With so many restaurants in and around the Village, we sometimes miss a good one that’s been around a long time. Such is the case with Piccolo Angolo. You could walk past it many times without taking particular notice. Lucky for us, friends whose taste we trust had eaten there recently and were pleased with it.
Stanley started with grilled octopus, which was exceptionally tender and flavorful. I had clams oreganata, a classic preparation and a generous serving. Portions here are very large. We ended up taking home half of our main courses. For me that was veal francese, and for him osso bucco. They came with big plates of broccoli and pasta. Lucky to have saved room for dessert, we had the amaretto tiramisu. Scrumptious!
The varied menu means we will be coming back to try more.
We hadn’t been to John Andrews in quite a few years, but as we are constantly searching for restaurants with interesting menus, I looked it up online and found that the menu is quite varied and interesting indeed. It was the perfect place for a quiet Sunday night dinner.
We started with fried calamari, and ricotta gnocchi. The calamari were nice and tender, and the gnocchi were in a light broth with speck, kale and sage (I’m not a fan of kale, but in this case it did not detract). For mains I had rainbow trout with bok choy and potatoes (I substituted mashed for fingerlings, a smart choice). Stanley had duck breast with leg confit. The spices and accompaniments were especially good. For dessert we had the coffee custard, which was exceptional.
Kitty’s is a new restaurant across from the station in Hudson. They also have a cafe and wine shop next door. We went for dinner with a friend on Sunday, a day when most restaurants in town are closed, so it was surprising that it was almost empty. I hope as more people discover it they will do well, as the food is quite good.
The three of us shared the fried oyster mushrooms, which were in a light, tempura-like batter, and tasted a lot like actual oysters. We also shared the “lamb tartarski” which was also excellent. For mains, I had steelhead trout, which seems to be on every menu in the Hudson Valley these days, but this preparation was particularly good, with cucumbers and fennel. Stanley had pork schnitzel, and John had fried half chicken (an enormous portion). Both were perfectly cooked. We then shared two desserts, chocolate pudding and an “orange creamsicle pavlova”, sorbet covered in meringue. Not the classic way, but pretty good.
For the three of us, with wine, tax and tip, the bill came to $250.
We dropped the car off in Lyon and caught the train to Paris, arriving in mid-afternoon at Ana’s house. Dinner was at Le Radis Beurre, which we have loved for a number of years (see previous Paris posts).
Stanley had the poached egg with mushrooms, and I had pig’s feet to start. It’s always on the menu and I order it every time. For mains, I had the Colvert du Chasse (wild mallard duck) and he had the andouillette. Both were superb. For dessert we had the baba and the rice pudding. With a bottle of Vacqueyras, the bill was 125.
We had originally planned a day trip with Ana and Bertrand to Morey-sur-Loing, but they had an emergency obligation, so we made other plans. We decided to go to Chateau Malmaison (the home of the Empress Josephine), which was easy to reach by train and taxi. It turned out to be quite wonderful and I took many photos.
After the tour of the chateau, we had lunch nearby at La Brasserie du Chateau, which was a fine choice.
To start, I had the oysters and Stanley had the daily special appetizer, a croustillant of camembert. I chose the special main course of tete de veau, and he had the roasted chicken. With a bottle of wine from the Languedoc (25 euros) and coffee, the total was 123.
The restaurant has moved up the street, and was a bit difficult to find as there is no sign. The chef, Indra Carillo, who is Mexican, now has a Michelin star, and the price, of course, has gone up.
The six-course prix-fixe dinner is 120 euros. As before, there is no printed menu. The servers describe the dishes as they are served. I jotted down the descriptions as best I could. This is a rough idea of what we ate:
An assortment of amuses-bouche
Lieu jaune (yellow pollock) served raw with pickled vegetables
Corn ravioli with grilled miniature corn in a corn broth
Lotte (monkfish) with hibiscus
Pigeon and its liver, with red cabbage
Pumpkin and banana
Coffee cream (similar to tiramisu)
Mignardises
The food was delicious and creative. With water and a bottle of Saint-Joseph for 51, the total was just over 300 euros.
As always when we visit Ana and Bertrand, we spent Sunday at home, and Stanley and I cooked. Ana and I went to the farmers’ market in La Varenne and bought all the food. For the big afternoon meal, we got rabbit legs, which I braised and served with a mustard cream sauce, carrots and tagliatelle. Also, escargot for an appetizer. We stopped into a bakery and picked up four individual cakes, like a tiramisu covered in chocolate. One of the wonderful things about shopping for food in France is that you can get parts of almost any animal, such as rabbit legs, as opposed to at home where we can only buy a whole rabbit.
For the smaller evening meal we bought skate, which I prepared in my usual way, with a sauce of basil, parsley and lime, served with basmati rice and sauteed cherry tomatoes. Bertrand made an appetizer of sardine filets.
Monday, 10/10
The four of us headed into Paris for lunch at Granite, a Michelin-starred restaurant.
As is so often the case, there is a fixed menu, 3 courses, no choice, for 75 euros. The descriptions don’t really do justice to the food. It was really excellent. Here is what we had, in addition to several amuses-bouche and mignardises:
Beets with pomegranate and nasturtium
Saddle of rabbit with octopus confit and eggplant
With a bottle of wine, water and coffee, the bill for the four of us was just over 400.
After lunch, as it was already late afternoon, rather than going back to La Varenne and then returning to Paris for dinner, Stanley and I decided to kill some time in Paris until dinnertime. First we explored the grand art-deco department store Samaritaine. Here are some photos:
Then we walked over to St Germain l’Auxerrois, conveniently located on the plaza where the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre occurred.
We rested here for a bit, then walked to St. Eustache, where there was a rehearsal going on for an evening concert. We sat and listened for a while as the music, by a small chamber choir and organ, was very French.
We continued on to the Marais, where we stopped off at a cafe for a drink, then headed to dinner at Le Mazenay.
We were early but it quickly filled up and appears to be extremely popular.
Unfortunately, the food fell somewhat short. For starters, we had yet another poached egg, and escargots in a pastry with cream. Main courses were colvert de chasse (good but not as good as I had at Le Radis Beurre), and braised beef chuck (again!). All main courses were served with the same accompaniment, butternut squash (which I’m not a fan of).
One thing we’ve noticed about menus on this trip is that the same dishes show up on too many of them. Braised beef, poached egg, pork belly, etc., on menus with very limited choice, make for some boring meals.
For dessert we shared a vanilla millefeuille, which was decent but nothing to write home about. With wine, the bill was 144.
Tuesday’s lunch was at Parcelles, which was excellent.
We started with a presse of pork and carpaccio of tete de veau, then I had bass with spinach puree and parsnips, and Stanley had sweetbreads. For dessert we shared a chocolate tart. The food was exceptionally good. With wine and coffee, the total was 166.
After lunch, we went to the Musee Carnavalet, which has been renovated recently. We had been there in 2016, before it was closed, and didn’t have time to complete the exhibits of the French Revolution, so this time we focused on that.
From there, we went to La Coupole for cocktails with two friends who happened to be in Paris at the same time, and then to dinner at Bistrotters.
It was good, but I was hoping for something more interesting. I began with sardines and then had pork belly. Stanley had foie gras and stuffed saddle of rabbit. The menu offers a better choice of dishes than many other restaurants, but the food lacked excitement. With wine, we spent about 100 euros.
I had originally reserved for lunch at Pantagruel, but after re-checking the menu I realized it was yet another of those boring, limited choices. Luckily I was able to cancel, though finding another great restaurant that wasn’t fully booked was difficult. Searching through Michelin, I finally hit on Le Sergent Recruteur, also a one-star. The lunch menu looked good and I was able to reserve.
We weren’t immediately given a lunch menu, but the a la carte looked so tempting we just decided to splurge on it, and we did not regret it. Stanley started with foie gras, and then had the chicken. I went with the crab and the saddle of lamb. We didn’t order dessert, but they gave us a couple of small desserts anyway, and the coffees which came with chocolate tartlets, were not charged.
After lunch we went to one of our favorite museums, the Jacquemart-Andre, which is in a grand mansion that still retains its original rooms, fully furnished, along with the art exhibits.
There was a special exhibition of works by Heinrich Fussli, a Swiss painter of the late 18th to early 19th Century, who spent most of his life in Britain, where he was known as Henry Fuseli. His works were fantasies on Shakespearean themes, dreams, and mythology.
After viewing the exhibit, we stopped into the beautiful tea room, which was originally the dining room of the house, for a snack.
With lots of time to kill before dinner, we took an Uber to Montmartre to see the basilica of Sacre Coeur. I had been there many years ago, but Stanley never had, so it was very much worth our time.
Dinner was just a short walk away, at Chantoiseau, but we still had some time to kill, so we stopped at a nearby bar, where we sat outside, for a cocktail.
The restaurant was not at all busy, with fewer than half the tables occupied. The food is traditional but with modern touches. My poached calf brain appetizer was cleverly done with a jalapeno sauce, sliced peppers and cilantro. Stanley began with crab in a grapefruit mayonnaise. I had a venison chop and he had blanquette de veau. Everything was delicious. With a bottle of wine from the Languedoc at 45 euros, the total was 143.
This was our final day in Paris. Here is my ranking of restaurants, from best to worst:
Mo’suke (most original and creative, unusual and interesting flavors, great bang for the buck)
Le Radis Beurre (long-time favorite, great game and organ meats)
La Condesa (interesting flavors with Mexican influences)
Le Sergent Recruteur (Beautiful and interesting dishes)
Chez Michel (delicious game birds)
Chantoiseau (great updated traditional)
Parcelles (updated traditional, great organ meats)
Granite (no choices but very tasty food)
Bistrotters
Le Mazenay
Note that with the exception of Bistrotters and Le Mazenay, it was difficult to rank as they were all so good and I would recommend every one. Overall, we found good value and spent less than I had expected.
After an early breakfast, we set out from Alba to Valence, France, a six-hour trip that we broke up with a lunch in Briancon, in the French Alps. The restaurant I chose was Le Peche Gourmande, which turned out to be fabulous.
It’s interesting to note that the chef is an Australian woman and her French husband does the serving. He was incredibly efficient handling several tables single-handedly and the timing of the dishes was perfect.
We arrived at the Atrium Hotel in Valence in the early evening. The location was excellent, just a few blocks from the old center, and parking was free. The rate of 90 euros a day was a steal.
The room was quite large and very quiet, with a kitchenette, and a bathroom with a big walk-in shower.
Dinner in Valence was at Flaveurs, which has a Michelin star. I’m not sure it was deserved.
Everything was very good, but there is no printed menu and everyone gets the same dishes. This place seems a bit too serious for its own good. The 58 euro menu includes two starters, a main dish and two desserts. Everything they served us was fish or seafood, i.e. shrimp, squid and trout. With a 32 euro bottle of Ardeche wine, and water, the bill was 173.
In the morning, we took a walk around Valence and attempted to see the cathedral, but it was closed.
Then off to lunch in Montelimar. I had two restaurants in mind, and after checking out the menus we chose Cafe de l’Ardeche, which was quite elegant and had a nice lunch deal for 30 euros.
Stanley started with a poached egg with coco beans, then had the pork belly, and a lemon tart topped with granny smith apple slices. I had veal tartare to start, then tuna in a phyllo crust with a carrot and orange terrine, and chocolate millefeuille.
With wine, water and coffee, the bill was 114.
After lunch we took a brief stroll in the old quarter.
Back to the car, we headed out on scenic country roads to Grignan and Nyons, cited as among the most charming villages in the Drome.
After Nyons we took a faster route back to Valence, where we had dinner at La Cachette. This is another Michelin starred restaurant, and though it was expensive, it was a pretty much flawless experience.
The unassuming entry and sparsely decorated room give little indication of the superb food to come. As at Flaveurs, there is no choice of dishes. The chef is Japanese and the dishes show that influence. The menu lists the courses and the prix-fixe is 98 euros. Here is a photo of the menu:
We chose an unusual but very good wine from the Languedoc for 55 euros, one of the lowest priced on the list. With aperitifs and water, the total was 276. This was our most expensive meal so far on this trip, but though it may seem high, if it were in New York it would have been multiples of that. Dinner took nearly three hours and was a most enjoyable evening.
Thursday, 10/6
Getting an early start, we again drove on some challenging roads to Saint Romain de Lerps, which turned out to be rather disappointing. It has a commanding view but the town itself was dull. Continuing on, we reached Aubenas, a charming small city with some good restaurants.
We had lunch at Notes de Saveurs, which has a lovely terrace with beautiful views.
Here is the lunch menu:We had both choices for the first two courses, and one dessert, the poached pear and chocolate. The food was delicious, and we had an excellent bottle of Ardeche wine for 26.
With coffees, the total was 99.
After lunch, we went to Alba-la-Romaine, which was cute, but the Roman ruins were not very interesting.
Chateau of Alba-la-Romaine, much of it a ruin.
Back in Valence, we had dinner at Andre Bistrot, which is adjacent to and associated with Maison Pic, a Michelin 3-star where dinner costs 380 euros (!).
Stanley ordered the prix-fixe at 43 and had the guinea hen terrine, braised beef and poached pear (which we shared). I ordered a la carte, the grilled octopus and seafood sausage. We had a very nice bottle of Crozes Hermitage for 50. While it may seem inexpensive compared with its sister restaurant, this was good bistro cooking, but nothing particularly creative or exciting. I’m sure there are other local bistros that would be as good and a lot cheaper. With aperitifs and water, the total was 171.
In the morning, we took a taxi to the TGV station in Marne-La-Vallee, where we caught the train to Lyon. This was not without drama, as I went into the ticket office to see if I could get our tickets printed out because I was never able to successfully create an account with SNCF and couldn’t print them myself. Oddly, the agent was able to print the return tickets but not the ones for this trip. Supposedly I was supposed to get the tickets a week after I purchased them online in June. I asked how I could possibly have done that. In any case, I had to buy new tickets. I will deal with it through my credit card.
Arriving in Lyon, we quickly picked up the rental car and drove to Alba in Italy, our favorite place to stay in the Langhe. This time we were able to reserve at the Hotel Langhe, as I had done it many months in advance. It was the third time we had stayed in this hotel, and apparently it has recently been completely renovated and looking very spiffy.
The rate of 150 euros includes a very nice breakfast.
For dinner we went to Osteria La Torre in Cherasco, which was not my first choice, because I could not get a reservation at Osteria Veglio.
We had been to La Torre some years back and it was good, and it still was, just not exceptional. We shared vitello tonnato, and rabbit ravioli topped with rabbit liver. For mains, Stanley had guinea fowl and I had finanziera, the traditional stew of organ meats and vegetables. We had a 2020 Barbera d’Alba for 28 euros. The bill was 96 euros.
We took a long and leisurely drive through the countryside to lunch at Trattoria Marsupino in Briaglia. We at there four years ago (refer back to my 2018 post), and it was great then except for the goat, which I found a bit dry and tough. This time, everything was perfect including the goat.
We started with calamari prepared two ways, fried and grilled, and sweetbreads with mushrooms. Next we shared tajarin with a mushroom ragu, then for mains I had quail and Stanley had the aforementioned goat. For dessert, he had a toasted bread crumb ice cream and I had a torrone semifreddo with caramel sauce. There were very nice amuses-bouche and afterward, mignardises. With coffees, water and a bottle of wine from Roero, the bill was 165 euros.
We stopped back at the hotel briefly, then headed into town, where the truffle festival and other celebrations were in full swing.
Next, off to dinner at Ristorante Bovio in La Morra, an elegant restaurant perched on a cliff with panoramic views.
It was very busy, yet the servers were incredibly efficient and attentive. The food was excellent, on pretty much the same level as the lunch at Marsupino.
We started with foie gras terrine with figs and veal tartare with parmesan cheese and black truffles. Then we shared meat-stuffed canneloni topped with black truffles. The main courses were tagliata di vitello (thin sliced veal sirloin) topped with yet more black truffle, and suckling pig that was probably the best I’ve ever had, very tender and moist. For dessert we shared a hazelnut savarin. A bottle of 2019 Barbaresco was surprisingly inexpensive at 40 euros. The bill including water was 155.
Lunch was at Ristorante Violetta in Calamandrana. We had some difficulty finding it as the GPS led us to the wrong place but we eventually figured it out.
Everything about it was lovely, from the warm welcome to the excellent service to the superb food. After a tasty amuse-bouche of potato salad, we began with vitello tonnato. Next was gnocchi with sausage and tomato. For main courses, roasted rabbit and stuffed breast of guinea fowl. For dessert we shared a chocolate bunet. The wine I chose, a Barbera d’Asti 2019, was the best wine we had up to this point and only 20 euros. The total was 86.
We arrived Thursday night from Berlin, staying with Ana and Bertrand in La Varenne.
We only stayed one day as we were heading to Alba in Italy on Saturday. We would be returning to Paris on 10/7 after spending 3 days in Alba and 3 in Valence (France).
View of the Marne from Ana and Bertrand’s terrace.
Friday was the day we celebrated Stanley’s birthday a second time, this time at Mo’suke in Paris. This is the Michelin-starred restaurant of chef Mory Sacko, a Frenchman of African descent, who mixes French, African and Japanese ingredients and cooking styles. It’s a difficult reservation to get, but I checked the website continuously over the past few months and was lucky to snag one for this lunch.
It’s one of the most unusual restaurants in Paris, and the food is superb. We were served a huge selection of canapes and amuses-bouche that I couldn’t begin to describe. The appetizer we all had was a pepper soup with squid, mussels and okra. For the main course, Bertrand and I had maigre (croaker in English) and Stanley and Ana had chicken prepared two ways, roasted with teriyaki sauce and fried Japanese style. For dessert, Ana and I had chocolate ganache, which actually turned out to be three different parts, while Stanley and Bertrand had a plum dessert with a granite. It’s very difficult to describe the dishes as they are so complex, but suffice to say they were delicious and very nicely spiced, unlike typical French cooking.
We had a very nice wine from the Cotes Catalanes. The bill including coffees was just over 300 euros which was amazing for the quality and quantity as well as the atmosphere and service.
For dinner we went to Chez Michel, which we had loved on our last trip four years ago. The menu was almost the same, as it was the same time of year, which meant a lot of game birds.
Stanley started with pate de campagne, and I had crab with avocado. Once again, I had grouse stuffed with foie gras and girolle mushrooms, and Stanley had partridge with foie gras. These are what we came here for and they did not disappoint. For dessert we had a Paris-Brest and riz au lait. With wine, the bill was 135, just 10 euros more than four years ago, and less in dollars at today’s exchange rate.
After an uneventful overnight flight on United, we arrived in Berlin Sunday morning. Our premium economy seats were very comfortable, but the one complaint is that the food was so bad they couldn’t have made it worse if they tried. Airline food we’ve had over the years has ranged from mediocre to pretty good. This was just awful.
Sunday, 9/24
A quick taxi ride to the hotel (the Axel) got us there by 9:30 and of course it was too early for check-in, so we dropped our bags and went for a long stroll before having lunch at noon. Fasanenstrasse is a particularly pretty street, with significant late 19th and early 20th century architecture.
The Berlin marathon was going on, so the Kurfurstendamm was very busy and festive. Otherwise the Schoeneberg neighborhood was very sleepy.
Kaiser Wilhelm Church
We had a very nice lunch at Elefant, around the corner from the hotel. The food is traditional German, with a huge selection of schnitzels and other standards. Stanley had veal schnitzel with mushrooms and onions, accompanied by home fries and a salad, while I had beef roulade with red cabbage and very good potato dumplings. We really enjoyed the food. We had a couple of bottles of Kostritzer black beer. Service was cordial and efficient. The bill with tip totaled just over 50 euros.
After checking into the hotel around 2:00 we got settled and took a nap for a couple of hours. I should note that we were wary after reading many negative reviews of the Axel, but either they have corrected the problems or the complaints were unfounded.
The room and public areas are very clean, the staff is helpful, and our room appeared to have been recently refreshed. The mattress looked new and was very comfortable, and the carpet was probably new too.
Dinner was at Rutz-Zollhaus, a former toll house on a canal in Kreuzberg. It was an easy subway ride back and forth, and as it is one of very few top restaurants in Berlin that are open on Sundays I was very happy to have chosen it.
The staff were very warm and welcoming, and the food, service and atmosphere were absolutely delightful. The chef, Marco Muller, has a Michelin 3-starred restaurant in West Berlin called Rutz.
Rutz-Zollhaus is his simpler place, but it feels like it should have at least one star.
We began with a trout mousse with bone marrow and celery, salami of game, and liverwurst mousse with wonderful bread and butter. For mains, I had saddle of venison and Stanley had braised ox shoulder. Both came with carrots prepared three ways. We shared a dessert of a thin brownie topped with a red pepper semifreddo, the whole smothered in a green apple puree and bits of apple. Every dish was beautifully presented and delicious.
We had a bottle of Wallufer Spatburgunder from the Reingau, very well priced at 45 euros, and with dessert, glasses of sweet riesling.
The total with tip was just over 180 euros, quite a bargain for a restaurant of this caliber. https://rutz-zollhaus.de/
Monday, 9/26
First order of business was to buy a couple of bottles of Pedro Ximenez sherry, which we were able to get at KaDeWe, the famous department store just a couple of blocks from the hotel. The food courts on the top floors are spectacular. There is every kind of wine you could imagine, so we had no problem finding the sherry. We then walked around checking out all the food offerings as we would return there for lunch.
We decided on Fischkutter, which offers a large menu of all sorts of freshwater and saltwater fish.
Stanley had Adlerfisch, which translates as meagre, from Corsica, with saffron butter, and I had Steinbeisser, translated as spined loach, from Iceland, with citrus wasabi mayonnaise. We shared the two side dishes, stewed cherry tomatoes and sweet potato fries. Both were perfectly prepared. We also had a bottle of spatburgunder rose from the Rheingau, for 27 euros. The total with tip was 88 euros.
The beautiful desserts at Lenotre beckoned us, so we had a hazelnut mousse cake and espressos.
Next we walked over to the Kaiser Wilhelm church, which you can see in the photo from the marathon on Sunday. It was severely damaged in the war, and a modern bell tower and church were built next to it.
Interior of the old churchThe church as it appeared in 1933Interior of the new church
After that we took the subway to Stadtmitte, the old city center in East Berlin, walking up Charlottenstrasse, past the Gendarmenmarkt and the three buildings framing it, the German and French cathedrals and the concert hall.
We continued to Unter den Linden, and walked along it to the Brandenburg gate, where the Berlin wall once divided East and West Berlin, and to the Tiergarten beyond. Unfortunately it is not as pretty as one might expect, lined with ugly modern buildings. Brandenburg gateTiergarten
We walked through the park to the Potsdamerplatz, which is rather ugly. We took the subway from there back to the hotel.
Potsdamerplatz
For dinner we went to Reinhard’s am Kurfurstendamm, a large restaurant in a prominent corner location.
A dinner as good as we had the previous night is a tall order. As good as Reinhard’s was, it didn’t reach that level. Nonetheless, the food was quite good. Stanley had the fish soup and calf’s liver with shallots and mashed potatoes. I had carpaccio with dried cherry tomatoes and truffle oil, followed by guinea fowl with black truffles, haricot verts, carrot and mashed potatoes. It was all very good, as was the service. We had a bottle of German cabernet sauvignon for 56 euros. Total came to 165 euros including tip.
This was our day in Potsdam to tour the Sanssouci Palace, which was built by Frederick the Great. We took the U-bahn, S-bahn and a taxi and arrived just in time for our 11:40 tour. It was curious that the audioguide gave a wealth of information about the palace, who many of the guest were, and much about Frederick himself, but absolutely no mention of the fact that he was gay.
Front viewRear viewReception roomGalleryMusic roomOne of several guest rooms
After the tour, we took a bus into the old center of Potsdam, which is charming and filled with restaurants.
I had already chosen Der Butt based on Tripadvisor reviews, and it was an excellent choice. The lunch we had the previous day at Fischkutter was very good, but this fish restaurant was even better.
We started with a salmon cream soup and a crab soup with tiny shrimp. Stanley had a whole flounder stuffed with speck, and I had filet of black halibut. We drank a red ale that was very good.
Dinner Tuesday night was at Volt, a restaurant in a former electrical substation.
This gets an A for design. Service was good too, but the food was unexciting. We chose the 3-course menu. There are no choices. You get sea trout, flank steak and a blackberry dessert. There were also two amuse-bouches and a miniature jelly doughnut (not very good) following the dessert. The dessert was very good, but overall there was nothing exceptional about Volt. With a bottle of wine for 40 euros and tip, the total was 218.
This was supposed to be a rainy day, but the forecast was completely wrong. It was a mix of sun and clouds and pleasantly cool.
We took a taxi to the Reichstag to see the dome that’s been built on top, with panoramic views.
We had planned to have lunch in the adjacent rooftop restaurant, but it was closed for a private event. Just as well, as it is expensive and the menu is extremely limited. Instead we found a nice place nearby that was very good and reasonably priced, Hopfingerbrau.
I had wienerschnitzel with a potato and cucumber salad and Stanley had currywurst with fries. It was very tasty and the portions were generous. We drank an excellent dark beer, and the total with tip was under 50 euros. I would highly recommend this.
After lunch, we walked to the museum island, where we visited the Pergamon museum, which exhibits reconstructions of Greek and Roman architectural monuments.
Processional way of Babylon, ca. 575 BCIshtar Gate – The eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, ca. 575 BCMarket gate of Miletus, ca. 100 AD
Back to the hotel, then dinner at Diekmann, a short walk away.
This was Stanley’s birthday, and I was hoping for dinner to be perfect. Thankfully it was.
This one beat our dinner at Rutz Zollhaus by a nose. The reason for the difference is that the main dishes did not both have the same accompaniments. Each was a unique creation.
We both had an Aperol spritz as aperitif, accompanying the amuse-bouche of stewed cherry tomato. We started with foie gras and pigeon, main courses were lamb belly and braised ox cheek, and desserts were creme brulee with strawberry sorbet and plum tart with vanilla ice cream. The presentations were absolutely gorgeous. We had an excellent wine from the Pfalz region and a glass of ice wine with dessert.
The service was perfect. This was definitely our best meal in Berlin, and the total cost with all the drinks, and tip, came to under 250 euros. It was worth every penny.
Apparently it’s been around for 5 years but never got on our radar. In an area with few good restaurant options, the location is one that is mostly unknown to anyone who doesn’t live nearby. Luckily a friend who lives around the corner recommended it and we went there with him last week. It’s a real find, likely the best Italian restaurant on the Upper West Side. The owners and staff are very welcoming and kind. The food is imaginative and the menu offers many choices.
The vitello tonnato was perhaps the best I’ve had outside of Italy. The fried artichokes were likewise far above anything we’ve had in the city. A special of osso bucco was far above average as well. A pear and nutella tart and espresso semifreddo showed real talent. We also had a great wine that was surprisingly low-priced.
Robert Rems' Open House 