Until recently, Berlin was a city where people actually avoided eating out. But eating habits are changing as fast as everything else in the German capital, and restaurants in Berlin are growing more vast and varied every day. This list is a snapshot of some of what's exciting to eat there right now.
I wasn't surprised when the cabbie told me he was a New Yorker "born and bred." He had that no-nonsense, don't-waste-my-time New Yorker way about him - but that didn't stop him from telling me he's also classical pianist with two unfinished symphonies and a passion for oysters.
Three years, four months and sixteen days ago, I went on my very first taxi adventure in Buenos Aires. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't gotten into the cab that Enrique was driving and ended up at Parrilla Peña. Oh, that steak...
Last week, as a grand finale to the Berlin adventures, I convinced one of my new taxi driving friends to let me ride along on his night shift. Besides letting me crash his taxi, the cabbie was gracious enough to answer questions from Taxi Gourmet readers - and tell me about his favorite restaurant.
Three months of taxi adventures in Berlin led to more deliciousness than I could have imagined before I landed in the German capital. This map shows every restaurant I found during my Berlin taxi adventures that I think is worth going back to, plus my own taxi driver-inspired food finds.
Steve has probably never listened to tango music - and he's probably never traveled to Buenos Aires. But the Berlin cab driver wears his melancholy on his sleeve as well as any Buenos Aires tanguero.
