Essen (oder fressen!) in Berlin

So, after spending nearly five months here, I have finally reached the conclusion that Berlin is the best city in the world. Now, I know that may be an exaggeration, mainly seeing as how I have not been to every city in the world and therefore it is premature of me to make such a claim, but there are too many pros to this city than cons to make me feel/think otherwise. Actually, come to think of it, Berlin does not really have any negative aspects to it. Except for maybe if you are a single lady -- German men are not as forward (or forward at all) as other men. However, this can also be seen as a pro, since it means you will (most likely) not be harassed when you are waiting at an S/U-Bahn station at 4 in the morning by yourself. Okay, but that was not what this post is supposed to be about; instead, I would like to talk about one of the key reasons for why I love Berlin so much: The food (obviously). It is just as good as it is cheap. One can easily find a FULL MEAL for under 4 euro.

In the last week alone, I have tried several great food places in Berlin. Let's approach this chronologically:

Glücklich am Park (http://www.kaufdichgluecklich.de/)
This cute café, located in Mitte, specializes in homemade (or hausgemacht, auf Deutsch) ice cream and waffles. My friends and I decided to order the strawberry, whipped cream, and ice cream waffle and the chocolate and caramel waffle. Both of them were fantastic, although I preferred the former, because I am a huge strawberry fan and I felt like the chocolate overpowered the waffle. The waffle itself was perfect -- not too sweet, crunchy, or dry. I am fairly certain it had a hint of cinnamon in it. Either way, you can take a look and decide for yourself:

Weinerei (http://www.weinerei.com/)
For Tina's last night in Berlin, we decided to (finally!) visit the Weinerei, a restaurant that is also located in Mitte. After 8pm, the restaurant turns into a lounge, where one pays an entrance fee of 2 euro to receive a glass, which he/she can then proceed to use in order to pour himself/herself as many glasses of wine as (s)he desires. It also permits you to have as much as the buffet as you would like (it had pork roast, pasta noodles, red cabbage, and bread the night we went). When you leave, you are expected to give as much money as you think you spent on the wine and food that you had consumed throughout the night. Even though the wine and food is cheap, it is still a great experience because the ambiance is incredible: dark corners, dim lighting, couches and chairs, and wooden tables. To offer you a better idea: the walls are covered with pictures of Napoleon.

La Focacceria (http://www.qype.co.uk/place/53679-la-focacceria-Berlin)
Best. Pizza. Ever. Imagine this: Different types of toppings/cheeses on focaccia bread, which yields 10+ different kinds of pizza (ranging from super veggie to super meaty). The best? The 4-cheese one. We decided to split the 14 stuecke for 18 euro between the 5 of us. Let's just say we were able to try a good variety of different kinds of pizza. In fact, we had an abundance of heavenly pizza. For 3,60 euro/person. It is a must if you are ever in Berlin!

Vanille und Marille (http://www.vanille-marille.de/)
For all you Berkeley people, the best way to describe this place is: it's the better version of Ici. It's cheaper and tastier, at least in my opinion (I'm sure some of you would love to argue about this, but hey, this place sells a scoop of ice cream for only 1 euro WITH A WAFFLE CONE and it's better tasting than the ice cream sold at Ici).

And there you have it. Essen in Berlin. Guten Appetit!