Berlin is the new European hotspot for starving artists to commune, collaborate, and get crunk. But there is something so American about the post-Communist commercial build-up that makes Berlin look like Denver, Colorado. I searched high and low for its vibrant, seething underbelly of grittiness and avant-garde art.Even though I was too tired to engage in Berlin's raging underground nightlife, I was able to enjoy its hidden-away culinary delights. One highbrow vegetarian restaurant, Cookies Cream, is concealed down an alleyway, amidst dumpsters and abandoned chandeliers. I had to go through the back door of the popular nightclub, Cookies, walk through the deserted coatroom, and mount the stairs to finally arrive at the oasis of non-carnivorous delights. The experience called to mind Manhattan's chic hot dog and cocktail joint du jour, PDT (Please Don't Tell), which can only be accessed through a phone booth inside the dive hot dog shop next door.
But at Cookies Cream in Berlin I feasted on vegetarian marvels such as "Elder pear barley with cream of pea and fennel salad," "Potato-Leek-Gratin with beetroot and marsalla foam," and I swear it was delicious (even if compared with meat-eaters' food). And dessert was delicious: caramelized sour cream tart with peanut ice cream (divine) and gingerbread mousse with marinated blackberries. Plus, there was a lesbian-gay night at the club downstairs, so the ambiance was filled with the cozy homosexual vibes that give such good energy.
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