I have an Argentine writer friend who once made a brilliant observation about the cabbies of Buenos Aires being the new gauchos. After riding from Brandenburg Gate to Wilmersdorf in Roland's cab, I realized that the new gauchos are not confined to Buenos Aires. Berlin Food Adventures
Berlin Dispatch: An Urban Cowboy and His Fish Soup
I have an Argentine writer friend who once made a brilliant observation about the cabbies of Buenos Aires being the new gauchos. After riding from Brandenburg Gate to Wilmersdorf in Roland's cab, I realized that the new gauchos are not confined to Buenos Aires. We have many favorite restaurants in Berlin (Video)
No matter how many taxi adventures I've done, I still get the same jitters as when I did it the first time. Here's some video of the lead-up, the approach, and my initial negotiations with Ergan, the driver of my latest adventure who's been a Berlin cabbie for seven years. Up Next: A Kunefe Duel, Great Sausage and more Berlin Video
"My English is not so good," Ergan said when I opened the door to his cab. "Your English is better than my German," I said. The taxi driver laughed. We were on our way. Berlin Dispatch: Döner Dreams and Kunefe Reality
When one of my new German friends told me that he has a friend who’s spent the past year searching for the best döner kebab in Berlin, I had an idea: why not invite the kebab seeker on a taxi adventure and ask the cabbie to take us to *his* favorite spot for döner? Up Next: On Bourdain’s Trail to the Cradle of Döner Kebab
My three German co-adventurers and I had no idea that our taxi driver had steered us to the birthplace of döner kebab when he dropped us off at Hasir Restaurant in Kreuzberg last week - nor that Anthony Bourdain had also tasted the lamb there when he visited Berlin. Basilicata in Berlin
Just as cabbie Waltraut Zille's blue gummy bear earrings were a sign of a good journey to come, the bread at Trattoria a' Muntagnola, the restaurant she recommended during our ride last week, made my co-adventurer and me believe that we were at the beginning of a very good meal. Berlin Video: Along the Wall with Zille Quitmann
There have been a lot of moments when I’ve been glad to have my yellow cab license, but none were as gratifying as when I told Waltraut Zille that I drive a taxi in NYC. Judging from her reaction, I thought it was safe to ask about her favorite restaurant in Berlin. Up Next: Riding with 1 in 10
She had me at the gummy bear earrings. For the past 27 years, Waltraut Zille has been driving a cab in Berlin and moonlighting as a naturopath.
During our ride from Warschauer Strasse to Alexanderplatz, she also told me – in flawless English – about two Italian restaurants she loves. I’ll be heading to...Read more »
Berlin and the Wurst to Come
"It's no exaggeration to say that your average cabbie can hold forth on any subject from the best sausage in the city through the meanderings of Nietzsche, to the likely outcome of elections anywhere in the world - Berliners are that broadly learned and curious about the world and its people." Berlin or Bust (Or, my book for the price of a NY burrito)
When that first Buenos Aires taxi adventure started with Enrique and ended so serendipitously at Parrilla Peña, I realized two things: 1. The adventures had only just begun, and 2. Eventually, I was going to write a book about these food quests. Three years later, I'm ready to get started. 
