Brunch at "A Never Ever Ending Love Story" (Charlottenburg, Berlin)


The Location

A Never Ever Ending Love Story is a small corner café in a very nice area of Berlin. It is located at the famous "Kantstraße" in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg. After brunch I recommend a short walk to the nearby Kurfürstendamm, the Zoo and the Gedächtniskirche. 

The café has a cute indoor space but also some outdoor seating for the summer.

The Food

The place has a small menu with all the essentials, including different egg dishes, avocado breads, cereals and yoghurt bowls, french toast and pancakes. They also have a nice assortment of coffee, tea, fresh juices, and smoothies. 

I noticed this place by their instagrammable pancakes. They arrange sliced bananas and strawberries in a flower spiral which looks really cute.

However, I ordered a simple avocado bread with scrambled eggs which were flavorful and had a good consistency. To my surprise, the dish came with a side of really nicely dressed and seasoned cherry tomatoes.

Summer Specials

The café also also had two summer specials that we tried:
  • Scrambled eggs with truffles 
  • French toast with a mascarpone cream, berry compote, and fresh berries
My friend had actually been here before and absolutely loved both summer specials, so as she heard that I wanted to check this place out, she spontaneously decided to join me :) 

She really enjoyed the Eggs with Truffles. They were fluffy and light, with lots of truffle slices on top. Apparantly, truffle flavor was also mixed into the eggs.

I ordered the French Toast and have to admit that the mascarpone cream with the berry compote was heavenly, just delightful, not too sweet and not too heavy. One of the best French Toast I ever had.







(photo credit first and last picture: M.M.)

My Mom's "Linsensuppe Süß-Sauer " (Lentilsoup, sweet-sour)


This is another of my Mom's dishes that I did not eat as a child. I just never fancied the German "Linsen & Spätzle". However, this is not your usual version. There are no "Spätzle" and it is a soup. And also, it is sweet-sour. As an adult, I just tried it one more time when my mother cooked it and suddenly, I really enjoyed the sweet-sour taste and could not stop eating it :)

Note: Best to use a mix of soft and hard lentils. The smaller ones (e.g., Berglinsen) will dissolve almost completely, while the bigger ones (e.g., Tellerlinsen) stay harder and will add some bite to the soup.

Ingredients:

  • 150-200g brown lentils (e.g., Berg-, Tellerlinsen)
  • water and salt
  • 4-5 medium sized potatoes
  • 4 tablespoons vinegar
  • 1.5 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 tablespoons margarine
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 3-4 wiener sausages (or "Fleischwurst", similar to bologna)

Preparation:

Start the soup

In a big pot, cover lentils completely with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 30 minutes with the lid half closed. Peel and cut potatoes in small cubes and add to the lentils. Let cook for another 25 minutes till potatos are soft. Now, add vinegar and sugar, bring to a boil.

Prepare the roux

Melt margarine in a frying pan at low heat, add the flour. It needs to be more on the liquid side. Keep stirring occasionally and let simmer. The roux needs to bubble up ("sweating"), thicken and turn a light milk chocolate brown.

Finish the soup

Add the roux to the soup, bit by bit. Keep stiring and bring it to a low boil. The soup will thicken up. Season to taste with more salt, vinegar and sugar. At the end, add the wiener sausages. They only need to be heated up for a couple of minutes. Serve.








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Pasta e Fagioli Soup - An Olive Garden copycat


I have to admit I am a bit ambiguous about those American chain restaurants. Especially while living there, I tried to avoid them at the beginning... Later on, I discovered that I really do like some of them. They are not quite as low as the fast food chains but also not quite as fancy as the high end restaurants. They serve comfort food and sometimes really good food :)

One of those chain restaurants I like is Olive Garden. They are famous for their option of unlimited soup and salad. I have tried all the soups and the pasta e fagioli is by far my favorite. The salad is pretty good too though ;)

Pasta e fagioli means pasta and bean soup. I am using three kinds of beans, the red kidney beans and then also small and big white beans (navy and great nothern beans).

This is my spin on the Olive Garden version and I made a few changes. I used ground beef and not Italian sausage, and I added a little bit of zuchhini and bell pepper.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup uncooked ditalini pasta
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 300g ground beef 
  • 3 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 onion (ca. 1.5 cups) - diced
  • 2 carrots (ca. 1 cup) - diced
  • 2 stalks celery (ca. 1 cup) - diced
  • 1/2 zucchini (ca. 1/2 cup) - diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper (ca. 1/2 cup) - diced
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 0.5 l vegetable broth
  • 1-2 cups water
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried majoram
  • 1/2 tsp savory
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 can red kidney beans - drained and rinsed
  • 1 can navy beans - drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 can Great Nothern beans - drained and rinsed

Serve with:

  • fresh parsley
  • fresh grated parmesan
  • crusty bread
  • red wine

Preparation:

Prepare the pasta

In a large pot, bring water with some salt to a boil and add the uncooked ditalini pasta. Cook a little less than package instructions, keep them really al dente, as they will still cook a bit in the soup. Drain and set aside.

Prepare the soup

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the ground beef and cook till browned, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and vegetables (onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, bell pepper). Cook and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes till vegetables are a bit tender, but not too soft. 
Fill up with tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth and water. Stir. Season with the dried herbs and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about 10-15 minutes till vegetables are soft.
Note: If you do not have each of the dried herbs, you can substitute with 4-5 tsp dried Italien herb mix. 

Finish the soup

Add the cooked pasta and the drained beans. Stir and heat up for about 2 minutes. Adjust the seasioning and the thickness of the soup. If you like it a bit thinner, add some more water. If it is not thick enough, add some sauce thickener (e.g., flour and water or tomato paste).
Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with fresh parmesan and along crusty bread and a glass of red wine.






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