Nuffnang Ads

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Berlin: A Local Favourite @ Hacketals, Gaststätte

Germany is a country known for its beer, football, precision engineering and really tall people.  But there is more to Germany than what meets the eyes.  A rich cultural heritage paired with modern influence has resulted in a diverse European landscape.  In the next few posts, I re-visit the sights and feeds that made me love this systematic country.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
My first night in Germany was at Berlin and I kicked off with a traditional German meal at a family owned gastro-pub called the Hackethal`s in Gaststätte.  Its small sitting area means its slight cramped, and its location was rather secluded made it hard to find.  However, the promise of a good meal was all the mattered to me.  The staff speaks English and ordering was a bliss.  But as they were understaffed, the service was also slow but bearable.  At this point, the food had to be really good.

PA103883


Veal Schnitzel - Crisp, well battered and fried golden brown. A faultless classic! But wait? Was this German?
PA103874


Eisbein - Smokey ham hock cooked till tender and served with mash and sauerkraut.  Likeable but the amount of skin and fat on there means it was quite literally not worth the buck!
PA103878


Bratwurst - Much skinnier and longer than I expected.  Each bite is a sensation of meatiness that speaks homemade.  Not juicy bites filled with creamy-lardy flesh.  It was nice but was it the ideal sausage?  Not quite unfortunately!
PA103871


rote Grütze or simply red berries with custard is a Berlin classic.  Its taste was a reminisce of a childhood imagination from the cartoon classics!  Cooked berries doused with generous amounts of custard.  Really simple and hearty. 
PA103881


The result? I found the food was decent but it did not really hit the sweet spot I was looking for.  The imagine imprinted in my mind was one of crispy skin knuckles, jumbo size meaty bratwursts and pretzels.  In saying that though, the food was inviting and would I come back?  Most definitely only if I am in the area because Hackethals is quite secluded!  But would I go for the Eisbein?  Definitely no.  However, with so much more on offer at Hackethal, I am pretty sure that there is something that would tickle my fancy better!


WenY