Cafe Berlin, Washington, D.C.

Last night I got to have an impromptu dinner with one of my politico friends up on the Hill who always manages to have an unusual insight into the behind the scenes workings of the party before the press figures things out. We decided to do something there in the neighborhood; I suggested the always-competent Cafe Berlin and he acquiesced, saying he'd always wanted to try it. So, off we went, braving the light rain which started falling (a significant event, since it wasn't so long ago when this friend and I went to lunch on a rainy day in Friendship Heights and he showed up sans umbrella and looking ever so much like a poor, drenched cat!).

Cafe Berlin was busy enough (wow, a Tuesday night, too!) that we were seated in the back dining room. Along the way, a diner passes through the bar and then next to the wickedly decadent dessert table as they wind their way through the floral tablecloth-covered tables to the large back room.

My friend started with a 1/2 liter of a German Bitburger beer whilst I drank a very ungermanic iced tea. Dinner was simple. He ordered the Sauerbraten and I ordered the Ungarisches Goulash.

The Sauerbraten had a stunning presentation. Slices of the marinated beef roast in the braising liquid rested in the bottom of the plate while a large baseball-sized Knödel—a potato dumpling— spiked with carrot spears and flat-leafed Italian parsley sat amidst the meat. My friend reported that the Sauerbraten (beef roast marinated and braised in wine vinegar) was very good and that the Knödel was "interesting," having the texture of a stiff cream of wheat; that texture is expected, though, since the dumplings are usually made from a combination of mashed potatoes and grated raw potatoes before they are seasoned and poached.



My goulash was good, but oddly unsatisfying. Now, this German "Hungarian goulash" is very different from the thick, macaroni goulash of my childhood; rather, it is very tender, stewed meat served atop Spätzle, or free-form German noodles, in broth. While everything tasted fine, I found the serving size of the meat to be a little small and the stewing liquid surrounding the Spätzle was very much that: liquid. I think perhaps I would have preferred the liquid to be thickened into more of a gravy.



Both entrees were accompanied by little bowls of clove-redolent red cabbage.

Both of us showed remarkable self-discipline and restraint and declined dessert. It's always a sacrifice to do that here, but I'm already wearing my "fat clothes," so it's a necessity.

Cafe Berlin is one of the few places I enjoy in the Capitol Hill-Union Station area. They do a great job of showing how German food need not be "heavy" and bland. I'm also pleased to see that they are staying busy and getting lots of mid-week diners, as by the time we were getting ready to leave, our dining room had filled up to the point that ambient crowd noise made it difficult to hear (of course, that was mainly due to a new table with three young married couples where the young women were "trying too hard" with their forced laughter at their husbands' lame jokes).

Ich bin ein Berliner!