solicited a tip, and I gave them none.
For dinner I went to Pho at Linienstraße 134, a moderate walk from our hotel. I chose outdoor seating, and soon realized that many other people in outdoor seating are smokers. Oh well. Their menu adopts the conceit of an airline ticket. Cute. I ordered the summer rolls and a bowl of pho. The summer rolls were mostly okay, but in making them there were too many layers of the rice wrapper, making an unchewable chunk at one end. The pho was okay. I would have liked more vegetables in the broth. It had a good level of spiciness for my taste.
Thursday 14 April
After touring the Memorial to Murdered European Jews, we went to Noodles Plus at Hannah-Arendt-Straße 1. The menu had a mix of Chinese-looking items, and some with atypical ingredients, like peanut sauce. We ordered a dim sum assortment (four each of 3 different dumplings) and I tried their mapo dofu. Both were good.
Friday 15 April
Encouraged by favorable online reviews, we tried Bentokado at Eberswalder Str. 5. When we got there, we saw the sushi fish did not look particularly fresh, so opted against any of the sushi offerings. I ordered the miso ramen, which was okay. My wife ordered the shiitake vegan udon, which she said was very strange. She was very unhappy with her choice. She had been looking forward to ordering a Japanese cake for dessert based on the photos on the website, but on seeing the actual options changed her mind. Essentially, the name (which could translate from Japanese as "lunch box corner") is not at all what their menu is about.
