Graefe-Kiez

I am still in the phase where everything is to be discovered and I enjoy it everytime. I have this little snap in the heart when I notice a place I want to go to, passing by slowly with the bike and "come on, go there, have a drink" and then I'm in. I discovered this area of Berlin because I visited a flat there (I'd like to move someday and I looooooove visiting flats). I always do the same : making an appointment, not to be in a hurry, arriving early so I can smell the heart of the district. And in this one I was not disapointed at all. Last Friday evening, nothing much to do so because the weather was warm enough for the journey I went in Kreuzberg. I remember the first time I came in Berlin I was listening to people who told "never go there, It's dangerous, only foreign people (to be polite, and I'm a foreigner too !), bla bla bla". It is said here that Kreuzberg is the second biggest city of ... Turkey !Since then I made up my own mind and keep on believing It's everywhere the same : It's not because you are in a beautiful district that you can feel safer. I prefer to have prostitutes round my corner (strangely It happened to me many times while I moved). Why : just because there is always traffic : cars, men, police, ... . Instead of living in a bourgeois (passé, daaaaarling, so passé-bourgeois) in a place where everyone locks his door around 6.00 p.m. and even the dog is afraid to pee outside. Well, anyway I started with a nice glass of wine at Room 77. Very cosy place : sofas everywhere, babyfoot, flipper, wine (only one choice but a good one and fresh enough), international people at the bar and around 1.00 a.m. : a concert. This time was a 3 men's group who played some north african music and It was a good surprise. After that I said I'll come back at Graefestrasse. And I did ... the next day. I took the opportunity that a friend was there on Saturday to go dining out with him at Marquès, Nr. 92 of the street. We had such a good dinner. It didn't happen since a long time. We can say the menu is mostly spanish but with a french twist and I understood why when i met the chef outside to have a smoke (there is a smoking room but I appreciate time to time not to be in a smoky place, especially with a non-smoker ... and so good food and wine). The chef is a young talented one and studied french cuisine. That explains certainly why he's not afraid to make experiences and good ones I admit. I left Barcelona last year and since then didn't have the opportunity to find back the tastes of the food from there. So it was a nice surprise indeed to have the choice of tapas that looked all yummy on the paper and really did in my plate (where they didn't stay very long, hmmm those caramelized champignons !). I like to share the starter so I know if the dinner was good i might find a little space to share the dessert. Then some lamb (just cooked rosé, delicieux !) with just enough vegetables and purée to go with. I trusted the owner to choose the wine (the place is also a winery) and I did good because this portuguese red wine was a perfect match : at good temperature, fruity but not too strong (I keep believing bordeaux ruins dinner outside of having Boeuf Bourguignon, I am more Bourgogne type). So there was a little space left for the Crema Catalana and we accepted the offer of the owner to finish having a glass of Cognac. Of course we paid the price (a bit expensive for Berlin) but I enjoyed every moment. The place, the food, the wine, the company, the service : all was there to make a successful evening. So after that why not carrying on ? Just in front of Room 77 there was another place I wanted to go to. Café Matilda (Nr. 12 of the street). We chose the room at the rear because it felt more cosy with the sofas and leather chairs. Nice and friendly, music not too loud and wine OK. There was no particular party last Saturday (you know, the end of the month ...) so on the way back, what a coincidence we passed by Moebel Olfe where the light and the music were still on. So we stopped of course. A good evening Insane in the brain .