A Taste of Berlin, Part 1

It was a foggy weekend in Berlin.  A 13 hour bus ride from Paris meant that upon arrival it was necessary to immediately begin the search for sustenance.  On a Saturday morning in February, the streets of Berlin  are empty.   And if you walk in the opposite direction that you are supposed to, it might be difficult to find a living soul to ask for directions.  When you do find someone, however, they will likely be quite helpful.  Assuming the directions you get are correct, you will find the bakery you seek.

Kaedtler Bäckerai 

Kaedtler is a Jewish bakery that is only open until noon on Saturdays, so we got there 20  minutes before closing time.  The shopkeeper was sweeping and the cases were mostly empty.  She was very helpful, pointing out what was left to sell behind the counter.  We ended up with 2 pieces of cheesecake, 2 Hamentaschen, 1 Mandelecke and 1 chocolate-rum-ball.  The total somehow came out to 6€, which made me sure that the shopkeeper gave us a few things for free, seeing as it was closing time.  

The Mandelecke, an almond cookie dipped in chocolate, was slightly sticky and delicious.  A great balance of sweetness.  The cheesecake with mandarin oranges had a nice texture and good flavor.  The one with cherries was also yummy, but the cherries overpowered the flavor of the cream cheese just a bit.  The pastry on the bottom of both cheesecakes was a little soggy and had sort of an off-flavor.  The Hamentaschen were filled with jam and delicious in a simple way while the chocolate-rum-ball was too "rummy" and hard to eat because of the astringency.

  

Mogg

This is definitively the best pastrami I have eaten.  The flavor, texture, thickness of the slices...these people know what they're doing.  At Mogg, my boyfriend and I ordered a pot of mint tea, a reuben, a classic pastrami sandwich with coleslaw, and potato salad.  Each part of this meal was stellar.  Even the servers were helpful and friendly without being overly-attentive.  The atmosphere was one that made you feel like you were in the right place.