berlin eating

After my initial shock of being served a what should have been a completely vegetarian potato-soup but very obviously containing pieces of ham - at first German hotel we stayed at on our way down to Berlin, with a certain old East-German flair to it. When I pointed that out to the waitress she said sorry and that the kitchen would make another bowl. I then promptly got the bowl back with the kitchen saying there was no ham in it. Ridiculous. I guess those old meat-eating habits and behaviours die hard for some chefs... - I was quite pleased with the vegetarian options at many places for food in Berlin. (Even if I do find Germany certainly and sadly to be a very dead-pieces-of-animals-eating country. Well, maybe most of them are...)

The first day's golden breakfast was one of two exception to the rule of quick, cheap and easy breakfasts. The above bagel with cream cheese and juice was the thing I enjoyed - very much so - most mornings. M popped out by himself, let me sleep some more, and snapped up some freshly baked and made bagels at the next doorish bakery. Bliss.

I enjoyed the VegOut app in the iPhone too. Few glitches but overall a practical thing to have when in out and about not in hometown. We went to two vegan/vegetarian only restaurants and loved them both. Affordable and good no-fuss kind of food. There are quite a few veggie places in Berlin I'd like to visit, but limited time, limited hunger and spread in a vast area put a stop to that. This time.

The vegetarian-vegan-vegetarian friendly places that can be found in VegOut are also available to browse online in the HappyCow, compassionate eating guide. Well worth a look when travelling as a vegetarian-vegan.

Here follow a selection of vegetarian food enjoyed when in Berlin. The drinks will have their very own post, because that they do deserve ~

This ricotta-spinach tortelloni with mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and basil pesto at Reinhard's at Kurfürstendamm was quite probably the best dinner I had in Berlin. Perfect flavours, seasoning, textures, portion and pretty to look at too. Quite a bit on the pricey side compared to the other meals we had (and incredibly slow service). I guess the price reflected the posh location.

At darling Café im Literaturhaus we so enjoyed a warm evening dinner - I really could go on and on and on how much I adore that place, so I feel a post of the milieu and surroundings coming up... - summer vegetables risotto with shaved mushrooms (with a presentation that left a lot to be desired). Not spectacular, but creamy, nice and a perfect portion.

The dessert was quite quite lovely though, a warm pancake stuffed with cherries served with cardamom parfait.

The tofu steaks in peanut sauce served with beetroots, rice and cucumber at vegan restaurant Hans Wurst (that was on my must-visit-list) were nice, but I found all that peanut sauce too rich and the dish could certainly have been more pleasingly presented. And I would have liked a fresh side salad.

Non-vegetarian M did enjoy his tofu burger with deliciously prepared potato wedges and greens. (I sampled a dollop of the ketchup, it tasted homemade and lovely.)

We shared an apple-and-something cake for dessert. It was quite lovely, moist and perfectly delish (with no strange tang like my first attempt on a vegan cake).

We did return for lunch another day. Then we had vegan pizzas, M chose the one with spicy fake chicken (tofu) - one thing I really can't understand is the way some like to imitate the flavours and textures of meat, because isn't that one very essential thing one like to get away from when one turns vegetarian or vegan? - which he enjoyed and...

I had one with portobello mushrooms. Which was nice but a bit on the greasy side for my taste. And again, a fresh side salad would have made a huge difference.

That said, the online menu and the photos of dishes look quite different from reality. I had somehow hoped for something more refined and in the style of David Bann in Edinburgh...

And yup, for once this holiday I chose another shoe per diem, that day I walked the streets of Berlin in my sunny shoes (it was a cloudy dash rainy day).

Another day we just popped in at a neighbourhood bakery when out sightseeing by car. It didn't look much in ways of offering something fantastic to eat, but this sunny looking plate that ended up in front of me (scrambled eggs with paprika, red onion, carrots, tomato) was actually surprisingly delicious and well-seasoned. But quite too much to finish.

At Yellow Sunshine fast food-take out vegetarian/vegan place M opted for a veggie burger plate. Which he hugely enjoyed, he still raves about the fries which he claims to be the best he's ever had.

I chose a soy schnitzel, which came with fries and I'm happy to say a really nice, large side salad. The schnitzel was tad disappointing though, as it was exactly the same kind I have in my freezer and regularly prepare at home. But overall a really nice no-fuss meal of the fast food kind that one might enjoy now and then.

So there, some nutrition that kept us alive for walking the streets of Berlin, up and down, here and there, near and far. Next post - all about drinking of liquids.