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Yelp
Each time I move, I have to learn a new city. Having lived in six major cities over the past ten years, I find this to be no easy task. This includes having to find new barbers/doctors/dentists. It means having to locate the nearest ATM machine to me where I don't have to pay a fee. It means having to learn the quickest way to my place from every major neighborhood in the city to keep from getting ripped off by a cab driver. It means learning which streets to walk on during my morning commutes to lower my chances of getting hit by a car, stepping in dog shit, or getting yelled at by a mentally unstable homeless person.
But the greatest challenge is learning about food culture in a new city. Food is something I find myself quite passionate about. Five years in San Francisco have taught me the difference between eating and eating well. I've read books and kept up to speed on food industry (from industrial farms to local, sustainable farming), understood food politics (subsidies and lobbies). I've stayed on farms, talked with restaurant owners, had friends who are chefs, asked tons of questions, and gotten lots of answers. Some of the cities in which I've lived have had a great understanding of food and have sought to exploit ways in which all humans should try to understand and consume their food. Some of the cities in which I've lived are just beginning to understand food culture.
Berlin is a fascinating city not only because it's hugely progressive and well-educated, but it's rapidly changing, growing, and evolving. Part of this evolution includes making sure we as Berliners are doing things right, with foresight and with responsibility; towards improving our environment and our health.
Food is becoming a big part of this. Cultural diversity, progressive ideals, and an amalgamation of new world philosophies (biodiversity, sustainability) and old world philosophies (such as halal and family traditions) towards food is a big reason we're seeing a rapid change in Berlin as a food city. Great things are coming. And great things need to start somewhere.
The Barn in Mitte (map) is not just a café, it's a place that's helping us to change the way we look at coffee (and at food) in general. The owner Ralf encourages his staff to take pride in teaching patrons about coffee, talking about the origins of the coffee, where it's sourced, where it's roasted. Filter coffees have been part of a new trend of coffee. Traditionally seen as lesser than espresso-based drinks (particularly by the traditional coffee countries, Italy and France), filters have recently begun to take center stage as a more diverse way of consuming coffee, presenting different and often times more complex flavors than even standard espressos. Last weekend Ralf brought in guest baristas from London and Norway to bring some of their local coffees, to help teach the staff further about coffee and espresso prep, and to offer coffee tastings and lessons using some of the best coffees I've ever tasted.
The food at The Barn is no different. Ralf prides himself in sourcing his ingredients from local farms, often times using non-homogenized milk, freshly-churned butter and locally prepared jams from local vendors, the quality in the ingredients is unsurpassed and you can taste it in their selection of freshly-baked baked goods, sandwiches, and freshly-squeezed juices.
My largest struggle in moving to new cities is finding my café. I don't have many routines in my life, but my morning cup of coffee is a near obsessive routine. I take a long time to find my café and once I find it, it's difficult to tear me away. Of all the places I've found, since living in and including San Francisco, The Barn has provided a level of quality, service, and responsibility I have not seen in a café in a long time. They don't just serve you a cup of coffee, but they do a great job of changing the way we think about food.
I've found my happy place in Berlin.
