burgermeester – amsterdam

there are plenty of reasons to love amsterdam. one can get fantastic coffee, regardless of which random café one stumbles into….

lekker coffie everywhere.

and even the lowly toastie – the dutch version of a grilled cheese and every pothead’s main food group – provides a fine basis for various shleps around town, to name just a few.

goede gouda on toast.

of course, one cannot live on toasties alone. sometimes, a heartier lunch is required. like a good burger – something to behold & cherish, for all burgers are not equal.

thanks to a great source of culinary information for anything amsterdam, the restaurant blog dutchgrub, i had taken mental note of the burgermeester – a local chain with 3 locations neatly spread out within the city center, one in short walking distance to our pad in the jordaan.

mmmmmmm: moooooooooooohhhh.

upone entering the burgermeester, it’s pretty clear where the meat comes from (all ingredients are locally sourced, organic and humanely raised), even though there are other options, such as chicken, lamb or salmon burgers.

because we were hungry, but not that hungry, we decided to share a mini trio – 3 slider-sized burgers of our choice.

burgermeester offers a “burger of the month”, which in this case – since it was the middle of may – came with beef, fresh white asparagus, and hollandaise. sounds kinda gross, no? well, i’m a suckah for asparagus, so i had to get it: delicious. the other two were great, too – a lamb burger with red onion jam (!)  and the “meester” burger with grilled vegetables and dragon mayonnaise. it was in fact so schmecksville that it made us wish we had each ordered our own trio.  oh well.

triple win.

thankfully, we had ordered the “gepoofte aardappel” on the side, which i had cleverly identified as something potato, but figured it’d be wedges – well, it turned out to be a delightful baked potato with crème fraîche and scallions.

you say potato, i say eat it.

i guess we really liked that potato, too.

all gone.

> burp <

berkis / sch’berg — hellenic heaven

i’m a bit torn about posting on berkis, because it really doesn’t need the extra hype – it’s been packed since opening in late june of this year, having expanded from a humble souvlaki / gyros imbiss stand to a full-fledged, if tiny, restaurant.

the hype is well-deserved, proven by numerous greek patrons who congregate on any given day, munching away happily.

prices are low to moderate, especially compared to its nearby competitor, ousies on grunewaldstr – probably one of the best greek restos in berlin & my old go-to place in schöneberg until …. well, until i discovered this place by accident, stumbling out of slumberland one night.

a huge selection of meze, ranging from the ususal suspects tzatziki, tarama, or melitsanosalata to lesser known dishes such as fava, xtapodi (grilled and marinated octopus), or kolokithokeftedes (zucchini-feta-fritters), leaves nothing to be desired.

choriatiki, kolokithokeftedes, melitsanes tiganites

in fact, one probably ends up ordering so many appetizers that there is no room left for the “main attraction:”  perfectly spiced, authentic souvlaki, which – as is common in greece where they are considered a snack food – are served with your choice of lamb, chicken, or pork and are smaller compared to the gigantic ones at your regular neighborhood greek joint.  the meat (‘happy’ free-range meat at that) is grilled just right, with a great balance of salt, lemon & oregano… insert drooling icon here, if you will.

lamb & pork souvlaki with fries (duh)

another happy fact is that the ever-elusive loukoumades, delicious fried dough balls drizzled with honey and topped with a few pinches of cinnamon, can be found on the dessert menu. come next summer, i can be found here again as well.  polí oréa!

berkis greek food & art             winterfeldtstr. 45            10781 berlin