My Berlin Bites: Snacking Our Way Through Berlin

This is so long over due that I am a little embarrassed.  Our trip to Berlin happened over summer yet only now do I find myself in late December, with the end of the year looming, trying write up the trip and squeeze it in before 2014 rolled around.

We spent five days in early August in the German city, sightseeing being our first and foremost prerogative.  After all, no one really ever discusses Berlin in the framework of a culinary destination.  Perhaps it is because we had such low expectations or because we really sought out the non traditional cuisines of Germany, the food in Berlin really surprised me.  We had some great meals in proper sit down restaurants but also spent quite a bit of time just snacking as we went.

Breakfast most days was just coffee and a pastry.  We filled up on almond paste croissants and German style egg tarts while the latte was a much needed pick-me-up to fight the ever present jet lag.  Buscaglione, a snug little cafe just north of Museum island, was perfectly situated for a stop late morning right before we ducked into the Pergamon Museum on our second day.

A long trek out to Charlottenberg on the third day was rewarded with a stop by Rogacki.

The traditional deli/market was filled with counters selling all sorts of traditional smoked and cured fish as well as beautiful slices of aspic and pates.

Out front was a bakery but what interested me the most was the eatery to the left side of the market.

Because it was late afternoon on a weekday, the crowd was slightly older.  Most were dining solo so I didn’t feel strange at all finding a spot to stand by while enjoying my plate of flaky fried cod with two sides of vinegary German potato salad.  I felt a little more German after polishing off the entire plate.

Another day brought us all the way out to the East Side Gallery for a walk along side the Berlin Wall.  The almost 2 mile long walk more than prepared us for lunch.  A quick pit stop for coffee at a cafe in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg before we trekked a little further to reach Markthalle Neun.

Markthalle Neun is a large covered indoor market filled with local vendors selling all sorts of goodies.  With so many enticing bites, it took us a while before settling in on Big Stuff BBQ.  

Yes, even though we were thousands of miles away from home, we decided on some delicious American style BBQ for lunch.  It was a little hard to resist after seeing the guys behind the counter dish out platter after platter of fatty brisket and pulled pork.

We ended up splitting the large plate which came with three different types of BBQ, brisket, pulled pork and smoked pork belly.  Of course, to give it a little bit of a German touch, there was a small pickled cucumber salad and roasted potatoes along side.  We happily washed it all down with two jars of refreshing homemade mint cucumber lemonade.

For dessert, I picked up a slice of raspberry wolkentorte, a cream filled cake with more cream than cake for later.  We had more sightseeing to see so no time to stop and enjoy yet!

Of course, no trip to Berlin is complete without a plate of Currywurst.  I did some extensive research and wound up at Witty’s, an organic Currywurst stall with a location right outside of KaDeWe, Berlin’s biggest department store.

And what is currywurst exactly?  It’s really quite simply a plate of fresh out of the fryer french fries topped with mayo and served with fried hot dog pieces topped with ketchup and a dusting of curry powder.  This might be the ultimate late night drunk food but honestly it was pretty delicious in the middle of the day too.

Buscaglione | Rochstrabe 3 10178 Berlin, Germany

Rogacki | Wilmersdorfer Str.145/46 10585 Berlin, Germany | http://www.rogacki.de/

Markthalle Neun | Eisenbahnstraße 42/43, 10997 Berlin, Germany | http://www.markthalleneun.de/

Witty’s | http://www.wittys-berlin.de/