Café café wherever you are!
Saturday was a day of sleeping in, reading a little, doing some shopping. By nine or ten in the blessed P.M., I realized I hadn't had a proper meal all day. Not one to break a trend, and needing to get away from the apartment, I grabbed my umbrella and went off to explore my neighborhood café scene.
I live in Prenzlauer Berg, which is a slightly yuppie, still moderately "underground" area of Berlin. The street where all the action happens is called Kastanienallee, or Chestnut Street, and it is a long stretch of independent designer stores, specialty shops, pay-what-you-will bars, and expensive candlelit cafés next to organic hot dog stands. Interesting fact: Prenzlauer Berg has a birth rate of 2,1 children per woman, which is to say the highest in the entire continent of Europe.
That fact nonwithstanding, I left my six screaming children at home (joke) for a bit of peace on the misty streets, slick surfaces reflecting colored lights and pedestrians passing in quiet pairs or chattering trios. Deciding to stray from the road most traveled (my buddy Frost clued me in to that one), I came upon Kauf Dich Glücklich, which translates roughly to "Make yourself happy and/or bring yourself luck by buying things!" It is a secondhand store-turned-café where you can still, if willing, purchase the chair on which you sit or the mirror hanging in the corner.
It was a pretty hopping scene, being a Saturday night, and I stepped my way through the red-light-lit "living room" section of the restaurant to get to the more brightly illuminated ice cream counter and coffee bar adjoining. After a significant wait (maybe the pointy-toed, stilletto boots those girls were wearing somehow impaired their decision-making skills), I ordered a Vanillewaffle mit Vanillesahnesauce. Okay! The crepes were too expensive for me, and as I was planning to sit and write, ice cream was not an option. After explaining how to pronounce my name, I crawled back through the couches and armchairs to a lower-key back room and settled in. Someone with a decent voice started playing guitar and singing from the front room, and I got at least two angsty poems written by the time I was presented with this:
I live in Prenzlauer Berg, which is a slightly yuppie, still moderately "underground" area of Berlin. The street where all the action happens is called Kastanienallee, or Chestnut Street, and it is a long stretch of independent designer stores, specialty shops, pay-what-you-will bars, and expensive candlelit cafés next to organic hot dog stands. Interesting fact: Prenzlauer Berg has a birth rate of 2,1 children per woman, which is to say the highest in the entire continent of Europe.
That fact nonwithstanding, I left my six screaming children at home (joke) for a bit of peace on the misty streets, slick surfaces reflecting colored lights and pedestrians passing in quiet pairs or chattering trios. Deciding to stray from the road most traveled (my buddy Frost clued me in to that one), I came upon Kauf Dich Glücklich, which translates roughly to "Make yourself happy and/or bring yourself luck by buying things!" It is a secondhand store-turned-café where you can still, if willing, purchase the chair on which you sit or the mirror hanging in the corner.
It was a pretty hopping scene, being a Saturday night, and I stepped my way through the red-light-lit "living room" section of the restaurant to get to the more brightly illuminated ice cream counter and coffee bar adjoining. After a significant wait (maybe the pointy-toed, stilletto boots those girls were wearing somehow impaired their decision-making skills), I ordered a Vanillewaffle mit Vanillesahnesauce. Okay! The crepes were too expensive for me, and as I was planning to sit and write, ice cream was not an option. After explaining how to pronounce my name, I crawled back through the couches and armchairs to a lower-key back room and settled in. Someone with a decent voice started playing guitar and singing from the front room, and I got at least two angsty poems written by the time I was presented with this:
Mmmm. I had opted for the standard waffle ($$) over whole wheat ($$$), and it was nice and crispy on the edges, if not piping hot. Next time I would ask to have the almost pudding-like sauce on the side for maximum crispiness preservation. Or maybe I would try the homemade raspberry sauce on top, or the Cow Waffle, which they create by dropping spoonfuls of chocolate and vanilla batter in the waffle iron.
Surprisingly, there was a mother/father/child family in the back room with me, and, unsurpr
isingly, the child was very confused as to why I was taking pictures of my food instead of eating it. But then I did eat it, and it was gooood. You can see the extra-toasted wings coming off its edges-- by far the best part. Maybe I would have added some more salt to the batter, but it was a big waffle, and because of the comfortable atmosphere, I was okay with parting with my €2.
Earlier in the day, I had taken a new route to the tram station (crazy and wild, I know), and passed La Focacceria, a rectangular-pizza-by-the-slice place, the line outside of which indicating its mad popularity. On the way back to my apartment some time later, I passed by it again, and when I say I passed by, I mean I walked in and purchased a monstrous block of oregano focaccia.
The tiny inside area was very inviting, as were the green picnic table benches lining the storefront, but I gave the man my €-.80 and took the chewy, stretchy, yeasty bread to go. I want to
go back with a friend so we can take advantage of the three pieces for €3.70 deal, as opposed to paying €1.45 each. If you stop by, expect cold selections with cream cheese and salmon, ruccula and mushroom, as well as hot gorgonzola-spinach-walnut and all manner of meats. Oh, and my piece extended beyond what you can see in this (somewhat orange) picture! I think it would have eaten me if I hadn't gotten to it first.
Surprisingly, there was a mother/father/child family in the back room with me, and, unsurpr
isingly, the child was very confused as to why I was taking pictures of my food instead of eating it. But then I did eat it, and it was gooood. You can see the extra-toasted wings coming off its edges-- by far the best part. Maybe I would have added some more salt to the batter, but it was a big waffle, and because of the comfortable atmosphere, I was okay with parting with my €2.Earlier in the day, I had taken a new route to the tram station (crazy and wild, I know), and passed La Focacceria, a rectangular-pizza-by-the-slice place, the line outside of which indicating its mad popularity. On the way back to my apartment some time later, I passed by it again, and when I say I passed by, I mean I walked in and purchased a monstrous block of oregano focaccia.
The tiny inside area was very inviting, as were the green picnic table benches lining the storefront, but I gave the man my €-.80 and took the chewy, stretchy, yeasty bread to go. I want to
go back with a friend so we can take advantage of the three pieces for €3.70 deal, as opposed to paying €1.45 each. If you stop by, expect cold selections with cream cheese and salmon, ruccula and mushroom, as well as hot gorgonzola-spinach-walnut and all manner of meats. Oh, and my piece extended beyond what you can see in this (somewhat orange) picture! I think it would have eaten me if I hadn't gotten to it first.Kauf Dich Glücklich
Oderberger Straße 44
10435 Berlin
44 35 21 82
La Focacceria
Fehrbelliner Straße 24
10119 Berlin
44 03 27 71
Oderberger Straße 44
10435 Berlin
44 35 21 82
La Focacceria
Fehrbelliner Straße 24
10119 Berlin
44 03 27 71
posted by k-slice at 6:59 PM
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