Have you ever planned a hot sauce tasting? Ever even imagined one? Well, maybe you should.

A few hot sauce favorites from a tasting at Pfefferhaus, Berlin

In Berlin, we’d experienced wine tastings, brandy tastings, beer tastings, even a whiskey tasting. And through them all we noticed something about the power of progression and comparison. It’s along a flavor and experience continuum that you can see, taste and feel subtle differences. When you do that, you can really begin to appreciate and understand.

And when you do that, you’ve arrived.

Hot Sauce Tasting in Berlin

Our afternoon hot sauce tasting episode in Berlin fell into the category of the completely unplanned. We had no idea such a thing existed. After scanning the selection of hot sauces at Pfefferhaus, our group was headed toward the door when we heard: “Do you want to do a tasting?”

A hot sauce tasting? Well, why not? What’s there to be afraid of?

Within minutes, Emil — our hot sauce sommelier — brought out small bowls and tasting spoons. Then, one by one, he dealt up hot sauce bottles from behind the counter and from a refrigerated tasting stash in the back. He walked us across an oral firestorm, from mild mango-infused chili sauces to pepper extracts so hot it was only possible to take them in toothpick-tipped doses.

Along the way, he would ask our opinions, plumbing our preferences for citrus or sweet, smoky or sour.

Like only a sommelier could, he’d modify our path — straighten it a little here, kink it a little there — ducking back into the refrigerator room to pull a few more bottles to custom-tailor the experience.

A half dozen bottles into the tasting, however, we began to reach a chili saturation. But we also wanted more.

“What’s the best drink to go with hot sauce?” we asked.

Emil’s without-a-beat response: “Beer, of course.”

Following his expert advice, a few of us shuffled off to a nearby grocery store, the fire of chipotle barbecue sauce still searing the ends of throat nerves and glands we never before knew existed.

Minutes later, we were equipped to continue — Emil, too — with beers in hand, a tray of palate soothing crackers at the ready.

“Has anyone ever brought beer to drink with the hot sauce tasting?” somebody asked.

“No, you are the first ones. But this is Berlin. This is what happens.”

Heat Up, Endorphins Up

As if the chipotle sauce wasn’t hot enough, we moved on to jolokia sauce. The thermostat seemed to increase in an already warm Indian summer-bathed showroom. Hot sauce to cry for became hot sauce to die for; toothpicks replaced tasting spoons as the delivery utensil of choice. We were into the serious stuff now — sauces whose Scoville ratings topped off at 750,000 (as comparison, habanero chilies are usually at 200,000).

The endorphins kicked in. And if you’d have overheard us, you might just think we’d just dropped acid.

“I’ve never felt this way.”

“Oh my god, can you feel that?”

“What’s happening to me. I feel like I’m melting.”

“I think I need help”

Some of us had to retire to a nearby bench to settle down. This hot sauce tasting was an experience of the entire body.

The hot sauce discussion between us continued later on Twitter:

We keep using the orange mango hot sauce on everything, so the buzz has been perpetual. Is this how addiction begins? – (@SarahEverts)

…keeps seeing pretty colors – worried about after-effects (+ ‘orange mango’ totally sounds like a kind of LSD) – (@Benno)

None of us will ever look at hot sauce in the same way again.

A hot sauce lineup.

Our Favorite Hot Sauces

1. Cajohns Killer Chipotle
This seemed to be the hot sauce that took just about everyone to the next level.

Surprising, long heat. A slow burn that at first feels like a caboose, then rages like a locomotive. While the heat and delivery were both memorable, it’s the smoky chipotle taste flavor that sets it apart. Quite possibly addictive, certainly best of show.

2. Blind Betty, Blind in the Rind
A hot sauce from the Virgin Islands that combines a light, fresh citrus flavor with a spicy kick. Imagine this as a great dipping sauce or topping on any chicken preparation.

3. Stinger Suicide Sauce
Jolokia. To some, the hottest pepper in the world. Also known as the ghost pepper or ghost chili. Eating one whole will turn you into a ghost. Combining the pepper with honey garlic yields a fiery, red flecked hot sauce to be wielded with care.

4. Eckart Mango Sauce
Our first taste of the day. Not a lot of heat; more a mango sweet and sour flavor with tiny kick. Great as a dipping sauce or to spice up a chicken or pork dish.

Fiery Sauces, Toothpicks Only

1. 357 Mad Dog
When a bottle of hot sauce has a “Use it at your own risk” warning label and tips the Scoville scale at 750,000, it’s time to take note. Just a toothpick tip into this darkness, a touch to the tongue, a few seconds, some smoke, some heat, it hits the back of the throat, then run for the border.

2. Blair’s Beyond Death
Like a traditional hot sauce that you might put on a chicken burger. Hints of cayenne and smoke.

3. Holy Shit Habanero
Hot smoke. The label rightly notes it’s like a “blast furnace.” Not sure if that means on the way in…or on the way out.

Remaining Hot Sauce Review

1. Hottest Ride in Town
Loved the tagline on this one: “Burns faster and hotter from tongue to tailpipe.”

Like a barbecue sauce, but raging.

2. Cajohns Fatali Purée
Another deadly chili, the fatali burns for a long time after an intense in-the-mouth kick.

3. Cajohns Killer Cayenne
Tasted a lot like a hot sauce that would form the basis of buffalo wing sauce. Almost purely cayenne heat.

4. Susie’s Spicyburning Desire
Another entry from the Caribbean, this time from Antigua. A rather straightforward hot sauce that leaves a trademark sour taste.

5. Blair’s Heat Jalapeño Tequila
Straightforward, hot like you’d expect a jalapeno blend to be. Hints of garlic, tomatillo, tequila, and maybe a bit too much vinegar.

6. Marie Sharps Exotic Sauce
Supposedly Roger Ebert likes it. We didn’t especially. Not because it wasn’t good, but perhaps because of the stiff competition. A hint of habanero, but mainly a spice sauce, rather than a hot sauce per se.

Hot Sauce Tasting in Berlin: How To

Pfefferhaus is located at Dircksenstraße Bogen Nr. 94 on the outside ground floor area of Alexanderplatz U/S-bahn station. The tasting table is near the cashier’s desk. Inform Emil (or whoever happens to be working that day) as to your heat tolerance and hot sauce taste preference: smoky, sweet, sour, citrus, etc. Pick up a beer from the grocery store across the street (pair it all with the neutral, unflavored variety of Tuc crackers) and enjoy the ride. Open from 11-19:00 Monday-Saturday.

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What is marriage, if not a leap of faith?

Fourteen years ago, on or around our second date, Audrey and I went skydiving together. It was, as you might imagine, both terrifying and fantastic. And as much as you also might also imagine that it wiped away my fear of heights, it did not. Perhaps it chiseled away at that wall, but it certainly didn’t tear it down. I still swoon thinking about that airplane canopy above 16,000 feet. I still get wobbly above 10 stories.

So here we are 14 years later in Berlin, celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary. What better way to recognize the occasion than to jump (base fly) from the top of a 37-story building?

Photo courtesy of Yuhang Yuan, one of our awesome friends who came out to support us

Berlin Base Flying: The Experience

As often happens in life, it’s one thing to talk about doing something and quite another to actually do it. The same goes for launching oneself from a tall building in Berlin.

Hanging above Berlin, waiting for the 400 foot drop

The following video tells that story. If after the video you stick around to read the rest of this piece, we’ll explain what base flying is. And we’ll offer a little marriage advice.

Base Flying in Berlin: Celebrating 11 Years of Marriage

Special thanks to Sarah Everts for her camera work and support.

The Base Flying Process, Start to Finish

We arrived at the lobby of the Park Inn and were given one of those “this is totally safe, but there’s an outside chance you might end up like a pancake” waivers to sign. Here are my favorite segments:

Not to be outdone, it follows:

Rough translation: If you poop your pants, it’s on you.

I had reservations on both accounts, but I signed anyhow.

As for the mechanics of the base flying process, it’s pretty quick. (And I’m pleased to report, painless):

1) Go to the roof of the building (take an elevator, then walk up the stairs from floor 37). The view from atop the Park Inn Berlin is spectacular, especially if the weather is as immaculate as it was on the day of our jump.

2) Get outfitted in a harness and hooked to an industrial strength wire contraption that is attached to the side and roof of the building.

3) You try out your harness rig in a superman pose above stable ground with one of the crew.

4) The crew walks you out to the edge of the jumping platform where you are raised on the hook and out over open ground. This is profoundly terrifying. You pretend like you are thrilled and look at the camera. Remember to smile.

Forcing a smile through the terror

5) Then you drop, free-falling for about 5 seconds (but time almost stands still). Wild. As you reach the end, the wire suspension device executes a controlled deceleration so you experience absolutely no sudden jerking motion as you might with bungee jumping.

View from below

6) Run around Alexanderplatz in your white jumpsuits, hug your friends who have been cheering you on and head over to Pfefferhaus for a round of hot sauce tasting (stay tuned for our next piece).

And Finally, A Little Marriage Advice

When people ask us for marriage advice, I often feel like a kid, not the sort of person you go to for marriage counsel.

Friends who had been married only a few years recently asked, “So what advice can you give after 11 years?”

I replied: “You’re married, right? Then it’s too late”

But quite seriously, here’s my 11-year-thoughts-on-marriage offer: Marriage is a lot of work, much in the way a garden might be. You reap the rewards that you sow.

Now go forth and jump off a building.

Go Base Flying in Berlin

Location: Park Inn at Alexanderplatz, Berlin. Jochen Schweizer is the company that operates the base flying. Look for their desk near the concierge.

Operating hours: Usually open only on weekends, weather permitting. Call ahead to be sure it’s open.

Costs: Although base flying may not be the cheapest activity going in Berlin, the price strikes us as pretty fair considering how unique this experience is and the safety and sophistication of the equipment. Try to go early in the morning for the best deals.

• Basic Base-Flying: €79
• 2nd person: €39
• Early Bird (10-11 AM): €49
• Happy Hour (18-19 AM): €59

We asked how many people chicken out once they are on the roof. The crew’s response: “It’s actually very few people – only about 2-3%. And it’s usually the guys with the big mouths talking it up the most.”

–

Thanks and Disclosure:
First off, a big thanks to the Jochen Schweizer crew on top of the Park Inn. Cedrik, Tilman and the rest of the folks were safety conscious, supportive and very funny (check out Tilman in the video) — exactly the type of people you want around you when you’re about to jump off a building.

Our base flying experience was provided to us by Jochen Schweizer, an experience company whose offers include high adrenaline and adventure activities around the world.

As always, these words, experiences and opinions are entirely our own.

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In the early 20th century, Potsdamer Platz featured one of the busiest intersections in all of Europe and served as a hub for Berlin nightlife. But as in much of the city, World War II took its toll and Potsdamer Platz emerged in a pile of rubble. Not long after, the Berlin Wall was run right through the middle. The few remaining buildings were eventually demolished and this once busy intersection became a desolate no man’s land between East and West until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

During our earliest visits to Berlin in 2002, Potsdamer Platz was a full-on construction site. Its skyful of cranes and building skeletons — best captured from Brandenburg Gate — slowly filled in with finished skyscrapers on each of our subsequent visits, and the place took shape.

The Sony Center below, a sort of indoor tent with a rooftop that looks like one part parachute and another part amusement ride is another turn of the page in a story that is Berlin, that is Potsdamer Platz.

Panorama: Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz, Berlin

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If you wish to learn about a place, eat your way to the answer. This maxim resonates no less so than in Berlin, a city whose history tells of a rise from the ashes and from oppression and whose present-day witnesses a continual carving out of its own identity.

For as much as we’ve learned and eaten during our time in Berlin, there was apparently still more to eat, still more to learn.

So we accepted an opportunity to take a gastro rally, a one-night deep-dive into the Berlin food scene, its mainstream and its edge, all wrapped in a Berlin history and culture lesson.

And this was its flavor.

Berlin: The History

Henrik Tidefjaerd, founder of the Berlin Gastro Rallye, scanned the intersection taking it all in en plein air with a look of contentment on his face. He explains, “I like to start my tours here. Rosenthaler Platz is important historically, it represents the continually changing nature of Berlin”

Henrik would be our host and guide – cultural, historical, gastronomical – for the evening.

Although we’ve crossed this intersection countless times — on foot, on our bicycles and on public transport – Henrik focuses our attention. We believed we’d already understood the place, but as he tells the story, we begin to envision the towers that once defined the edges of the old medieval walled city until the mid 1800s.

Before World War II, Rosenthaler Platz was one of the busiest intersections in Berlin. When Henrik moved to Berlin almost ten years ago, however, it was relatively quiet — a few restaurants and shops, almost sketchy in the dust of the fall of the Berlin wall. Nothing like today, where the intersection bustles, fashion moves apace, cafes and restaurants open anew, and creative and digital businesses spring up – earning it the affectionate moniker: Berlin’s Silicon Alley.

Destruction and renewal. Themes of the city; themes of the night.

Berlin: The Attitude

As we make our way to the first taste, Henrik sets the stage for the restaurants we are about to visit, the historical background and the waves and shift of the Berlin food scene.

“Berlin lost everything; it’s still emerging. There’s still a strong entrepreneurial spirit in Berlin, a creativity, a drive to experiment. You can see this now in the gastro scene.”

But he warns: ‘Don’t expect glam. If you want that, it’s better to stay in another city. Berlin is a ‘come as you are’ place; it welcomes you for who you really are.”

And with this, we arrive at our first stop.

Berlin Food: The Cuisine Scene

W Imbiss: Fusion Naan Pizza!
This snack cafe catches my eye from across the street because the “W” in its name is cleverly portrayed as an upside down McDonald’s “M” — cheeky and appropriate. It’s casual and you have to order at the counter, but it’s not at all about high volume.

Henrik explains that Gordon W, its Canadian owner, had traveled extensively; this was his experiment in combining influence from different cuisines — Indian, Italian and Californian — with fresh local ingredients. Fusion pizza sounded as if it could go very wrong, but we reserved our opinions for the meal.

A few minutes later, two plates with “naan pizzas” arrive. One is slathered in spicy guacamole and topped with sundried tomatoes and mounds of rucola and bean sprouts. The other is topped with cooked spinach, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and sprouts.

A surprisingly authentic naan with a crunchy bottom – straight from a tandoor oven – has an aroma that hints at the South Asian subcontinent. Together with the cool, fresh ingredients piled on top, the entire creation is about layers of texture and flavor.

That this hasn’t become a world food trend is puzzling. It ought to be.

W Imbiss: Naan pizzas run from €6-€8 and are satisfying and large, almost enough for two people to share. We’ve returned several times and can recommend the artichoke naan pizza and bean quesadilla (€5, also huge), and specials like the curry chanterelle naan pizza. The inside is small, maybe five or six tables, but tables outside are perfect for three seasons. Address: Kastanienallee 49, Mitte

Vino e Libri: Sardianian Cuisine, Refined and Down-to-Earth
As we approach Vino e Libri, Henrik explains that this Italian (Sardinian, actually) restaurant had been around for ten years, a virtual eternity in modern Berlin terms.

The entrance almost looks like a cigar and book club – overflowing bookshelves to one side, a wine bar to the other. Library and aroma, wine and books, warm and cozy.

Our meal is refreshingly light and flavorful – grilled giant prawn over tomato basil ragu, sesame-encrusted whitefish atop greens and mandarin wedges, and roasted zucchini and potatoes, all served amidst artful dots of balsamic reduction. The citrus highlights of a Cantina Terian Winkl Sauvignon from the Italian Tirol makes for an exceptional pairing.

After the meal, we are invited into the kitchen to meet the Sardinian chef and owner, Bruno Lai. As we chat, he tosses pasta and cooks up another dish with prawns and garlic.

Another reminder that the best meals are usually rather simple in nature, but cooked with the right ingredients and care.

Vino e Libri: Bring a book, get a book – and enjoy reading with a glass of wine. Lunch menu starts at €5.50 (recommend the spaghetti with mussels) while the standard menu begins at €10 for pastas (e.g., homemade pumpkin ravioli) and finishes at €20 for main seafood and meat dishes. Address: Torstrasse 89, Mitte

Chen Che: Honest-to-Goodness Vietnamese
Having had our share of mediocre Vietnamese and Thai food in Berlin (we understand our travels have spoiled us), we hold our expectations in check when we hear the next stop is a Vietnamese restaurant.

Vietnamese is a big food influencer in Berlin. Henrik explains that during the Communist era, Vietnamese migrant workers were sent to East Berlin to help Vietnam repay its foreign debt to East Germany. Many of them stayed. This is why you’ll still see large Vietnamese communities in what was formerly East Berlin.

Our food arrives on beautiful trays covered in steamers and bowls, decorative porcelain tops, bamboo, warm airs and mystery. Soup, mixed vegetables, rice, stewed pork, fried codfish and pickled vegetables. This daily taster menu – usually served at lunch for around €8.50 – is our evening “snack.”

Although we were already full, we couldn’t resist the stewed pork, fall-off-the-bone tender. The stew and aroma hints at real Vietnamese flavors: star anise, maybe even some allspice, topped with fresh coriander and shredded green onions. The codfish was also spot on – fried lightly so the outside featured a thin crust to protect the tender fish inside.

Chen Che: If you are looking for real Vietnamese food in Berlin, this ought to be one of your first stops. The décor is also fun and beautifully thought out. Try going for lunch to take advantage of the daily taster menu option. Address: Rosenthaler Str. 13, Mitte

Weinbar Rutz: A Food Temple
Earlier in the evening, Henrik had explained that we would conclude our tour at a “food temple.” I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but when we arrived at Weinbar Rutz I knew we were there.

High-end, low-key. You might also say “very Berlin.” Henrik did. I look at him sitting across the table from us in his Miami Vice t-shirt and smiled. Everyone is welcome as they are. We like that.

Billy Wagner, the resident sommelier and our host took us on a ride, an experience, something that felt like a dining experiment — through our desserts and wines and they how they were conceived and crafted.

The core flavor inspiration for the evening came from the black locust flower. As Billy describes it, these trees grow wild on the outskirts of Berlin. Some of the staff had gone earlier in the summer to pick the flowers. We had images in our head of wait staff and hosts, in their outfits, jumping over fences, climbing trees and stealthily collecting petals in wicker baskets before some unsuspecting owner of the black locusts returned home.

Kidding aside, our first dessert featured a wine glass layered in plum wine sauce, kiwi and plum compote, all topped with locust flower foam. While the whole experience was something that almost bordered on the edges of molecular gastronomy, it was the black locust that blew the mind.

It tasted like nothing we’ve ever had, in a way that we could never aptly describe. Like thinking of citrus, maybe a grapefruit, while chewing a violet and thinking of a wide open field of poppies. Rarely is a dessert so ethereal.

Finally, the whole architecture is finished off with a thin, crunchy cookie studded with meringue drops. With the first spoonful of this light, crisp — but not certainly not too sweet — foam, Henrik’s earlier words resonate: “Once we get to the last restaurant, you’ll forget all that you’ve eaten in the night.”

Billy’s wine pair: Wolfer Goldgrube Riesling Kabinett 2008. “Take a bite of the dessert, then a sip of the wine. Just trust me.”

We did.

Dan’s response: “It’s like eating a party dress.”

Weinbar Rutz: One of the first and finest establishments in the league of high-end Berlin restaurants. The menu revolves around “inspirations” usually with a minimum of two interpretations served for each course. For most, this is not for the every day (expect a minimum of €100/person for dinner), but perhaps for very special occasions. Unforgettable for sure. Address: Chausseestraße 8

Berlin Food: The Future

As we wound up our evening (yes, this was all in one evening, if you can still believe it), Henrik gives us a walking tour glimpse of the Berlin food scene future with a stroll along Torstrasse.

Along the way, we poke into individually owned restaurants with small spaces and artistic treats: a mosaic with revolving pieces from the former DDR parliament in one, a meat locker from a converted butcher in another. Menus change weekly or even daily based on what’s fresh in the market, or what’s fresh in the head of the lead chef.

Henrik notes that perhaps just as important as the food, the environment: “When people go out to eat in Berlin, they go for community. These restaurants give you this – you know the people around, you become friends with the staff, you feel at home.”

And as Berlin evolved, rents went up in areas around Hackescher Markt and restaurants sprang up here on Torstrasse. As Torstrasse perhaps follows a similar evolution, another neighborhood is busy creating something new.

Destruction and renewal. Movement and opportunity. This is what keeps Berlin and its cuisine scene ever-evolving, hopefully ever-experimental.

—-

A note on Henrik and Berlin Agenten: Henrik’s knowledge is vast and deep. If cuisine is your thing, he can talk it. History, yes. Clubs, those too. He’s also the quintessential Berlin story: a Swedish guy who came and loved the place and now calls it his own.

Henrik’s company offers several Gastro Rallye food tour options, including the Enjoy tour similar to what we outlined above. For the budget-minded, we understand these are not inexpensive – €180-€250/person. You need to think of it as an experience rather than a restaurant tour — a culinary and cultural journey through Berlin’s past, present and future.

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 17 comments

You know it’s been a long day at the beer festival when guys in lederhosen start doing the moonwalk.

-– The essence of the moment, Saturday night at the Berlin beerfest.

More than 2,000 beers from over 300 breweries hailing from 86 countries — all spread out over two kilometers in the middle of the city. No, this is not Oktoberfest.

So many beers yet so little time. That’s the Berlin Beer Festival.

While we don’t really consider ourselves beer experts, living in the Czech Republic for five years did a bit to realign our taste buds. Living thick in a beer-brewing culture tuned us onto the importance of the essence, ingredients, and dimensions of a good beer — hops, yeast, malt, foam and head, appearance, aroma and finish.

When we heard the 15th annual Berlin Bierfestival was on, we sensed a good opportunity to dip into some draft goodness — from the crafty trappist brewers of Belgium to the cuckoo beers of German monasteries.

Berlin Beerfest: A Few Favorites

After some sampling, our inclinations were confirmed. Belgian, German and Czech beers really are among the best, if not the best in the world. Sure it’s the science — the right ingredients like hops and water are important. But it’s the art, the hands of craft brewers and their tradition are what make a good beer into something truly great.

Grimbergen Optimo Bruno: Belgium. A dark, double fermented beer, Optimo Bruno quite possibly takes the golden bear award for the weekend. Weighing in at a hefty 10% alcohol content, but with a subtlety and oh-so-slight sweetness that its Grimbergen Double and Triple cousins (also tasty) couldn’t quite pull off.

Blond, Double, or Triple, Grimbergen were all worthy of a quaff. Grimbergen (and Belgium in general) clearly does something special with its brews.

Leffe Dark: Belgium. Many know the name. Perhaps you’ve had a bottle of blond. If you haven’t had a taste of the Leffe Dark, seek it out. Rich, roast-y, a bit of ale, and the tiniest bit of fruit. This is one to sit with. And so we did, for an hour-long conversation among friends.

Radigks Roggenbier: Brandenburg, Germany. Our final taste of the weekend and what a way to depart. A rye beer, creamy and rich. When the pour was finished, bubbles welled up from the bottom of the glass. An effervescent pour with beautiful foam, but quick to disappear. Soft, almost like silk. And not sweet, only the slightest bit rye. Some claim they get bananas out of a glass of the stuff, but we somehow missed that highlight.

Fuller’s Vintage Ale: United Kingdom. Of the ales we tasted, this was the one we enjoyed most. Not an exceptionally strong ale. Light, but a hint of nut. Slightly chilled, it struck us as surprisingly perfect on a warm day.

Of course, one also needs lots of bratwurst to go with all this beer.

Bernard: Czech Republic. One of our favorite neighborhood beers from our days in Prague. When served from a clean tap (not always the case), it’s full, heady, unpasteurized and just bitter enough. For a crisp, clean pilsner it’s among the best.

Katharina von Bora Kuckucksbier: Saxony, Germany. Here’s a beer with story. Named after Martin Luther’s wife, the brewery is literally run by a bunch of nuns. But they crank out some interesting barrels, including this medium brew that finishes like a dunkel with a faint touch of honey.

Zunft Kölsch: Cologne, Germany. Our first time tasting a Kölsch, the traditional beer of the German city of Köln (Cologne). Mildly grassy, grainy, hoppy. Fresh and crisp, only a hint of bitter. Traditionally served in tall, very skinny glasses (think something to hold a gin and tonic.)

Prost!

—

So next time we’re faced with 2,000 beers, where should we begin?

Where would you begin? What are your favorite beers of the world?

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 18 comments

If you look more closely, you’ll also see cranes in the distance — a skyline feature of Berlin’s continual redefinition. Even though it has been 20 years since reunification, the city is still constantly changing, evolving.

Panorama: Reichstag Rooftop and Glass Dome – Berlin, Germany

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Unfortunately, gone are the days when you could just show up on the steps of the Reichstag and head up to the roof to poke around and enjoy the view. These days, the visit is still free, you’ll need to book your visit in advance. Check out the Bundestag website for more information.

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Perhaps nothing expresses this better than the graffiti street art wrapping the ground floor of an apartment complex we stumbled upon near Berlin’s Hallesches Tor.

Given our experience visiting Berlin over the last decade, this collection of images strikes as us a suitable testament to the city’s human spirit and ethnic contours.

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After a visit to a family winery in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia this past October, I imagine that’s how winemakers sometimes feel.

During a weekend crush event at Bickel-Stumpf winery, we helped pick the season’s Cabernet Sauvignon. We enjoyed the blazing autumn sun, we ate heartily, and we tasted far too many wines. And like any roundly fulfilling experience, one of life’s lessons was reinforced along the way: the best in life is often less about glamour and more about hard work, mettle, and passion.

Morning Wine and the Harvest
After a 10:30 AM wake-up glass of Reisling — fresh, crisp and reminding us why we were all gathered that day — we were off to the family vineyards in Thüngersheim to start picking.

About 25 of us were paired off and set free to move up the wine rows armed with buckets and clippers. Our task: leave no ripe grapes behind.

The harvest staff – seasonal workers mainly from Romania and Poland — followed behind us, replacing our buckets as we filled them and swooping in when we missed a bunch. (With German efficiency at work, this rarely happened).

The workers must have been laughing to themselves, “These crazy people are actually paying to do this?”

With little urging, we sampled some of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes we’d cut. Rarely, if ever, do grapes taste this good. Sweet with a bit of tart to balance the sugar, and a distinct flavor hinting at the wine they’ll become.

There was something satisfying about clipping ripe berries, hands a-purple. Our temptation to romanticize was mitigated by the fact that we’d only clipped a tiny fraction of the vineyard. Not to mention that harvest is only one event; vineyards need to be watched, cultivated. By no means do grapes follow the Jack and the Beanstalk narrative.

The business of wine making is about acquired knowledge in agriculture, chemistry, geology and a fine palate to discern flavors imperceptible to others. And that’s when things go well. Otherwise, it’s about battling the elements and seeing years – like this one in Central Europe – where only 30% of your typical grape harvest makes it because of an uncooperative summer marked by heavy rain.

Winemakers work with what is, and they marshal it all to create a fine, quaffable example of liquid artistry.

Leberkäse and Federweisser
We broke for lunch at picnic tables arranged on the edge of the winery and watched Reimond, the father and head winemaker, slice butcher-fresh, steaming loaves of leberkäse onto soft bread. (Leberkäse literally means “liver cheese,” but don’t be fooled. It contains neither of those. One of the other guests put it nicely, “Do you know leberkäse? It’s everything mixed together at the butcher. We don’t eat it often because it’s not very healthy, but it’s perfect to eat like this.”)

Unhealthy perhaps, but fitting after a morning of clipping in the crisp air and sun.

We washed down our sandwiches with glasses of federweisser, a cloudy, fermenting wine available only around harvest time. Although federweisser tastes one step away from grape juice, it’s deceptively powerful and continues to ferment in your stomach.

Cheeks reddened with the sun and the next round of drinks. The Romanian workers even kicked in an offer of home-brewed slivovice (plum brandy) for good measure.

A Franconian Feast
Later that evening, after a walk in the vineyard and tour of the Bickel-Stumpf production facilities, we gathered at the family’s home in the small town of Frickenhausen am Main in the 500-year old family cellar — the same one once used to store the family’s winter provisions of potatoes, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, and barrels of wine.

These days, the cellar serves as a hollowed-out storybook setting for a beautiful, candlelit dinner and wine-tasting.

We piled our plates with hearty Bavarian food: schweinbraten and kloss (roast pork potato stuffing balls), red cabbage and brussel sprouts. Wine flowed — their signature Silvaner; a classic Riesling; Scheurebe, a delightful hybrid of the two; a Müller-Thurgau; and a stand up Spätburgunder, a German style pinot noir.

Melanie, whom we originally befriended in Berlin, shared stories of growing up in a family of winemakers: “My father used to tell us that water we had to pay for, while wine we had and could drink for free.”

Her mother and father both came from a long line of winemaking families. When they married, each one kept the family vineyards (one in Frickenhausen, the other in Thüngersheim) for growing, but they merged production facilities. And the Bickel-Stumpf label was born. In this current generation, Melanie works for VDP, the German wine quality association, and her brother, Matthias, works alongside his father as a winemaker.

Melanie and Matthias have even joined forces to create a blend of traditional German white wine varietals that pairs well with spicy Asian food, a favorite of Melanie’s. The wine is called “26” in honor of when it was first conceived on her 26th birthday.

An affinity for all things wine clearly runs in the family.

Note: We tried this wine with spicy Thai curries and a spicy Hungarian paprika sauce. We can vouch that it was excellent with both. And at 7.50 €/bottle, it’s also very reasonably priced.

Ice Wine Passion
Reimond later came around with tall, slim bottles of schnapps, grappa and cognac. Melanie explained that in addition to this and everything else we’d tasted, her father also makes ice wine. After the harvest, he often leaves a few rows of grapes on the vine. For proper ice wine, grapes have to freeze and be picked at exactly –11 degrees Celsius.

“It used to drive my mother crazy; the thermometer would always hit -11 Celsius — during the holidays. Family would be gathered around and my father would run into the fields to check on his frozen grapes. She tried to forbid my father from leaving fields for ice wine, but it didn’t work,” Melanie laughed.

Reimond later opened a bottle of ice wine from 1999. As he did, he explained why the grapes need to freeze and how the press process differs from ordinary wine. The amount of juice extracted from each raisin-like grape is miniscule. The result is something like the white wine equivalent of liquid gold. Sweet, not cloying. Like nectar, refined and meant to be appreciated in small doses.

As we sipped, Reimond was probably already thinking ahead as to whether this year’s conditions would be right.

With some hard work, maybe he’ll be lucky.

Photo Slideshow: Bavarian Wine Crush Weekend

If you don’t have a high-speed connection or you would like to read the captions, you can view our Bavarian Wine Crush Weekend photo essay.

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Istanbul is like Kreuzberg, but less Turkish.

– A Berlin cabbie puts the city’s Turkish neighborhood in perspective.

Take a walk down any street in Kreuzberg, Berlin and you’ll find scads of döner shops offering shaved, spiced meat (usually lamb) served inside rolled flatbread or in a bread pocket. At a distance, all döner shops look similar – meat sears away on a giant spindle, colorful salads await, and a few guys of Turkish origin zip around putting it all together.

Panorama: Inside Tekbir Döner, in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighborhood

For best panorama viewing results, press fullscreen (four arrows) and navigate around with your mouse.

But looks can be deceiving: every döner shop – and indeed every döner – is unique.

Döner components:

1) Type of meat
Typically you’ll find pressed lamb on the spindle, but if you search Berlin deeply enough, you might find a place that serves veal instead. Veal on a spindle may look a little funky — dark here, pinkish there — but fear not for the meat is the real deal.

Bilal, one of the employees of Tekbir Döner, explained to us why Tekbir’s style of döner is unique: “Our meat is real meat. It’s 100% veal and we cook it all ourselves. This place has been making döner like this for 30 years. Only we and one other place do it like this.”

2) Machine or hand-cut?
Some places, like Hasir Restaurant (supposedly where döner sandwiches were first served up, way back in 1971) cut all their döner meat by hand with a knife. Other shops use a device that looks one part hand-sander and one part barber-shop shaver. In either case, the goal: to slice the döner meat as thinly as possible. Purists may contend that hand-cut is better, but to us taste is more about the meat than the instrument used to cut it.

3) Bread
Most shops offer an option of im brot (literally “in bread”) where the fillings are stuffed into a triangle of Turkish fladdenbrot (flatbread), or a durum döner, where the sandwich is made with a lavash-style flatbread that sort of looks like a tortilla.

The durum flatbread usually goes seamlessly from the oven to to the döner master. In other words, freshly made. If the master is really feeling it that day, he pats the meat spindle with the durum to dab it with a bit of flavor (and grease) before piling on the fillings.

A durum döner.

4) Salad
The standard döner salad toppings on offer: finely cut tomatoes, red onions and lettuce. The balance of veggies is what makes the difference: too much onion and your döner is out of balance, too little and you miss that bite. The goal is for the fresh and crunchy vegetables to compliment the tender meat and fresh bread. Not to mention, a few vegetables lend the body a cleansing service.

5) Sauces
For us, sauces can make or break a döner experience. Usually, you’ll have your choice between yogurt garlic-herb sauce and hot sauce, if not others. But if the sauce is too sweet, your döner falls out of balance. Too salty and you are parched mid-meal. Somewhere in between with a bit of heat is just about right.

6) The People, The Story
These are the guys, the döner and flatbread masters behind it all. Many take to their trade like artists. Ask around and you’ll find some were born in Turkey while others of Turkish origin were born in Germany.

When we spoke to Bilal, he explained that he had been working at Tekbir Döner for only a few months. “I’m from Anatolia. I learned English there since I worked as a tour guide. I studied in Germany, but I am in Berlin only a couple of months. I like it, but I miss my home, Turkey.”

As one friend in Berlin joked, “It’s difficult to have a bad interaction at a döner place in Kreuzberg.” I agree – even with my bumbling, non-existent German language skills, I was always treated with a smile and patience — not to mention conversation regarding life, where I was from, and how long I was in Berlin.

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The perfect döner is all a matter taste. Everyone has his own angle, his own preference, his own inner döner.

If you consider yourself a döner veteran, do you have a favorite döner place in Berlin or elsewhere in the world? And what makes the döner so special?

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 13 comments

During our time in Berlin we lived near Kottbusser Tor in the Kreuzberg neighborhood, smack in middle of what our visiting friends deemed “little Turkey.” Food was fresh, accessible, brimming with flavor and typically served by folks who took pride in their cuisine, interest in us as human beings, and great pleasure in serving up an experience.

So here’s our top ten cheap eats in Berlin. Many Turkish, some German, one Asian. Mind you, this list reflects not only what is inexpensive, but more importantly what is high-quality.

1. Gel Gör Inegöl Köfteci

Köfte usually means herbed minced lamb meatballs, but Gel Gör does it with a twist by using veal instead. And the result is astronomically good. They charcoal grill the meat just tender; the aroma and taste are both unforgettable. Next up, the bread: perfectly fresh, soft, then (blow my mind) dabbed and toasted on the charcoal grill. The whole thing is topped with salad greens, red onions, arugula (rucola) and mint. Sauces are also standout: spicy red pepper sauce, garlic yogurt, and a yellow herb sauce. Go for all three. Have them top the whole thing with a dash of sumac and some red pepper flakes (for spice lovers) and your taste buds will go insane.

I’m told the proper way to down a Gel Gor köfte baguette is to drink it with ayran (drinkable Turkish yogurt). However, Gel Gor offers a formidable beer selection featuring prices only a few dimes over prices at a bottle shop.

Note: Gel Gor has a brother-location on Oranianstrasse called Doyuran. Unfortunately, the experience there can’t hold a hot charcoal to the one at the far superior Kottbusser Damm location. Not to mention, no golden herb sauce and a lackluster beer selection.

What to get: Köfte baguette (3.00€); even bigger köfte spezial (4.50€). Meatatarians take the plunge with the köfte plate.
Where to get it: Gel Gör Inegöl Köfteci, Kottbusser Damm 80, Kreuzberg / Neukölln Phone: 030 69582753. Open 24 hours.

2. Tadim Lahmacun

Lahmacun (Turkish pizza) at its best. A friend who visited likened lahmacun to the Turkish version of a burrito. But it’s much more than that. Lahmacun is a rolled, thin flatbread dough topped with an herbed ground meat and baked until crispy. Ask the guys to top it with salad (tomato, flat parsley, onion, lettuce), some hot or yogurt sauce and a bit of sumac, a squeeze of lemon; they roll it up a la burrito. You can also try it with döner meat inside, but we are fans of the lahmacun alone.

Call us purists. Turkish pizza purists.

What to get: Lahmacun (Turkish pizza) with salad (1.50€) or salad and sauce (1.70€).
Where to get it: Tadim Lahmacun, Adalbertstrasse 98, Kreuzberg. Phone: 030 61609280.

3. Maroush

Tasty, accessible Lebanese food. Excellent falafel sandwiches stuffed with freshly fried falafel balls, salad and a surprisingly hefty dose of tahini (sesame sauce). Chicken shawarma sandwiches are chock-full of chicken and feature a tuck of French fries. Sounds odd, but the combo works oh so well. The final touch on both sandwiches: the stuffed pita is “sealed” in a sandwich press.

Open late and usually packed. We ate here so often that we became shareholders when we departed Berlin.

What to get: Chicken shawarma or falafel sandwich (3.00€)
Where to get it: Maroush, Adalbertstrasse 98, Kreuzberg. Phone: 030 61609280.

4. Knofi

Gözleme generally refers to spinach and cheese or meat-stuffed Turkish crepes. But Knofi takes it up a notch with their gössies, Turkish-Mediterranean crepes rolled thin and stuffed with a spinach or ground meat-vegetable filling and cooked atop a circular iron.

It should be a crime to serve something so delicately crepe-like and tasty for so little money. The real secret, however, are the sauces Knofi sides with its gössies. Tatziki, hummus paste, and an otherworldly adjika-like, not-so-spicy chili walnut sauce. Our only regret: not eating here more often.

The cafe is labeled as an “art cafe” and features a segment of clientele trying very hard to fit that profile.

What to get: Gössies (3.80€), vegetarian or meat.
Where to get it: Knofi, Bergmannstrasse 98, Kreuzberg. Phone: 030 6945807. Note that Knofi has a deli location on Oranianstrasse which carries beautiful deli items and spreads, but not gössies.

5. Tekbir Döner

Like all good things, by word of mouth, friend of a friend. A tip from an Indian guy in the neighborhood who had himself been tipped off by a Turkish neighbor. This is how all great döner scavenger hunts begin.

Although the meat on the spindle may look sketchy: rougher, darker than other döner huts, don’t fear. Tekbir’s meat spindle is stacked with cut veal instead of processed or pressed lamb döner meat. As a result, the texture is very much real meat, like cut steak in a steak-and-cheese. And the taste is the stuff of beautiful, sweet mystery. Maybe some allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg. In any case, it’s elegant. The yogurt sauce is tart, as if it’s straight ayran, rather than sweetened yogurt or mayonnaise you might find lurking elsewhere.

The whole package is rolled in a Turkish style lavash-like flatbread called a durum.

Best of all, Tekbir is the real deal, real neighborhood, and everyone working and eating there is extraordinarily friendly. They served us free Turkish tea during each visit. It doesn’t get much better than that.

What to get: Durum döner, 3.50€.
Where to get it: Tekbir Döner, Skalitzer Straße 23, Kreuzberg

6. Hasir Restaurant
The godfather and supposed birthplace of the döner sandwich (1971). Hasir is also the place where Anthony Bourdain ate when he came to Berlin. So does Hasir live up to the hype?

While we wouldn’t count Hasir durum döner the best in Berlin, it is good. The key is the meat, possibly some of the best standard lamb doner around: nicely flavored, cut by hand, thin slices. Our only beef with Hasir is that their sauces tend to be a bit on the sweet side, particularly the funky hot sauce. Also, Hasir suffers a bit under the volume of tourist traffic, so expect occasionally brusque, yet slow service.

What to get: Durum doner (3€) to go. If you sit down, share a döner plate and some fried artichoke hearts stuffed with cheese (4.50€) or kunefe (4.50€) for dessert.
Where to get it: Hasir Restaurant, Adalbertstraße 12, Kreuzberg, tel: 030 61659222 (note: Hasir has several restaurants around town, but this is the original.)

7. Doyum Grillhaus

It’s always a good sign when a Turkish restaurant is packed with Turkish people round-the-clock. The döner meat (lamb) is spot on, piled plentifully and topped with lots of fresh salad. Great sauce with a roasted chili taste. The adana kebab (pictured above) looked pretty nice, too. Next time.

What to get: Durum döner (3.50€).
Where to get it: Doyum Grillhaus, Admiralstraße 37-38, Kreuzberg

8. Hamy

Supposedly Vietnamese, but when a place is serving red curry, I’d say it’s Thai. Let’s split the difference and call it Southeast Asian fusion or Berlin’s version of Vietnamese meets Thai meets cole slaw. Red curry is tasty, features enough spice (as in, they didn’t cheap out on the curry paste). And the fresh vegetables and nuts on top are a nice touch.

A big thanks goes to our taxi adventure with Layne (aka, Taxi Gourmet) and TaxiBerlin for introducing us to this place.

What to get: Chicken red curry lunch special (4.50€).
Where to get it: Hamy, Hasenheide 10, Kreuzberg, Phone: 030 61625959

9a. Rogacki

The vastness and deli-liciousness of this place makes it worth a stop just to look and poke around. But to eat, try the huge hunks of whitefish, the sauerkraut or dive in for the wurst lunch special. “This is the food of freaks,” we were told by a Berliner eating lunch at the next table over. After some explanation, it became clearer: what we were eating – blutwurst (blood sausage) and leberwurst (liver sausage) is only eaten nowadays by enthusiasts. And freak tourists like us.

What to get: Blutwurst and leberwurst with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut lunch special (4.50€). Break the budget and get a glass of white wine to cut the meat.
Where to get it: Rogacki, Wilmersdorfer Straße 145 Charlottenburg

9b. Käse König
Audrey and I are split on whether Käse König or Rogacki has the best blood sausage. I like the dog food-looking pile at Käse König because of that sweet little something like star anise or allspice inside. Or maybe I was just expecting it to taste like dog food and was pleasantly surprised.

The staff are very friendly as well. Worth an order, if only for the nostalgia value.

Where to get it: Käse König, Panoramastrasse 1, Mitte

Note: Another round of thanks to Taxi Gourmet for introducing us to both of these places.

10. Requisite Currywurst
Do I think currywurst is the highest quality food going in Berlin? Um, no. But I know it’s in the hearts and on the minds of just about everyone visiting. So, here’s my take.

The “best currywurst” argument is a storm in a teacup, but if sausage served with a dusting of curry powder and ketchup sounds like your thing, then it’s time for currywurst. In truth and fairness, my best memories of currywurst date back to the early 2000s and in particular, a rain-soaked R.E.M. concert in 2004. But those days — and eating currywurst at every stop from Zoologischer Garten to Nollendorfplatz — are long since over.

These days, the “best currywurst” battle rages between two places: Curry 36 and Konnopke Imbiss. Although I favor Curry 36′s marginal generosity with their curry powder and their fries (with a dusting of red pepper powder), I appreciate the less firm sausage link from Konnopke Imbiss.

But like I said above: storm in a teacup.

What to get: At Curry 36: two currywurst and French fries (4.50€). At Konnopke Imbiss: currywurst and French fries (4.00€).
Where to get it: Curry 36, Mehringdamm 36, Kreuzberg. (If you are a group and want to smorgasbord it, get a gemüse kebab from Mustafa — it should probably be on this list — just down the street.)
Konnopke Imbiss, Schönhauser Allee 44A, Prenzlauer Berg.

Honorable Mention: Türkenmarkt at Maybachufer
It’s no wonder that food in Berlin is so good, fresh and tasty. The produce coursing through all its markets is impressive. For a glimpse and taste, check out the Turkish outdoor market (Türkenmarkt) along Maybachufer and the canal in Kreuzberg. It’s open Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 12:00-6:30.

Just about everything is sold here, even open-air haircuts. In the food department: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, spices, olives, nuts, cheese and an array of Turkish breads. And for a walk-away comfort food snack, try the gözleme from Chez Su (right side, on the way towards Neukolln) for 1.50€.

The Best of Berlin Food

If you don’t have a high-speed connection or you would like to read the captions, you can view our Berlin food photo essay.

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NOTE: The original intent of this piece was to include bakeries, breakfast, brunch and a few gems between 5€ and 10€. But it was simply too long. If there’s interest, we will cover that in a separate piece.

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Originally posted on the Uncornered Market travel blog. Find beautiful travel photos from around the world. | 24 comments