BBQ in Friedrichstr./Unter den Linden, Saturday 30 June 2007

I am now at last back from my travels around Eastern Europe and can focus again on the serious business of the BDC. And we have lined up a very summery event for June, to match the warm weather we've been having, and I really think you will like this one...

Amid the hustle and bustle at the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Unter den Linden, we have managed to find a cool elegant comfortable oasis where we can have a splendid open-air BBQ, at least, if it does not rain.

On the menu are some really cool salads, but I know you are not really interested in that so, from the lava grill, we have:

grilled peppers, aubergines and zucchini
beef medallions
baby pork ribs
tuna
salmon
prawn skewers
lamb chops
(note: no bouletten, no frankfurters, no bratwurst. It's not that kind of BBQ)

From the smoke grill, we have

seeteufel medallions
chicken breast with mango and pecan nuts

along with lots and lots of accompanying dips, guacamoles, sauces, nachos, breads and other tidbits!

And then we have a selection of special desserts as well, such as fried bananas with coconut milk and granatapfelkernen, Berliner weisse gelee with blueberries and cream, etc, etc. I have to cut the descriptions a little short now as I am starting to feel hungry and am considering nibbling my fingers.

Anyway, the location is the garden at the Westin Grand Berlin, Friedrichstraße 158-164, Berlin 10117. The price is 34 Euro per person, and includes all you can wish to eat from the BBQ, and a free summer strawberry punch. But there is a little catch - the hotel has told us that the BBQ will not be on if it rains heavily, so the backup plan is a simple (but very good) pizza night out at the 12 Apostles around the corner. For more details about the BBQ, have a look at their website: http://aktuelles.westin.de/berlin/4/107/

One more thing, as it's a BBQ, we will probably start a little earlier for the dinner, around 19:00 or so as it's a lot easier to walk around and mingle with such a BBQ event and hence there is no need to meet up for our usual pre-dinner cocktails. Also, people can turn up whenever they want as the event will run until late anyway.

If you want to attend this cool, elegant BBQ, then, as usual, please drop me an email at chris@berlindinnerclub.com. We have made a provisional booking for a medium size group but it should be no problem to increase the size of our little party if lots of people want to attend and even bring friends along as well. As I was late sending out this email, I will also have a late closing date for the BBQ bookings, so anyone can book up to 27 June 2007.

See you all soon!

Chris

How it went on the night...

We were a little dubious at first about the weather but in the end, it all worked out well. The Grand Westin gave us a table which was sheltered from the wind but that meant it was a little out of the sun but I think overall that it was a pretty good idea. The free aperitif was an interesting erdbeerenbowle with rhubarb which I liked very much. Everyone agreed that the food was excellent - lovely rare lamb grilled just right, succulent pork, beef and chicken, wonderful mergeuz, delicious large prawns big as your fist, yummy tuna, monkfish, smoked chicken and fish, etc, all complement by some very good salads and fresh wok vegetables. Desserts were plentiful as well, thought I was not convinced by the grilled pineapple/coconut layers. Service was good - attentive but unobtrusive, the way it should be. The best discovery of the night was that the orange smoothie had vodka and triple sec mixed in, so we all had some very nice free cocktails as well. If anyone wants a summer BBQ in Berlin, the Grand Westin is definitely the place to bring your friends and family along.

Overall, the verdict was that it was a very good BBQ night out. Afterwards, we had some drinks at the hotel's piano lobby where the pianist stopped playing after hearing Kirstin's strident complaints and then we wandered off, like lost nomads, to the Newton Bar to round off the night. I got home around 3 am, merrily taking a few arty-farty pictures along the way, and that is a pretty good indication of how things went! :o)