Spring Restaurant Review

Buchhandlung Cafeteria, Tucholskystr. 32, Berlin-Mitte (S Bhf. Oranienburgerstr.)

It reached 15 degrees Celcius in Berlin today, and the astounding weather had a measurable effect on me and the other residents of this sometimes very gray city. Even the native Berliner, famous for their "Berliner Schnauze" (lit. "snout," probably translates better to "bite") seemed to have a bounce in their steps.

I celebrated the warmth with some other IES folk over a two-hour lunch at a sidewalk cafe table in Mitte. It was one of the the more memorable of my experiences in Berlin thus far, which is likely why we were so reluctant to leave. Warm sun, good food, beautiful surroundings--I was in heaven! I consumed a bowl of tortellini in tomato vegetable sauce and two avocado milkshakes (unconventional but addictive) over the course of the meal. I also tried some of the lentil-ginger-coconut soup my friends ordered and officially recommend the Buchhandlung Cafeteria on Tucholskystr. in Mitte pretty strongly. You can get a good meal (sans drink) for 3-5 Euros and a hearty snack for 2-3 Euros--assuming you don't give into temptation like I did and blow your entire week's "eating out" budget on avacado shakes. Fortunately that is what birthday money is for! The atmosphere inside the place is also delightfully quirky in a Berlin run-down-chic kind of way. The service is slow, but the one girl who works there is friendly and does the best she can considering she makes each dish to order in addition to waitressing and washing the dishes. I, certainly, will be spending a lot of time there over the next six months!

(note: as far as I can tell, there isn't actually a bookstore in, at, or near the cafe)