Beginning in the Middle Ages, the Mettenschicht, became the traditional last work shift before Christmas in the Ore Mountains. The foreman ended work early by knocking on the walls (time to “knock off work”). Miners of the Erzgebirge would gather in one room and hang their pit lanterns along the arch of the pit opening, […]
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Right around now I start getting emails and messages looking for great German gift ideas. They go something like this “my husband is German, and misses home”… “my daughter was an exchange student in Heidelberg, and I want to get her something to remind her”… “my wife’s Oma passed away, so the packages aren’t coming […]
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I can't get enough of apples this Fall! I especially love baked apples, so I decided to put some Bratapfel filling in a pastry with some quark for you! So good!
Charlottenburg- SAVU, new high end joint that opened up a couple years back and was awarded a Michelin star in year one has taken their firs Corona step. The deal is that they are preempting next week’s locks down and closing up shop. Though they did put out some info via signage, it is unclear if they are closing for good, or if they are closing for the time being. Nevertheless we will see what will develop with SAVU and all of Berlin gastro during this difficult time. More on SAVU as they develop.
Savu, Kufürstendamm 160, Charlottenburg
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Kreuzberg- Quasi Quasi, new Italian joint is knocked up over in Kreuzberg. The deal with the joint is that they are situated at the former home of the veteran White Crow Cafe that shut down a short while back. The new joint is due to be a mid range Italian kitchen with the underlying promise of NO PIZZA. Quite unique these days for the Berlin Italian game. They are due for a late November opener, but with the new Corona regulations coming up next week, it may throw their plans for a spin. More on Quasi Quasi as it develops.
Quasi Quasi, Bouchestr. 15, Kreuzberg
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When Aldi German Week rolls around, my mom stocks up on Stollen Bites. But this year, someone got there before her, and there just weren’t any on the shelves when I found a recipe I had torn out of a magazine years ago I decided it was time to bake them for her (does anyone […]
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Kreuzberg- Han West, the popular dumpling venture that had until recently been rooted over at Neukölln’s Brauhaus Neulich, is due for a residency over in Kreuzberg. They will serve four different kinds of handmade noodles inspired by Szechuan cuisine along with their dumpling game for which they have gained a solid following. Starting this weekend and going until March they will be working just off of Görlitzer Park. Hopefully this turns into a brick and mortar, but it all depends on the Corona situation Mr. Eatler presumes. More on Han West as they develop.
Han West, Görlitzer Str. 69, Kreuzberg
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Friedrichshain- The Castle’s former home in Friedrichshain is reportedly seeing some action. The huge location situated off of Frankfurter Tor had been the home of The Castle for about two years before Corona did the dirty work. Rumour has it though that a franchise of Brewdog is going to be doing something in the shop, though that is unconfirmed. What is known is that the manager of the hospitality group that signed the franchise deal with Brewdog for ten new shops in Berlin, is also clearing out the former Castle wares. More on the location as it develops, but fingers crossed that we will be drinking beer there again soon. More on the joint as it develops.
The Castle, Frankfurter Tor 7, Friedrichshain
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Kreuzberg- Transit, the Mitte and Friedrichshain based South East Asian cuisine joint has been knocked up on a third location over in Kreuzberg for the last few months at the former home The Bird burger shop. From some art work that came over the tip line it seems as though they are due for an imminant opener as everything is already in place. The veteran resto has won a loyal following with their elegant design and unique offering since it opened about a decade ago. No word on any official dates for the shop but Mr. Eatler will keep you abreast of developments.
Transit, Kottbusser Damm 95, Kreuzberg
@Transit, Map
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Kreuzberg- Transit, the Mitte and Friedrichshain based South East Asian cuisine joint has been knocked up on a third location over in Kreuzberg for the last few months at the former home The Bird burger shop. From some art work that came over the tip line it seems as though they are due for an imminant opener as everything is already in place. The veteran resto has won a loyal following with their elegant design and unique offering since it opened about a decade ago. No word on any official dates for the shop but Mr. Eatler will keep you abreast of developments.
Transit, Kottbusser Damm 95, Kreuzberg
@Transit, Map
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Charlottenburg- Prestige Wein & Tapas new shop opened up last week just off of Savigny Platz over on Charlottenburg’s Bleibtreustr. The deal with the joint is they are focused on a the tapas and wine concept but with a Persian style lean, along with regular a lunch time offering. They had an official event on the 16th with some freebees and continue to offer and opening discount for the occasion.
Prestige Wein & Tapas, Bleibtreustr. 47, Charlottenburg
@Prestige, Map
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Prenzlauer Berg- Marie’s Cafe, new cafe is due for an imminent opener over in Prenz. The deal with the new shop is that they are an elegant rococo style shop that is set up as a day time cafe and drinking spot with a “to-go” bakery program. They have been dripping out some media giving a bit of a peak into the new shop which gives off a super cozy vibe. Will be interesting to see what the insta-foodies will think of the new shop, with its unique design. No exact word on opening dates, but it looks as if they are due to launch at any moment. More on Marie’s as is develops.
Marie’s, Belforterstr. 24, Prenzlauer Berg
@Maries, Map
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Every Christmas my sister and I would find a Bunter Teller loaded with treats in addition to our gifts. There was never a name tag… we just knew that mine had a bar of Nougat, and hers always had a bar of German Marzipan. Also on the holiday table, Marzipan Kartoffel (Marzipan Potatoes). And m […]
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Mitte- FREA, Berlin’s first plant based zero waste restaurant that opened their doors about a year ago in Mitte is reported to be knocke up on a new shop. The deal is still a little hidden from public view, but rumour has it that they are going to be opening the shop early next year and it will be situated just north of Nordbahnhof. For those of you who are Frea fanatics, don’t be fooled, the word is that its not going to be another Frea, but a different concept. More on the new shop as it develops.
Frea, Torstr. 180, Mitte
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Neukölln- Selig, the popular Neukölln cafe and resto that had been around for the last few years, closed down a little over a week ago. Sad to see this one go as the beautiful cafe had developed such a cult following for their vibe and their killer brunch. The owner put out a heartfelt message about the struggles overpowering the management and the cafe. They celebrated with an event to mark the closing occasion. No official reason was given for the closure of the resto, but the epidemic certainly could not have been without fault. The owner says they won’t remain quiet, so perhaps we will see something from the Selig crew sometime soon. Until then, farewell Selig.
Selig, Herrfurthplatz 14, Neukölln
@Selig, Map
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Schöneberg- Faelt, casual fine diner opened up this passed weekend over in Schöneberg. The deal with the new joint is that it is the baby of former Golvet head chef, Björn Swanson. Swanson brought Golvet to a Michelin star rating last year and left the restaurant earlier this spring. The new joint is in full service, completely forgoing the popular softy phase as they enter opening days hitting the ground running. No doubt the critical write ups will be hitting the digital news stands in the next few days, and Faelt will likely achieve love as they are one of the cooler crews in town. Whether they will get the foodie love remains to be seen. No word on any sort of event, but Mr. Eatler will keep you abreast.
Fält, Vorbergstrasse 10a, Schöneberg
@Fält, Map
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The year of 2020 has certainly been a rollercoaster of emotions and the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all business to a varying extent. One industry that’s been affected most severely across the world is the hospitality business. In Germany, restaurants were locked down for weeks and countless projects and events were either cancelled or put on hold over the course of the year. A major cancellation was the Michelin Gala in Hamburg in March, which lead to the announcement of the 2020 Michelin stars being done via an online event on March 3rd.
“Restaurants were locked down for weeks and countless projects and events were either cancelled or put on hold”
One restaurant that received its first star that day was “mural” in Munich, a huge achievement for a restaurant just shy of 15 months open. What the team from mural didn’t know, however, was that they also were supposed to win another award that night.
“What the team from Mural didn’t know, however, was that they also were supposed to win another award that night.”
While the Michelin Galas mostly are known for awarding the legendary stars to restaurants (ranging from 1 to 3, where 3 will grant a given restaurant immortal status), there are today also other awards and one of the most important ones is the ‘Michelin Young Chef Award’, an accolade for chefs under 32 in their respective market who have shown unusual potential during the course of the last year. The Young Chef Award Germany 2020, granted in partnership with performance car manufacturer Mercedes-AMG, was originally scheduled to be handed over as a surprise during the Michelin gala and I was brought onboard to cover this specific price. It quickly became clear to us (meaning AMG, Michelin and myself) that including the award in the digital ceremony wasn’t going to be an option – the value of the award would drown in the online noise of the Michelin stars. We had to come up with a Plan B. After a quick deliberation, it became clear that we had to take this award to the winners and surprise them. Which, in this case, meant going to Munich to see the team of mural.
All the lockdowns and further, pandemic-inflicted complications meant that it would take us until September to execute our grand plan but then, finally, on a Tuesday night, we found ourselves waiting in the courtyard of the Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art (MUCA) in central Munich, when a spectacular looking Mercedes-AMG rolled in. Out of the car emerged two characters, namely Michael Knöller, Global Head of Marketing and Sales from AMG and Philipp Ostbomk, Sales Director B2B DACH from Michelin, and from the trunk they retrieved the trophies and the custom chef jackets for the winners. Minutes later we had extracted mural Head Chef duo Joshua Leise and Johannes Maria Kneip from their kitchen and presented them with the good news. If they were surprised? You bet they were.
mural opened end of 2018 in the building of the Museum of Urban & Contemporary Art, an old power station in the heart of central Munich. “What makes mural special is the contrast between the gritty and highly industrial venue and the elegant fine dining food we serve. Every day we try to create unique things in our kitchen that do the location justice.” Joshua told me after he had put on his Young Chef Award jacket. Him and Johannes met working in the two Michelin star kitchen at Söl’ring Hof on Sylt under iconic chef Johannes King, and during this time they formed a rock solid friendship that eventually led them to take over mural in a shared Head Chef role. An unusual setup that came very naturally to them. Johannes explained their cooking style “We learned to cook very purely and very produce focused under Johannes King and this is certainly still something you can see in the food at mural. I wouldn’t call our cooking style modern Bavarian, but we try to use as much local produce as possible and have developed very strong ties with our producers.” When it comes to receiving the Young Chef Award 2020, they were both slightly overwhelmed with the surprise. ”It’s crazy. We really didn’t expect this!” Joshua pointed out, still with a slightly shocked look in his eyes “Especially not after we already received our first Michelin star this year. That was already a big deal.”
“This is a very important award for us as it honours the highly innovative and important work of the next generation of chefs” Michael Knöller from Mercedes-AMG would later explain to me. “We have been working with Michelin and fine dining restaurants for over half a decade now. Our own work at AMG shares a lot of common values with high end gastronomy: Quality, passion and creativity. Those are as imperative in cooking fine dining food as they are in building high performance cars.” Philipp Ostbomk from Michelin would later add to that: “Everybody knows about Michelin tires and stars, but with the Young Chef Award, we’re really aiming to promote topics that are close to our hearts: Creativity, innovation and young talents. People like the mural team are the leaders of tomorrow and we have been lucky to find a partner in AMG who shares these values with us.” Ostbomk also explained how the winners of the Young Chef Award are chosen by the local Michelin inspectors: “The inspectors that visited mural unanimously recognised that the performance of the chefs, especially considering their humble age of 25 years, was exceptional in every way and that they therefore were perfect recipients of the Young Chef Award Germany 2020.”
After surprising the chefs with the award we were lucky enough to eat the newest menu at mural and make our own opinion of the cooking style we now had heard so much about. The dynamic of the chefs and the space became apparent on every plate. It was remarkable to what extent the kitchen team at mural already had managed to create a unique signature with loads of playful and slightly quirky elements. You could see the setting of the art space in the cooking, many dishes came out the kitchen looking like modern art masterpieces on the facade, while at the same time also packing serious flavour on all spectrums. From the perfect rib bites with pickled cucumber to a corn flan with salad coated in puffed millet that bathed in a vin jaune sauce or an eye-popping red and yellow sturgeon tartar in a goulash sauce. Neo-German with a high cool factor, all served by a very lovely front of house team armed with one of Munich’s most progressive wine lists.
“It was remarkable to what extent the kitchen team at Mural already had managed to create a unique signature.”
A very memorable evening at a restaurant that’s only at the beginning of its journey. A true delight to see such a level of innovation in German kitchens and also that key players like Michelin are rewarding these efforts. The spotlight is certainly on Joshua and Johannes now and only one thing is certain at this point: This is not the last we’ve heard about these chefs.
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While traveling with my daughter, she insisted we go to Ruedesheim Germany. I had been there before on a Rhine Cruise, so I sort of knew what to expect. Why Not? Unfortunately, we only had one full afternoon and overnight, but we would squeeze in as much as we could. This town along the Rhein […]
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Mitte- MarcAnns, the French sammy shop on the busy corner of Invaliden & Chaussee opened their doors on a new shop. The new shop is a replacement of their former shop which they had to shut down last week. The deal was that they had a years long battle on contract negotiations and eventually were forced to abandon their original location. However you will not have to go far to find the Marcann’s replacement. They are now situated a few doors down from their original shop and opened their doors yesterday. Hopefully they will be able to maintain their stance in the new location.
Marcann’s Cafe, Invalidenstr. 114, Mitte
@Marcann’s, Map
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Prenzlauer Berg- Mrs. Robinson, popular resto up in Prenzlberg which announced some news about a second restaurant a few weeks back is moving forward with their project. The new joint is situated just off of Helmholtz a few blocks away from Mrs. Robinson. The resto is due to be titled Cafe Frieda, no doubt an ode to the former resto named after Mexican artist Frieda Kahlo. The plan is to open this shop some time later this fall centered around bread and pasty culture, and as they have been in talks with the location for the better part of a year, it is exciting to welcome the new concept. More on Cafe Frieda as it develops.
Mrs. Robinson, Pappelallee 29, Prenzlauer Berg Lychener Str. 37
@Mrs.Robinson, Map
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