“Is it too predictable to order Wiener schnitzel in a German restaurant?”
That’s the lede from this weekend’s New York Times “Bites” column about the Berlin restaurant Lutter & Wegner.
The writer of the piece, Stuart Emmrich, is editor of the paper’s travel section. This means, among many other things, that he probably doesn’t get to leave New York too often. Still, as an editor from the Times, he could’ve chosen to review any restaurant, in any city —like Vienna, for instance— but he went for rough-around-the-edges Berlin.
And alas! For the briefest of moments, it appeared that Mr. Emmrich would leave the Gendarmenmarkt and its environs disappointed by the local cuisine. But then, but then, but then he saw the schnitzel.
“But then, I thought: no, too touristy, too safe a choice — even if the dish did represent about the only two words in German that I could actually pronounce without embarrassing myself,” writes the frank Mr. Emmrich. “Moreover, I still retained the unpleasant memory of another schnitzel ordered the day before, at a busy lunch spot off Unter den Linden, which had proved to be a gooey, over-breaded, tasteless mess.”
Despite it all, he takes the plunge, and Gott sei Dank that he did! It was “the Wiener schnitzel of my dreams,” Mr. Emmrich writes.
He doesn’t mention if he ordered the Sachertorte for dessert, but I’m sure that he did. I mean, really, who would come all the way to Berlin and not sample the Sachertorte?
14 responses so far ↓
Ed Ward // August 3, 2008 at 2:58 pm |
Well, except that the Wiener Schnitzel at L&W really is the best in the city. And what would you have him order instead? Eisbein? Konigsberger Klöpse? Berlin’s native food sorta sucks.
thefishhusband // August 3, 2008 at 4:33 pm |
I certainly agree that most of Berlin’s native food is blech, and, I see from HiB that you know your Wiener Schnitzel (http://www.hungryinberlin.com/2007/08/22/on-the-menu-2/), but c’mon…
Really? 384 words in America’s third-most circulated newspaper about the best place to eat a dish that’s named for a city in another country? And not even mention that fact or, really, much else about the restaurant chain? To me it’s a cutesy report that doesn’t do Times’ readers (i.e. mostly tourists) much service. Really, any Joe, staying at any hotel in Mitte, can find L&W by simply asking the concierge where to eat. (I would guess that this is especially true at the Mövenpick hotel, which Stuart Emmrich, the guy who wrote this article, recommended to “hipsters on a budget” a few months back. D’ya know that hotel? Deary me.) And ultimately, wouldn’t it be better if Times readers didn’t have to read about a place that’s already in their Berlin guidebook under the “Austrian” heading?
Anyway, now that I’ve finished with all of my lame rhetorical questioning, how about a real one? For my meat devouring friends and family who are looking for a Berlin gastronomic adventure, is there a “best” place in Berlin where one can enjoy Eisbein?
Ed Ward // August 4, 2008 at 12:42 pm |
Hmm, well, you know, Konigsberger Klöpse, which are a sort of iconic Berlin dish (you know: little pork cannonballs…errr, meatballs, in a white gravy studded with capers) are named for a city in another country. It wasn’t when they were invented, but it sure is now.
Why on earth is L&W listed under “Austrian?” It’s a Berlin institution from the early 19th century, and the original location was at Französischen Str. and Markgrafenstr.
The best Eisbein in Berlin? Well, I’m not much of one for boiled pig’s trotter, which his what it is, but you can get a decent baked one, listed as Schweinehaxe, at the Kellerrestaurant am Brecht Haus, although that place might fail your purity test because it’s based on Helene Weigel’s hand-written cookbook, and a lot of the recipes are properly from the German-settled areas of Bohemia or (a few) from Bavaria.
My favorite all-round Berliner restaurant is Gambrinus, there at the end of Linienstr. where it sort of runs into Oranienburger Str., although I haven’t really eaten there a lot, and I’m sure there are plenty of places that are its equal all over town. They even have a menu in sorta-English, for the tourist trade.
But, like I said, I don’t seek out Berliner-style restaurants because local Berlin food sorta sucks.
thefishhusband // August 4, 2008 at 2:15 pm |
Well, maybe I am being a bit rigid, but I still say the Times can do, and usually does, better. (By the way, I hate the cliche “American as apple pie” since, you know, the delicious confection isn’t American at all… God, I hope I’m not becoming a pedant ).
Oh, and I also stand corrected. While the Fodor’s guide says the cuisine at L&W is “mostly Austrian” and that rooms take you “back to 19th century Vienna,” it is, in fact, listed under their “German” heading.
As for your Eisbein/German restaurant tips, I am grateful. I know a few people who take great joy in wrapping their lips around pretty much any part of the pig.
Jeff // August 4, 2008 at 10:36 pm |
I’ve never tried wiener schnitzel before…nor have I been to Berlin, but I have always wanted to go. Can you make any recommendations for some typical German cuisine I could try to cook on my own? I’d love to experiment with it before I make a trip to Germany in the future (Berlin and Munich in particular). Also, any suggestions for places to visit in Berlin (for a tourist)? Thanks
thefishhusband // August 4, 2008 at 11:36 pm |
Gosh, Jeff, I wish I could offer you some recipes, but I haven’t cooked much traditional German cuisine.
If you end up in Berlin, you could try the places that Ed Ward mentions in his second comment above. He knows what he’s talking about as evidenced by the food website he co-runs, hungryinberlin.com, and his personal blog, berlinbites.blogspot.com. Do a couple of searches on those sites, and you’ll find interesting information about food and other things.
In addition to Ed’s recommendations, if you don’t get enough Bavarian food in Munich, you could check out Café Obermaier when you’re in Berlin. I particularly like their beer garden in the summertime, and I have friends from Bavaria who say the food is pretty spot on. (If you’re just looking for a beer garden then you should go here: http://www.pratergarten.de/pages/biergarten/uebersicht.php4 or Google Prater beer garden).
There’s also Restauration Tucholsky for more touristy German (and Austrian) food: http://www.restauration-tucholsky.de They’ve got lots and lots of pork on the menu. (Apropos of the above Wiener Schnitzel discussion, they serve “Schnitzel Wiener Art” which is made from pork instead of veal.)
As for other places to visit… it all depends on what tweaks your buttons, I guess. Berlin is a huge city with more history than my high school prom date. My suggestion is to pick a guide book (I like the National Geographic one, but that might be too stiff for you), and then choose a few places you absolutely must see, a few that you’ll try to see, and discard everything you don’t much care about. Point is, don’t overdo it. You don’t need to visit every museum on museum island, you don’t need to see every war memorial, and you don’t need to see every last remaining bit of the wall. Unless you’re staying here for several weeks, trust me, you’ll never have the energy to experience everything.
Oh, one final food/tourist recommendation. If you’ve got money to spend, be sure to make a reservation for lunch or dinner at Käfer Berlin (http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/ht_de/gastronomie/berlin/berlin.php). It’s located on the roof of the Reichstag, and a reservation at Käfer means you don’t have to wait in the long line to see the inside of the parliament building and Norman Foster’s famous dome. The food is decent, if not a bit overpriced, but the views of the city are terrific. I take all of my visitors there for a meal because once they’ve seen the view they never seem to mind picking up the check.
Ed Ward // August 5, 2008 at 12:45 pm |
No reason to go to Tucholsky and battle the bused-in crowds with Honigmond, one of Berlin’s best values for money, right around the corner.
Tamar // August 5, 2008 at 2:43 pm |
I agree with Ed that it is a good restaurant, though I have my Wiener Schnitzel loyalties elsewhere: Ottenthal. I also agree with him that Berlin cuisine is in most cases nothing to write about. Just yesterday partner and I devised a cunny plan to avoid the “Ente mit Rotkohl” this Christmas (yes, I dread this dry thing six month in advance, and I actually like ducks – including on my plate).
However, I share your dread also on another level – L&W is in fact a chain owned by a huge conglomerate; it is a bit like eating in California at Sizzler’s and writing about it to a German newspaper (I actually like casual food, so I am not so sure this was horrible critique on my side, but you get the point). There is also an original L&W in Charlottenburg (which I haven’t tried but heard it is better).
At the Gendarmenmarkt branch, I had a wonderful steak tartar, though again, you can see that my culinary critique is not highly developed.
thefishhusband // August 5, 2008 at 8:15 pm |
Wow, Tamar, a six-month strategy to avoid Christmas dinner? That’s real dedication to ducking the duck!
I’m glad you caught my drift about the Times reviewing L&W. Thanks, too, for the your Wiener Schnitzel @ Ottenthal suggestion. I had two people also recommend the restaurant Austria, as made famous in the novel Middlesex. I’ve never been there, but I figure I might as well add it to the growing list of great places to eat Viennese chow Berlin-style. Now, if I could just find a decent Chaat cart…
Ed Ward // August 6, 2008 at 11:57 am |
I’ve been to Austria twice, and the Schnitzel is horribly overrated. I’m not ready to write the place off until I’ve had something else there — the cardboardy Schnitzel is out of consideration. After all, as I’ve said since the first time I went there, Austrian food’s like German food, only good.
Tamar, L&W may be a chain of sorts, but comparing it to Sizzler is way off the mark. L&W’s main business is wine: they’re a major dealer, as you can tell from their own brands. But as far as being a chain, I can only think of three locations: Gendarmenmarkt, Charlottenburg (which isn’t “original,” but, rather, the one where they moved when the city was divided), and Oranienburger Str. in that awful-looking hotel.
On the other hand, I’m all for avoiding Christmas (and St. Martin’s Day) dried-out fowl. Not to mention that the smell of Rotkohl, let alone the taste, makes me ill.
Ed Ward // August 6, 2008 at 11:58 am |
Oh, and Fishhusband, if you find a decent chaat in this city, or any other southern Indian vegetarian food, or any edible Indian food from any region of the subcontinent, for that matter, do send up a flare. The only good place I knew went out of business about six months ago. Too much flavor for the locals, I guess…
headbang8 // August 12, 2008 at 4:47 pm |
Forgive me for butting in, but let me second the plug for Käfer. My closest supermarket happens to be Feinkost Käfer, in Munich-Bogenhausen. It has both a bistro and a proper fancy-schmanzy restaurant attached. Both are a delight. As our fishubby kind of hints, the food is surprisingly simple, but the ingredients are chosen for their quality and require little tarting up. Gerd Käfer, in a moment of candour, admitted that though his food his simple, he justifies his prices through the restaurant decor.
By the way, we have a Lutter & Wegner in Munich, too. They operate the concession at the so-called Kunstlerhaus, a traditional public studio for artists that has now disappeared into a cloud of snooty elitism. The restaurant is pretty cool, though. My SigO and I have only ever enjoyed the cafe bit, and that mainly for the wine list. Tough to find a good wine list in Munich, our Italian pretenses notwithstanding.
Speaking of Italian, Ed, is the Gambrinus in Berlin related to the Gambrinus in Munich?
http://www.gambrinus-muenchen.de/index.html
If so, I’ll second the recommendation there, too. Not only is it proper north-italian food, done beautifully and simply with the highest quality, but it has the added merit of being directly across the street. I often enjoy a passive cigarette with the witers as I walk past on the footpath.
thefishhusband // August 13, 2008 at 8:54 am |
Headbang, we’re always glad when you drop by.
As for Gambrinus Berlin’s relation to Gambrinus Munich, I’m pretty sure their only similarity is the the name. As you pointed out, your Gambrinus does Italian while Gambrinus in Berlin is a porker’s paradise that seems to specialize in serving diners every part of the pig — Berlin style.
Ed Ward // August 13, 2008 at 2:07 pm |
St. Gambrinus is one of those apocryphal saints the church let in early on, and is the patron saint of brewers. There’s a chapel to him in the brewing museum in Antwerp, should you be over that way.