February and March Events, Saturday, 25th February 2006 & Friday, 10th March 2006

This notice covers both the February and March events, so please read about both events carefully and let me know which ones you want to come along to, ok? It's good reading, so don't worry! :o)

February's Berlinerisch-edel Menu, Saturday, 25th February 2006

After January's rather casual blast of a Vietnamese buffet combination with jazz, we've decided to try Berlin food (at last!) and sample some fine "berlinerisch-edel" cuisine at a rather new but cool hotel. Let's catch these dinner events before they get too expensive! I myself have never been there (as I can never get a booking at the right time) but the story is that the food is quite good, and the decor is unusual and interesting.

The location is the "Grand M" at the new Maritim Hotel in Stauffenbergstraße 26, 10785 Berlin. Please don't get this place mixed up with the Maritim ProArte in Friedrichstrasse. The event is a 5-course dinner, inclusive of a different wine per course (from various countries) and the price is fixed at just under 50 Euro. Not too bad for the menu, which is as follows:

2003 Silvaner Qualitätswein b. A. trocken – Buck, Tauberfranken/Baden
Gebeizte Jakobsmuschel mit Rote Beete Confit und Forellenkaviar

2004 Chablis „La Marché du Roi“ AC – Jean Durup, Burgund
Dialog von Zuckerschote und Krustentieren

2004 Grauburgunder Kabinett – Ihringer Fohrenberg Konstanzer, Ihringen
Souffliertes Wachtelbrüstchen auf Champagnerrisotto

2000 Cabernet Sauvignon – Vallformosa Penedes
Rehrücken in der Brotkruste mit Stopflebersauce und Birne in Portwein

2003 Banyuls Rimage Mas Cornet – Cave de l´Abbée Rous
Feinstes aus dem Hause Valrhôna

Please note that places are extremely limited for the February dinner (8 places or less), so please let me know asap and send me an email to chris@berlindinnerclub.com if you want to attend our first ever "berlinerisch-edel" dinner!

See you soon!

Chris

How it went on the night...

It is a nice location, very 30s art deco surroundings, very sober, very classic environment. I had not expected such a setting but overall it worked well for the dinner. The starter was raw sliced scallops, very yummy but perhaps not as "Berlinerisch" as I had expected. The soup dialogue was very good, a nice contrasting pair of soups with the sweet pea soup highlighting the dense crustacean creme. Next was a very nicely done wachtel, light and tasty. That was followed by a beautiful pair of deer rolls, done a la "beef wellington" style. The meat had been very well hung and just melted in the mouth! The complementing wines are reasonably well-matched and generally fine, if not spectacular. The Spanish cabernet for the deer was ok, but one might have preferred a smoother claret to contrast the meat texture more. The dessert was good, a simple mix of various chocolates and ice cream. I would like to come again to sample a dinner a la carte. After dinner, we went for drinks at the bar - it was a dark setting with dark wood making the place more sombre than necessary but the cocktails were really very good. I cannot fault the drinks there at all!

We walked back to Potsdamer Platz snapping a few pictures along the way. A good evening, overall, and well worth the effort! Thanks, Grand M, for a good night out.