markthalle neun

you have to walk a few minutes from the u-bahn to get to markthalle neun, and then watch out for the entrance, set flush into the flight facades on eisenbahnstrasse, but you will find fresh flowers, organic greens, eggs, and preserves, fresh fish and meat, great tea and coffee, home-made cake – much to while away a friday or saturday morning or afternoon, when the market is open.

there are special events like naschmarkt, hosted by slow food berlin. that the market itself was revived from its rather desolate state to a small but buzzing community, makes it even more special.

i can wholeheartedly recommend the open smoked salmon sandwich with a glass of dry white wine for lunch, but there's also pulled pork (on a platter, or a sandwich), if you can bear waiting until 12.00 pm when their stand officially opens (other stands start serving lunch earlier, so no worries if you're hungry before noon).

commendable: the small stall of the biodynamic farm in weggun. they sell eggs, berries in summer, and preserves. at certain times of the year, they sell organic meat, which you can pre-order at their stall. read more, also about their 'adopt a hen' programme, here.

markthalle IX, eisenbahnstrasse 42/43, 10997 berlin (kreuzberg). market days: friday and saturday, 10-18.00 h. closest u-bahn stops 'goerlitzer bahnhof' or 'schlesisches tor' (both on the u1).

bixels

sitting down at bixels' big wooden table with a salad and an apple juice, then a chocolatey chocolate cake with some coffee (oh, the special glasses and oriental looking glass carafes that go with it!) is a very good way to have lunch indeed.

bixels, mulackstr. 38, 10115 berlin, open monday-sat 12-21 h.

p.s.: the oriental style rug caught my eye. like it!

+++ UPDATE: sadly, bixels closed its doors. i'm glad i took the pictures as a memento of a beautiful place. the pace of change is getting ever faster, it seems.  +++

cooking at goldhahn & sampson

remember i blogged about goldhahn & sampson before? that place is a treasure trove of delicatessen from around the world, and to make it even better, they run a cooking school. i've wanted to take the class on french cuisine for a while, and finally - thanks to a prize i won over at slow travel berlin (thanks a million, paul!) - i did.

jan kreuzinger, who also runs a wine store on neukoelln's weserstrasse, was teaching us not only how to cook the dishes planned for the night - onion soup with gratinéed bread, a salad with duck breast, filet steak with potato gratin, spinach, carrots and red wine braised shallots and (as if we could still eat) a hazelnut crème brulée - but was also answering loads of questions. not only did i eat very well that night and enjoyed good company, i also learned an awful lot.

the range of cooking classes is wide at goldhahn & sampson, so if you're more into thai cuisine, persian cooking, or baking, chances are you'll find something to suit your taste.

for a bigger set of images, take a look here.

find shop and cooking classes here: goldhahn & sampson, dunckerstr. 9, 10437 berlin (prenzlauer berg), phone 030 411 98 366, open mo-sat 10-20 h, sun closed

schaedel & sattler

want a hearty stew for lunch, or a risotto? are simple wooden tables your thing? are you ready for the surprise that bare concrete walls can actually feel warm? schaedel & sattler is just that kind of place.

apart from the swiss/alpine-kitchen-inspired lunch dailies - the cooking is unpretentious and earthy -, i am particularly taken with their choice of small sweets to go with your coffee. i had an orange macaron, which was perfection.

bear in mind though that the place is small and has quite a number of regulars, so if you want to try it for lunch, go early, say 12.00 or 12.30. otherwise expect a little wait to get a table or have your lunch at one of their wall-mounted miniature tables, perched on a stool. or go after lunch for a coffee when the place has quietened down to a little hum.

if you are into architecture, read more about the building, designed by bararchitekten berlin, here.

find it here: schaedel & sattler, oderberger str. 56, 10435 berlin, open mon-fri 8-16h (please note this place is closed on weekends and doesn't serve dinner.)

goldhahn & sampson

goldhahn & sampson is a deli in prenzlauer berg that has been around for a few years. ever since then, their selection of dry goods - think spices, salts (all kinds of them - and oh, the packaging!), chocolate, tea and coffee, selected preserves - has grown, as has the impressive selection of wines. also on offer are fresh breads and a small choice of cheeses, some fruit and vegetables of the season and a wide range of cookbooks. if you feel like having a fresh cup of coffee after your shopping's done, there's a tiny seating area in the window and a chesterfield sofa in the back.

probably the most exciting thing is their programme of cooking classes. i've got my heart set on the french course (boeuf and crème brûlée). oh, and they sell vouchers too - a brilliant gift idea for people who've got everything...

find it here: goldhahn & sampson, dunckerstr. 9, 10437 berlin (prenzlauer berg), phone 030 411 98 366, open mo-sat 10-20 h, sun closed

sgaminegg (revisited)

about high time to revisit sgaminegg, easily one of the nicest cafés in prenzlauer berg if you ask me. you may remember my first post about them, over a year ago. since then, the opening times have changed slightly, a small farmers' market has been initiated just outside its front door (every saturday, 10-16 h). oh, and i had the chance of trying some of their excellent white wines, which they don't just offer by the glass but also sell by the bottle in their small deli section. if you're curious about german and austrian whites (and you should! - don't think sweetly spaetlese or sickly rieslings, but crisp dry whites), you should definitely try them. if you've got more of a sweet tooth, why not try a coffee and some cake or a soft italian macaron, wrapped ever so nicely in white tissue paper.

last time i went, i took my pentax with me and took so many photos i had a hard time choosing. if you like them, find more on my flickr.

oh, and apart from their website, sgaminegg is also represented on facebook.

find it here: seelower straße 2, 10439 berlin (prenzlauer berg), open mon-fri 8.30-18.00h, sat 9.30.00-18.00h, sun closed.

farmers' market seelower strasse

to whoever had the idea of having a farmers' market on seelower strasse: thank you! that certainly was an inspired move and a real alternative to the crowded market on kollwitzplatz.

i love strolling down the - still tiny - market, buying organic heirloom tomatoes, red chard, apples, jam and flowers. have a chat with the stall holders and round it all up with an armful of beautiful flowers and a coffee at sgaminegg, right next to the stalls, marvelling at my finds.

if you happen to live in the neighbourhood or visit prenzlauer berg: do come here. every customer is appreciated and we need markets like this!

oh, and before i forget - there are also stalls selling fresh fish, others for meat or for cheese. at sgaminegg, you can also have lunch, and buy fresh bread and wine.

famers' market on seelower strasse, sat 10.00-16.00 h

find it here: seelower strasse (between daenenstrasse and schivelbeiner strasse), prenzlauer berg, 10439 berlin. public transport: schoenhauser allee, walk into daenenstrasse, take the first street to the right and you're there. less than 5 mins walk from the station.

vineyard fest in baruth

a couple of years ago, a group of friends decided to plant a vineyard in baruth (mark), an hour from berlin. this might sound surprising, given the northern climate, but in fact, baruth has a history of wine growing that has its roots in the 17th century. today, the vineyard in baruth is one of the very few operating vineyards in this part of germany (most of them being much further south).

every year in september, the small organic vineyard is having a little fest, and i always wanted to go but somehow never could. wouldn't it be a great place to spend a saturday afternoon? so here's a little teaser and directions (if you take the train from berlin, it's a one-hour journey). see you there?

baruther weinbergfest (vineyard fest in baruth)
saturday, 4 sept, 14-19.00
mühlenberg, baruth (mark)

all pictures courtesy: I-KU – Institut zur Entwicklung des ländlichen KulturRaums e.V.

café oliv (revisited)

last week, when marion was in berlin, we took the chance to pay a little visit to café oliv. i thought you might like to come along, it's a place worth (re)visiting.

read more here

p.s.: i really like their white porcelain dishes with the black napkins.

glimpses of berlin

magazines at bonanza coffee heroes.

café weltempfaenger

café weltempfaenger is right next door to the flea market on arkonaplatz (the much smaller fleamarket in prenzlauer berg/mitte, compared to the mauerpark, but much better liked by me). handy if you want to have a coffee after your hunting and gathering. only catch: the service there is really slow. i thought i'd better tell you. i still go, 'cause it's so close to the market and i like the place, the interior, the atmosphere. so there.

find it here: weltempfaenger, anklamer str. 27, 10115 berlin, open daily from 9.00 h.

psst.: they do run a small b&b too. book early, if you want to go.

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currywurst at konnopke's

it's going to be the end of an era. konnopke's is to prenzlauer berg what curry 36 is to kreuzberg. certainly the most traditional places in berlin to buy your curry wurst - a bratwurst, cut into pieces and doused with spicy ketchup, the (in)famous fastfood speciality of the city. now, konnopke's is going to close shop after 3 july 2010, 7pm, and move to temporary quarters until the autumn, when they will re-open in a new pavilion. if you want to catch a piece of old-school berlin popular culture, go in the next few days. i bet the new pavilion is going to be all modern and shiny and utterly non-descript.

one of the weird and wonderful features of this place is that you can actually buy gift vouchers (for 5 euro). now tell me, who wouldn't be delighted?

konnopke's imbiss, schönhauser allee, underneath the u-bahn bridge at eberswalder straße in prenzlauer berg. full address: schönhauser allee 44a, 10435 berlin (prenzlauer berg), open mon-fri 6.00-20.00 h, sat 12.00-19.00, sun closed.