One of the most delicious places we've encountered is the Makthalle Neun - the New Market Hall. It was once a traditional indoor fresh market, but now serves as an ultra-hip food hub, hosting Streetfood Thursdays and a mix of fresh vegetables and hot food on Fridays and Saturdays. We went twice last week, and there was no shortage of things to see and taste.
The bread looked fabulous...
(this place had about ten kinds of focaccia)
...as did the many cheeses available to accompany it.
The desserts were mouth-watering - cakes, pies, tarts, made-on-the-spot apple crisp...
...and there was a lot of meat. Artisan cured salamis and hams, Spanish-style tapas platters...
...uniquely spiced meatballs...
...and an entire pig slow-roasting in a giant pan while a man carved off haphazard chunks.
We opted instead for pumpkin arepas, grilled corn bread filled with roasted pumpkin, spinach sauteed with garlic, and crumbled feta. Marvelous.
We also sampled the Korean rice bowl, white rice with five different kinds of pickled vegetables including red cabbage, carrots, cucumber, and kimchi, topped with a fried egg. Also very good.
Earlier we'd seen mini chocolate mousse cups for one euro each - well worth the price.
It was the perfect amount of rich, yet fluffy and instantly-disappearing chocolate deliciousness.
There were so many options, it was impossible to try them all. (Although luckily there were plenty of free samples - buttery-smooth chocolate truffles, intensely flavorful olive oil, honey, jams, alpine cheese, complex sourdough, and the most amazing crème brûlée-flavored caramel sauce you can imagine.) We were happy to discover that many of the food stands were still open when we went back on Saturday afternoon. From a Turkish stand, we had a meze plate with chickpeas, lentil salad, olive salad, stuffed grape leaves, and tabbouleh. It was so fresh and satisfying, full of flavor and interesting textures.
We tried pizza from the focaccia stand, too. The crust was amazing, with a hint of sourdough and whole wheat and the perfect amount of chewiness. It was topped with crushed tomatoes and a rich, milky, delicious, full-flavored mozzarella.
And dessert, of course. One of the most interesting options there was a raw, vegan, chai-spiced cheesecake made with fermented cashews. It was incredible!
The filling was light, tangy, citrusy, and fluffy, with a nice mix of ginger, pepper, and other spices. The crust, made from grated coconut, carrots, nuts and sesame seeds, was a great complement.
I already can't wait to go back next week and try the food from the Caribbean stand - stewed black-eyed peas with fried plantains and yams - and perhaps the apple crisp. And maybe the tofu-filled bao. Or the cheese plate, or the Indian lentil soup. And probably some of the poppy-seed tart... As I said, Berlin is a great place to have an appetite.
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