When it comes to food in Berlin you should take in consideration that Berlin in it's origin is part of a proletarian/ protestant society, in opposition to, for example, Paris that has a catholic/bourgeois background
Before reunification West-Berlin was a culinary oasis compared to the desert of tastelessness in the sourrounding east, there were'nt even protestant any more, just proletarian. Maybe the people had the power, but the might was definitively with the waiters ;-).
15 years after the "fall of the wall", and with Berlin as an operating capital in the EU, the city is not crammed full with first class restaurants, but you can find excellent food and hospitality in allmost every part of "Fun City".
Although Germany did'nt had colonies for much longer than it took time to prepare the menue for the victorious powers in Versaille in 1918, Berlin became a major centre of attraction for different cultures all over the world.
This foreign aid can be expected to build up a berlin society that can appreaciate and evaluate an elaborated cuisine, maybe even arts and manners.
>>>und euch Neu-Berliner Pappnasen, die ihr des Deutschen maechtig seid, sei gesagt:
" Steht die Sonne ueber der Gesellschaft erst einmal tief, werfen auch Plattenaufleger und Frisöre lange Schatten" >>>
Anyway, the GLOBAL HANGOVER GUIDE has it's own point of view on cooking for the public.
The first and utmost condition for good food is: It has to restaurate us, cause we work and play hard.
For that it's necessary to have fresh engredients (bio-food welcome!) prepared aux point!
It's definitely not necessary that a restaurant is decorated with one or more stars ( eg.: you can cook so good that GODS are craving for your food, you'll never get a "star", when the wine is not parked aside the table.
I repeat: Berlin is protestant-proletarian, but that doesn't mean it has no style. The root of Berlin style is it's generousity, and the absence of hypocrisy, its "live and let live" attitude.
Never expect more style from a restaurant than you have to offer yourself.
(listen: a well trained berlin waiter, needs 5 seconds to check you out. He can still smell the cow shed you're from and will start to shake you - with the result that you will give this jackass the most generous tip in your life.)
Berlin doesn't have enclaves of ethnic communities . OK, the Turks bought Kreuzberg, but there's no Chinatown, no Little Italy, no East LA. But within the last 10 years the "EAST", became an irresistible magnet for new berlin residents and restaurateurs. Some of the most adventurous dining in Berlin is now found in Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg.
( cool down westeners, YOU ARE BACK!)
The development goes upmarket. A lot is still missing.
Carpe diem, quod sit futuram cras!
