Cake and Commerce

Treats from the fancy farmers market in Berlin

I love farmer's markets. Or is it farmers' markets? Well, either way, I really like them and always make a point to visit them whenever I'm visiting a new city.

I went to two markets while in Berlin. The photos below are from both markets.

There was organic cheese from Austria (nothing says Tiroler quite like a cow bell):

Then there was the jelly...all the jelly...

The organic displays were always the best - less to work with, but so well-arranged:

and then there were chestnuts...warmed over fire

The organic bakery had pretzels displayed on sticks

Grilling wursts at the market:

More snacks - wurst and spinach and potatoes

Soup ingredients, bundled and ready to go:

The orange juice lady

There were massive tortes at the torte booth

Breads:

Excellent greens

Stollen (and other treats) at KaDeWe in Berlin

You can't really tell from the photo, but these stollen are HUGE. I bought a slice - pretty tasty if you like stollen. KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store, has an unbelievable food hall with a seemingly endless variety of foods. There's wursts from every part of Germany, eat-in restaurants, and rack upon rack of sugary sweets.

Here's another view of the bakery case:

There was the usual world spices and prepared foods. Most remarkable were the uber 60's prepared foods (didn't I see this in 100 thing to do with leftovers?)- I'm still not sure what they are:

Anyone?

Hand Made Jams at the Farmers Market in Berlin

Struwwelpeter in wood - yeah, he's not edible

But I like the way he looks.

Curry Wurst in Berlin

Deep fried sausage, ketchup, and curry powder. What's not to love about Berlin's signature fast food?

The Wurst makers:

Dinner at Facil, Berlin Germany

Dinner at Facil started out with one of the best bread plates I have had in recent memory. Pretzel bread, wonderful whole grain and seed bread, baguettes, and two savory spreads that I would never expect to see served in the US: a tuna-based spread and a second bean-based spread. There was also a ramekin of some of the most delicious butter...and of course I forgot to ask where it was from.

Facil is a Michelin one-star located in the Mandala Hotel in Berlin. Chef Michael Kempf was (apparently) one of the youngest chefs in Berlin to receive a Michelin Star. He's definitely got potential for more, but judging from our meal (which was good, not great and not particularly innovative), he needs a little more experience and inspiration before he actually achieves greatness.

The first course, I believe a salmon tartare. Excuse the poor lighting....I don't like using the flash and did the best with the low, romantic lighting at the restaurant:

Next course was a pepper soup with a potato cracker, mozzarella, tomato, and caviar. It was light and somewhat silly. I can't remember exactly how it tasted - a bad sign.

Next there was fish dish #1. Was it Mackerel? That's what I get for waiting a month to write about this meal. It was well-prepared...at least that I recall.

Then there was the foie gras dish. The gels are vanilla, quince and...something else. Again, worst memory ever.

Next course - shrimp and spinach. I had an allergic reaction to the shell, that'll teach me to eat shell. I'm pretty over foam (see sauce).

Then razor clam, some kind of fish I've forgotten, celeriac. Not enough textural contrasts.

At this point I can't believe we haven't imploded. Sturgeon and an unusually amazing couscous. The portion was a little too large for this point in the meal, though.

The course below was something my mom was served - pork, fish roe, etc:

And another course Mom had but I took a pass on. It was brisket with strings of sweet potato, barely cooked. Mom didn't particularly like it:

Last fish course was gigantic. At this point I was close to exploding. And I was getting really tired of the breadcrumbs:

And then the dessert courses began. There was a 'ravioli' made with fruit paste and vacherin mont d'or:

It was good but too much at this point.

And then the actual dessert:

The thing on the left was some sort of raspberry cake that just didn't delivery. I picked around it. The ice cream was quite good, however, and I downed most of that.

And then there was the first round of petit fours...starring cape gooseberries. The ganache was the best feature of this plate:

And then we finally made it to the end, truffles. Well-executed but not exciting or particularly interesting:

All in all it was too much food, portions were too large, flavors were rather blunt. Overall we didn't love our meal, but it was a lovely service experience and the setting was great. Chef Kempf's cooking needs to mature a little, and more thought needs to be put into texture and preparation. In five years he could be magnificent.

OK...I've been slacking but here's some chocolate to get you in the holiday mood

For a week I roamed the streets of Berlin, Germany with my sister, a Berlin resident since the summer, and my mom, who had never visited there before. I took a lot of pictures and ate various and sundry foods. Most of the time I felt vaguely sick to my stomach so I didn't eat as much as I thought I was when I was planning the trip. It was the jet lag, the rich food, the lack of sleep, and my lack of familiarity with German cuisine.

I'm a little under the weather right now, I don't quite have the energy to write a long post about what I did in Germany...but I do have some season-appropriate photos of chocolate on display at KaDeWe, Europe's largest department store and from Rausch, one of the more venerable chocolate houses in Berlin (but not particularly wonderful).

Ohhhhh Soooo naughty! Check out the décolletage!

And for the horn dogs in your life, Santa's got a package for them too:

Even traditional Santa is a little bug-eyed:

Still not satisfied? How about Brandenburg Gate, the edible version:

How about the Reichstag?

And if you are interested, here's a pretty good article about the chocolate scene in Berlin.

Wanting to buy some Amadeus chocolate at KaDeWe? No problem. I think they've got enough stock to last until next holiday season:

And then there's the other Niederegger marzipan display:

 

And that's just the tip of the iceberg