Indulgences

In the nearly four weeks I've been in Germany, I've eaten some unusual things, some heartily delicious things, some non-German food, and some potatoes. A lot of potatoes. I wanted to have a haute-Deutsch kinda meal, so I took my lonesome self out to dinner to Restaurant Maxwell in the Mitte neighborhood of Berlin. It really was in a 'neighborhood'--I walked past the place a few times as it is set back from the street some and surrounded by apartment buildings. I guess I've been accustomed to looking for lots and lots of sidewalk tables and umbrellas. This was not that sort of place.

It's set in an old brewery and the outside seating is in a courtyard of an apartment building. It was kind of fun to be eating and watching people coming home from work with their groceries and whatnot.

When the amuse guele came, I felt like I was at home--fancy restaurant home, but you know what I mean. A little sausage with red cabbage and horseradish foam--so German, yet not.

The prix fixe menu of the day (angebot) was posted.

A TRIO OF FOIE GRAS (yes, please)

One natural, one with walnuts, one with rosemary.

Accompanied by lemon olives (maybe), figs in balsamic vinegar, apple jelly, and a little brioche.

The weather was so hot that the foie gras was practically melting on the slate. Ich esse gern foie gras, and this was one of the best executions of this ever!

Filet mignon with chanterelles in a olive-marjoram sauce with spinach-feta strudel.

This was perfectly cooked. Look at that meat! Unfortunately, filet never tastes meaty enough for me, but it had a great texture and was a good vehicle for the sauce. If I were to do it over again, I would be like "you can give me hafl the meat and FOUR TIMES as many chanterelles (pfifferlinge). You've got to love anything called PFIFFERLINGE.

Pot cheese souffle with blueberries and vanilla ice cream and, uh, crunchy things.

(Sometimes things sound better in German.)

All in all, a most enjoyable experience. It's hard to do a two-hour meal all by yourself, but the waiter was sweet, the surrounding pleasant, the people-watching and eavesdropping in German, so not too annoying. At the end of the people this pair came and sat down adn everyone kind stared. The 60ish man was sort of Donald Trumpish with some bad longish/shortish hair all slicked back and the woman he was with had jet black-dyed long hair, wearing heels as high as her dress was short and low cut. And the shoes TIED ON. and she had all this bling. They were dripping money and attitude and ickiness and of course, just as I was staring my dessert they began to smoke Gauloises and Marlboros, blowing the nasty smell into my dessert aura.

I was looking at my pictures, and found this from my first weekend here when I was in Munich! My first real indulgence! As the Germans were celebrating an early World Cup win, I sat and watched and had this little beauty. It was almost as good as it looked. The rosewater litchi custard inside really made it!

From Cafe Maelu in Munich... PINK LADY: Raspberry Mousse with Rose-litchi center.