Germany-outside the restaurants

[cnspriggs]

I am travelling to Germany and would love to hear some thoughts on the stores that people buy food and special treats at. Where are you going for German chocolate, good coffee, great cheese, wine etc (especially for German made products)?

Also any bakery, farmers market or other non-restaurant related options in the following cities would be great to know.

Nuremburg

Stuttgart

Berlin

Rhineland area

Cologne

Cheers!

[glauer]

in Stuttgart I would recommend the following:

The Markthalle is a fantastic covered market right in the middle of town. Certainly not cheap, but selection and quality are first rate. From local products (try the meat/sausages from Schwaebisch Haller Schwein, a "heirloom" pig race) to Foie gras etc. There alone you can find pretty much everything.

Just outside the Markthalle you will find Bernd Kreis winestore (www.wein-kreis.de).Fantastic selection of european wines including top german producers and some surprising local gems.

On another side around the corner, directly adjacent to the Markthalle is also an excelllent shop for chocolates.

For excellent coffee and tea go to Hochland, they have several shops throughout the city.

On the main shopping street, the Koenigsstrasse you will find tiny little huts selling Brezeln (Bretzels). They are usually of excellent quality, better than at many bakeries. Take the most basic version and ideally spread some fresh butter on yourself. The ones they sell with butter already on are usually not as crunchy anymore.

Will you also leave the city? In that case I would have more suggestions.

[Ed Ward]

Berlin's likely to be a disappointment, food-wise. Not much is grown around here except some root vegetables, and the native cuisine is basically pretty stodgy. That said, everyone makes the pilgrimage to the food floor at the KaDeWe, which isn't as interesting as it was before the store was bought out by the Quelle group, but might have some things that'll interest you. At least, as far as German food goes, it's pretty encyclopedic. I also shop in the Lafayette Gourmet basement at Galleries Lafayette, but that's because it has a good range of French stuff -- probably not what you're after!

There are a couple of rather thin farmer's markets at Hackescher Markt (Thursday) and Kollwitzplatz (Saturday) which might be of interest.

[anzu]

More Berlin farmers markets:

Winterfeldplatz: Wednesday and Saturdays, 8 to 2 pm - one of the larger markets, and not too bad. If you're there in summer, the fruit is pretty good. (south from Nollendorfplatz station).

Wittenbergplatz: Tuesdays and Fridays. Not a huge amount available, but sometimes they have less common types of apple varieties and such like. Nice breads also, including some not sold so frequently, such as the 'Ostschrippen' ("East German" bread roll). Diagonally opposite KaDeWe and, while not particularly cheap, still an awful lot cheaper than KaDeWe (though I would visit the food floor just for the region-by-region offerings of smoked pork products anyway).

Not German food, but a relatively large Turkish market: the Türkenmarkt along Maybachufer. U-bahn Schönleinstrasse. Tues and Fri from 12 - 6.30 pm. Very fresh fruits and vegetables, different types of Turkish breads, olives, cheese, and Turkish sweets.

Chocolate: Fassbender and Rausch. Charlottenstrasse, at Gendarmenmarkt (one street east from Friedrichstrasse). Various types of chocolate, pralines, etc., believe they are just setting up a chocolate-themed restaurant as well, but maybe it's not ready yet (?). Also has kitsch sculptures made out of chocolate, like the Brandenburg Gate and such like, if you are interested.

Tea (leaf tea, not a cafe): Benjowski at 3 Danziger Strasse. Near U-Bahn station Eberswalder Strasse, in Prenzlauer Berg. This has a REALLY good selection of teas, best I know of in Berlin. Not sure if they speak English, though.

Never actually gone here (yet), but Rogacki is meant to be good. Wilmersdorfer Strasse, U-bahn Bismarckstrasse. Web site is here. This developed from a place that smoked fish and now sells smoked fish, chicken and eel, as well as wine, bread, cheese, salads, etc. to either eat on the spot in a cafe/snack bar or to take away.

More-or-less-local specialty of Berlin: Spree Gurken - i.e. pickled cucumbers from about the Spreewald located about half-way between Berlin and the Polish border. These have various flavourings and are often sold loose from wooden tubs. Some supermarkets have them in the vegetable section (if you see wooden tubs in this area, this is what they will be), and I have seen them for sale in an out-of-the-way corner at the Winterfeldplatz market as well.

Another local (Spreewald) specialty is flax oil (Leinöl). This is sold in small brown bottles, and should be used up quite rapidly. It is often served here over mashed potatoes. I'm not totally won over by the taste, but am mentioning it anyway.

[Ed Ward]

Good catch on Rogaki, anju! It's definitely a Museum of Protein, with all the fish you don't see elsewhere (Berliners aren't big on fish) and lots of meat and Wurst. I got a Christmas turkey from there a couple of years ago, never frozen, top-notch quality. Not, however, cheap.

[Ducky]

For Berlin I certainly second Rogacki and KaDeWe. These shouldn't be missed.

KaDeWe has lost some of its market atmosphere - this is true - and is now more like a Fouchon in Paris, but it is still unique. Absolutely extraordinary selection of sausages and meats, cheeses, tinned goods etc. But even more fun in my view are the countless little stands where you can order up a small tapas-like plate of some speciality or other with a glass of champagne. A fine place to have a boozy and very eclectic meal in other words.

Also at Ka De We they pack just about anything for travel as many of their customers are from the east in particular.

[cnspriggs]

Hi glauer,

Yes we likely will leave the city so suggestions are more than welcome!

Cheers!

in Stuttgart I would recommend the following:

[snip]

Will you also leave the city? In that case I would have more suggestions.

←

[glauer]

then you should visit some of the local wineries. there are outsatnding ones in the suburbs of Stuttgart. for example Aldiner in Fellbach

70734 Fellbach , Schmerstraße 25

Tel. (711) 581417 , Fax 581488

Gert.Aldinger@t-online.de

www.weingut-aldinger.de

The new shooting star Rainer Schnaitmann

70734 Fellbach , Untertürkheimer Straße 4

Tel. (711) 574616 , Fax 5780803

weingut.schnaitmann@t-online.de

weingut-schnaitmann.de

or Woehrwag within city limits

70327 Untertürkheim , Grunbacher Straße 5

Tel. (711) 331662 , Fax 332431

info@woehrwag.de

www.woehrwag.de

There is also a fun guy/place about 30 minutes outside, where my family lives. Helmut Dolde is a teacher, but makes wine on the side. Excellent Silvaner, great as a food wine. This is meanwhile served in most Restaurants with a Michelin star in the area. He also makes wonderful pear cider. I am not sure how much wines he has left at this moment as he sells out quickly. But he also makes wonderful spirits from at least 20 different kinds of self grown fruit.

The address is Helmut Dolde, , Beurener Str. 16

72636 Frickenhausen / Linsenhofen

Telefon 07025 49 82

Linsenhoffen is in the Neuffen valley just South of Stuttgart. Very beautiful area at the bottom of the mountains. You can also eat very good local cuisine. The Traube in Neuffen for example, that is 3 miles further in the valley from Linsenhofen.

Or a few miles before on the way from Stuttgart the Linde in Oberboihingen. Not exactly a extermely pretty ambiance (so somewhat unique 70s rustique....), but excellent food.

And just 2 miles away the Linde in Zizishausen. This is a great butcher store. Looks very unassuming, but the quality of the sausages and coldcuts is really great. Very traditional. They make good cold meats etc in cans. The ones not containing beef one can even import to the US which I always do (not sure about Canada). Overall there are many good butchers in the area, but these days it can be tricky to find out the excellent ones as more and more chains intrude. They are usually pretty decent, but never reach the best small places. Also if you see some street fest going (usually every other village has one during sommer weekends), just stop and mingle with the crowd. They can be lots of fun.

There is plenty more in the area. Just stop frequently and sample. people are usually friendly to foreigners. Please report back from your trip.

[tonguesandwich]

I'm in Berlin right now and have found eating out a bit dicey. But what I have found is Butter Lindner where you can get fresh packed butter, whole cream milks, and a selectiton of good looking cheeses and meats. Locations all around berlin, don't know about other cities. http://www.lindner-esskultur.de/ If your in Berlin, the one in the basement of the building on the W side of Hermannplatz shares space with a "bio" market with some good fresh produce offerings.

For meat I'm headed to Fleischerei Obitz today, supposedly the best butcher in the city, organic, hormone free: Ludwigkirchstraße 3, Wilmersdorf.

And for dinner tonight I'm headed to Henne http://www.henne-berlin.de/ , where half an organically raised chicken is the only thing on the menu, so I hope it's great.

[Ed Ward]

Not the *only* thing on the menu, but the only thing you should try! They also have Currywurst and probably Bratwurst, but I've never seen anyone order them. Be sure to look at the letter from JFK over the bar!

[Sarah Pourciau]

The potato salad there made a convert of my potato salad hating sister. But with weather like we're having right now, I'd skip Zur Henne and head across the street to Zur kleinen Markthalle (Legiendamm 32). Same exact menu, same century-old claim to legitimacy, same incredible crackly chicken skin PLUS a nice little garden out front.

[Swisskaese]

You should go to Lebkuchen Schmidt in Nuremberg. They are the Lebkuchen bakers.

They are located at:

Plobenhofstr. 6 (Hauptmarkt)

and

Handwerkerhof (open from March to Dezember)

Zollhausstr. 30

Make sure you try the famous Nuremberger sausages. I don't think you will be able to bring any back with you.

I am not sure where you are going along the Rhine, but here is a site that lists some of the better wineries:

Rhine Wineries

I used to live in a small village called Boppard am Rhein and it is on the wine route. I was really spoiled there.

Edited June 27, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Ed Ward]

Actually, you can bring the Nurnberger Rostbratwurstl back with you; a number of places there sell them in a can! Now, I have no idea how these stack up against the fresh ones, although you might be able to bring back some of the memories by cooking them over a beechwood fire, like they do in Nurnberg, but I was astonished to see these cans when I was there a couple of months ago.