Brunch at the "Café Butter" - A neighborhood corner café (Berlin, Germany)



Everyone has their favorite coffeeshop, may it be because of the comfy armchairs, the free wifi, the nice music, the great coffee and tea selection :) I like this corner café especially because of its location and atmosphere.

Café Butter - the Corner Café

  • Location: It is located in the nice area of Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, at a corner of a side street, a little away from the hustle and bustle of the main touristic streets and train stations. 
  • Atmosphere: When you go inside, it does not have the traditional "trashy" character of Berlin, but a nice old-style rustic/romantic atmosphere. They have a little elevated seating area, a few steps up from the ground, where you can sit right next to the window - my favorite spot :)  
  • Food/Drinks: They also do have great food and a great tea selection. As I am not a coffee person, tea is really important to me :) Their tea selection includes some nice not so common oolong and white teas. The "Oolong Orange" is currently my favorite. They also offer a few dishes including "Schnitzel" (fried cutlets) and "Knödel" (dumplings), cheese and meat platters, egg dishes, soups, salads, etc. and also a changing weekly menu with some specials. The food tastes fresh, homemade and very flavorful. On the weekends they offer a brunch buffet. 
  • Cons: No wifi, however, you can always bring company or a book to keep you busy :)

Great Tea Selection:

  • Earl Gray (the classic black tea with bergamot oil)
  • Oolong Orange (oolong tea with orange blossoms)
  • Li Zi Xiang (silverleave green tea)
  • Morgenzauber (green tea with sunflower leaves, roses and cornflower blossoms)
  • Silberstück (green and white tea with bamoo leaves, roses, marigold and spearmint)
  • Rooibos tea

 

The Brunch Buffet Experience

  • On saturdays, they have the rolls from the bakery next door which are nice. They offer a great variety of dishes including a plate with deli meats, cheeses, cream cheeses, salmon, tomatoes/mozarella, and  fruits. They also offer some interesting not so common salads (lentil, curry, potato-apple, etc.). They also have some warm dishes including scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausage links, fried cream cheese rolls, and wings. They also have waffles and a table with dessert bowls including different kinds of pudding, yoghurt, fruits, red fruit jelly, chocolate mouse, vanilla cream, etc.  Sometimes they also offer freshly made crepes. Drinks are not included in the buffet. However, as mentioned they have a good tea selection. They also have fresh pressed orange juice, mimosas, and smoothies :)
 Improvement Ideas:
  • Their bread/ roll selection is minimalistic, only white bread. I would have enjoyed some variety, some seeded rolls or bread, maybe a croissant. Also, none of the dessert bowls are labeled, and as many have the same color, it is quite difficult to figure out what is what... Also, I do not believe the waffles are fresh made, but they still tasted delicious :)

I highly recommend this corner café :)



















My Mom's "Paniertes Schnitzel" (pan-fried breaded pork loin cutlet)



This is a classic and delicious German dish, breaded and shallow-fried pork loin cutlets. You can't go wrong with this favorite! It is a version of the popular "Wiener Schnitzel", but instead of the more delicate veal cutlet of a "Wiener Schnitzel", my Mom uses lean pork loin cutlets.

Of course you can use any kind of gravy and sides, but I grew up with my Mom's version: salted boiled potatoes, veggies and "Jägersoße" (a mushroom gravy).

Alternative popular German sides for a "Wiener Schnitzel" are a Swabian potato salad, a mixed green salad or spätzle pasta that goes well with the gravy.

Ingredients:

Cutlets
  • 2-4 pork loin cutlets (lean)
  • salt, pepper
  • garlic seasoning
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2-3 cups breadcrumps (e.g., Panko)
  • oil (for frying)
  • harissa to taste
Mushroom Gravy ("Jägersoße")
  • cremini mushrooms  
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • instant gravy powder (e.g., Maggie Delikatessen Soße)
  • water
  • salt, pepper
Sides
  • boiled potatoes (peeled and boiled in salt water)
  • vegetables (e.g., fresh brussle sprouts, canned peas and carrots, frozen mexican mix, etc.) 

Preparation:

  1. Breading: Place some plastic wrap over the cutlets and tenderize with a meat hammer from both sides. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder from both sides. Then, prepare the breading stations. Add the eggs into a deep plate, add some salt and pepper, and stir with a fork. Place some flour and some bread crumps, each on a large square piece of tin foil. Alternatively, you can also use a deep plate. However, the tin foil makes it easier to cover the entire cutlet as you can take it in the hand and wrap it around the cutlet. Now, one cutlet at a time, first place it in the flour and move the cutlet and tin foil so, that the entire cutlet is covered with flour, from both sides. Then, pull the cutlet through the mixed eggs, also from both sides. Lastly, place the now wet cutlet on the breadcrumps and move the tin foil and cutlet till it is completely breaded. If needed, sprinkle some more fresh breadcrumps on top. 
  2. Fake (egg) cutlets: With the leftover stirred eggs and breadcrumps, create some "fake" cutlets. Add the remaining breadcrumps to the stirred eggs, bit by bit, till the mix is getting firmer. You may not need to add all the breadcrumps, you do not want it too firm. Just enough, so that you can form little round flat cutlets.
  3. Shallow-frying: Add oil to a frying pan, about 1cm deep. To test whether the oil is hot enough, use a wooden spoon. Dip it into the oil and wait a few seconds. If it is hot enough, little bubbles will form around the wooden spoon. Now, add the cutlets to the frying pan and fry for about 3-5 minutes on one side. When the sides are getting darker and dry, it is time to flip the cutlet around and fry it on the other side for another 3 minutes. The cutlet should be light brown and crispy from both sides. At the end, fry the egg cutlets the same way. Take the cutlets out of the oil and place them on a plate with a paper towl to catch excess oil.
  4. Mushroom gravy: Slice the mushrooms. Heat up the butter in a small pot, add the mushrooms and fry for 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the water and bring to a boil. Stir in the gravy powder and let simmer till it thickens. If too liquid, add more gravy powder. If too thick, add a bit more water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5.  Serving: Serve a cutlet (and a fake cutlet) with a side of boiled and salted potatoes, some veggies and the mushroom gravy. Also, I like to drizzle a spoonful of the hot oil with breadcrumps over the potatoes (in the frying pan, there will be some fried breadcrumps, take a spoon and try to get breadcrumps with as little oil as possible). We also like to put a few drops of harissa on top of the cutlet.
Note: Leftover cutlets taste also delicious cold with some harissa on top!















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