Berlin, Germany – Culinary and Cultural

Berlin, Germany is a culinary and cultural destination that will captivate and enchant its visitors. The city now has 9 Michelin-star restaurants, which provides even more reasons to visit this delightful city.

The capital city of Berlin can definitely compete in the gastronomic world, as I learned as I set out to experience the city’s Michelin star restaurants and their talented chefs. The culinary scene in Berlin, much like in the rest of the world, is ever evolving, as chefs combine creativity with tradition, and merge and meld their recipes into something unique. Berlin can now boast that it has nine Michelin one-star restaurants where their brilliant chefs create a bit of inspired magic in their kitchens.

Although I would have loved to have experienced all nine of the Michelin star restaurants, due to a matter of time, and also in deference to my waistline, I only experienced four of them on this trip, which leaves me something to look forward to the next time I visit Berlin. The restaurants that I did experience were as different from one another as day is to night, with regards to the ambience, décor and cuisine style, yet all were truly "stars," which made for a lovely comparison.

Edward F. Nesta and I began by having lunch at  first floor restaurant, where Chef de Cuisine Matthias Buchholz and Chef Sommelier Gunnar Tietz work as a team to create perfect food and wine pairings, and with a wine cellar consisting of 12,000 bottles of wine, they have an outstanding selection of wines to work with. The restaurant is elegant, the service is flawless, and the cuisine is creative and artistically presented. A few of our selections included an especially wonderful Pike perch ravioli with horseradish ice cream and beetroot crème, a Terrine of codfish wrapped in bok choy, and Venison with cranberries and sliced dumplings.

Read the article on first floor in the Restaurants section and interview and recipe from Chef Matthias Buchholz in the Chefs’ Recipes section in English and German.

first floor
Budapester Strasse 45, 10787 Berlin
Telephone:      +49 (030) 2502 1182
Fax:                 +49 (030) 2502 1189
Email:              mathias.mueller@palace.de
www.palace.de

In the evening, we had dinner at VAU, where Chef/Owner Kolja Kleeberg, really demonstrated his cutting-edge culinary style, combining interesting and diverse ingredients that somehow melded together perfectly. He knows how to "push the envelope" yet have it all work out. The restaurant has an art deco style, professional and seamless service, and Kolja’s creations combined with Sommelier Henrik Canis’ selections including his own wines that he produces, provide many reasons to return to VAU. A few of his creative dishes that we sampled included Halibut with salsify and cocoa, Poached char in turnips-Riesling-fond with horseradish, and an incredibly exotic and delicious dessert of Braised pineapple with lemongrass hot pepper sorbet and caramelized olives that combined savory and sweet tastes.

Read the article on VAU in the Restaurants section and interview and recipes from Chef Kolja Kleeberg in the Chefs’ Recipes section in English and German.

VAU
Jägerstrasse, 54-D
10117 Berlin, Germany
Telephone:      +49 (030) 2 02 97 30
Fax:                 +49 (030) 2 02 97 311
Email:             restaurant@vau-berlin.de
www.vau-berlin.de

After an interesting day of meeting clients and seeing new travel destinations at International Travel Berlin (ITB), (the annual international travel show held each year in Berlin in March), Edward proved that he is always ready to go the extra mile for Luxury Experience clients and do whatever it takes, including walking the high wire wearing a Canali suit, shirt, tie and dress shoes, it was time to go and have a well-deserved and wonderful dinner at the Michelin star restaurant, Fischers Fritz.  

Our friend Erika Limmer, Edward F. Nesta and I went to dinner at Fischers Fritz, where Chef de Cuisine Christian Lohse proves his mettle in an elegant restaurant setting that matches his creative culinary approach. A few of our inspired selections included a Velouté of chestnuts with foie gras and black Périgord truffle, Terrine of foie gras and smoked eel with pepper caramel and jam of purple eggplants, and Whole roasted monkfish with winter trumpets and fava beans emulsion of chicory with Dijon mustard.

Read the article on Fischers Fritz in the Restaurants section and recipe from Chef Christian Lohse in the Chefs’ Recipes section.

Fischers Fritz
Charlottenstrasse 49-D
10117 Berlin, Germany
Telephone:      +49 (030) 2 03 363 63
Fax:                 +49 (030) 2 03 361 19
Email:             fischersfritz.berlin@rezidorregent.com
www.fischersfritzberlin.com

The last Michelin star restaurant on our list that we experienced was Die Quadriga, where Chef Bobby Bräuer truly shines at pairing his creations to the restaurant’s 840 different German wines in their wine cellar. A few of his decadent selections included Ravioli of foie gras on Madras curry with snowpeas, Consommé of cêpes accompanied frog legs, and a lovely fish course of St. Pierre with poached black olives, mussels and capers with fleur de sel and sultanas.

Read the article on Die Quadriga in the Restaurants section and interview and recipe from Chef Bobby Bräuer in the Chefs’ Recipes section.

Die Quadriga
Eislebener Strasse 14-D
10789 Berlin, Germany
Telephone:      +49 (030) 21 40 56 50
Fax:                 +49 (030) 21 40 51 00
Email:             info@brandenburger-hof.com
www.brandenburger-hof.com

Since man, (nor woman) can live on "bread alone" (no matter how fabulous the German dark breads are), we also pursued some cultural venues to satisfy our appetites. In keeping with our culinary theme for Berlin, we visited the Zucker Museum (Sugar Museum), which provided an interesting look into the history of sugar making, including the discovery by Berlin Pharmacist and Chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf in 1747 that sugar could be extracted from beets. On May 8, 1904 the museum opened to the public, and provides the history of sugar through antique machines, sugar containers, a wide variety of sugar displays including the many types of sugar available, and is informing and enchanting to both young and older audiences, as evidenced on the day that we visited the museum. Admission is free and is closed on Friday and Saturday. The museum is open Monday – Thursday from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm and on Sunday from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm.

Zucker Museum
Amrumer Strasse 32
13353 Berlin, Germany
Telephone:      +49 (030) 31 42 75 74
Fax:                 +49 (030) 31 42 75 86
Email:             zuckermuseum@berlin.de

We also made a stop at the upscale department store KaDeWe, that has been delighting shoppers since it opened in 1907, to make our annual pilgrimage to their gourmet floor on the 6^th floor to stock up on some of our favorite German food items. The gourmet department takes up the entire floor and offers an international assortment of gourmet items, wines, freshly baked pastries, breads, exotic fruits and vegetables, take-away food, and several restaurants where you can enjoy lunch or dinner, or relax with a glass of champagne or wine when shopping becomes a bit too demanding. KaDeWe is open Monday – Friday from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm, Saturday from 9:30 am – 8:00 pm, and is closed on Sunday.

KaDeWe
Entrance is on Lietzenburger Strasse or Tauentzien/Passauer Strasse.
www.kadewe.com

Being old film buffs, certainly a highlight for us was visiting the Berlin Film Museum, which captivated us with the many film clips, which included some of the earliest films to the latest in technology and special effects, as well as gorgeous costumes and many props from the films. The actress Marlene Dietrich was from Berlin and they have a remarkable collection of her films, costumes that she wore in many of the films, and the history of this fascinating actress. Admission is charged, and the museum is closed on Monday. Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 am -6:00 pm, and is open late on Thursday from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm.  

Berlin Film Museum at the Sony Center
Potsdamer Strasse 2
10785 Berlin, Germany
Telephone:      +49 (030) 30 09 03 10
Email:             info@filmmuseum-berlin.de
www.filmmuseum-berlin.de

In the evening, we went to see the exciting premiere of Triple Bill at the Deutsche Oper Berlin performed by the Staatsballett Berlin. In a serendipitous moment at the airport while waiting to disembark the plane in Berlin, I met the American Choreographer David Parsons, who told me about Triple Bill and that his piece, The Envelope, was being performed. With that in mind, Edward and I went to the theatre to obtain tickets to see Triple Bill featuring the three contemporary dance pieces, "The Envelope" choreographed by David Parsons with music by Gioacchino Rossini, "Out of 99" choreographed by Leo Mujic with music by Robert Schumann, Clark Wieck and Johannes Brahms, and "The Second Detail" choreographed by William Forsythe with music by Thom Willems.

Staatsballett Berlin
Telephone:      +49 (030) 20 35 45 55
Fax:                 +49 (030) 20 35 44 83
Email:             tickets@staatsballett-berlin.de  
www.staatsballett-berlin.de

Afterwards, we stopped at the casino, Spielbank Berlin at Potsdamer Platz to try our luck at the gaming tables. Unfortunately, "Lady Luck" wasn’t shining on us, but we did have a great time trying. Whether you are visiting Berlin for the very first time, or are a frequent visitor, this engaging city has much to offer.

Spielbank Berlin
Marlene Dietrich Platz 1
Berlin, Germany
www.spielbank-berlin.de

German Vocabulary

Guide to pronunciation

ß = strong S sound (like a hiss)
j = sounds like y
ie = sounds like ea
ü = sounds like ou
w = sounds like v

Basic Vocabulary  

Health

Food

Beverages

Please read the in-depth individual articles on the restaurants in the Restaurants and Chefs’ Recipes sections, and articles on Berlin in the Destinations, Hotels and Resorts, Music Scene and Arts and Antiques sections.

© June 2006. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.