Eating off the Hill: Berlin street food in the German Ambassador’s backyard

Before Fall took full hold in Ottawa I had the opportunity to attend a reception at the German Ambassador to Canada’s residence in commemoration of the anniversary of German reunification. The headliner: Berlin street food.

I lived in West Germany for four years in my youth, another three months in a unified Germany as a teen on a student exchange, and had the opportunity to visit Berlin for a week about a decade ago. So, as a big fan of Germany and German food, I was excited.

I’m also a big fan of Berlin street food. I remember when I was on exchange and all the visiting Canadian students were taken to Berlin for a visit, we’d be handed 10 Marks (this was pre-euro) getting off the bus to go find lunch on our own each day and practice our German. I would always head to the nearest doner kebab truck and get a doner and a drink for maybe 5 Marks, leaving my stomach full and a surplus in my pocket. And on my next visit to Berlin I discovered another Berlin staple – currywurst. An even cheaper iconic local street food.

So I was excited to see both on the menu at the German shindig, held on the broad and leafy backyard of the Ambassador’s home in Rockcliffe.

I popped by the bar first but they were out of red, but plenty of German Rieslings on hand. I opted for a soft drink instead and joined the sizeable doner line. There was no rotating doner spit on hand, but there was an assembly line of adding toppings before a self-serve sauce station. Which I had trouble with, the bottle not wanting to cooperating and then cooperating too much, resulting in a substantial oversauce.

Doner, for those that don’t know, is the Turkish version of a gyro, donair or shawarma. Germany has a substantial Turkish immigrant population and the doner kebab has spread from Berlin to street corners and shops across the country – and even several restaurants here in Ottawa. Meat, fresh veg and sauce in bread.

The one on offer here wasn’t super authentic, but given the limitations of the event that’s OK and it was still pretty good, hearty and satisfying. And I managed to keep it off my suit jacket, so win.

Up next was the currywurst, which a much shorter line. Currywurst is usually a chopped-up pork sausage (Germans love their pork) served in a curry ketchup. A different, lower carb take on the street popular in Toronto. It’s a tasty little snack, less filling than a doner kebab but also cheaper too. There is much competition in Berlin around sauce recipes and cooking techniques.

While there are a number of kebab shops in Ottawa now, currywurst sadly hasn’t made it here yet. This one was, again, just OK. The sauce was lacking zip – needed more curry. Though maybe seven years of South Asian cuisine has dulled my spice sensitivity .

The last item I had not heard of before, so I asked for an explanation. It was called a Frikdallen – basically a cold hamburger. I was told this was a common German bar food – they eat this after a lot of drinking so they can drink some more. As most of my time in Germany was a young lad, that probably explains why it was new to me. Maybe it’s better after a few steins of pilsner – I would have preferred it hot.

Still, it was great to sample again some of the foods I enjoyed in Germany. Thanks to the German Embassy for the food memories. Hope to visit the country again one day to get them at the source.

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Eating off the Hill: Berlin streetfood comes to Ottawa with Wolf Down

Ottawa is the town where shawarma is king. Don't believe me? We have Shawarma King and Shawarma's King within a few blocks of each other -- yes, two different reasturants. Ottawa has a new challenger though for meat sandwich supremacy -- ironically, nearly across the street from Shawarma King -- and it's straight out of Berlin: Wolf Down.

Located at 380 Bank Street (and James) in Centreton, this new start-up is dedicated to one dish, and it's classic Berlin street food: the döner sandwich. You can also have it in salad form, should you for some reason choose to. You can choose your protein:  chicken, beef or tofu; your veggies: lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and cabbage; and your sauce: secret (a mayo herb combo, basically) or spicy. But that's about it; other than your drink, that's the menu.

I've been to Berlin twice in my 40-ish years, and it's a great city. And I have fond memories of what I recall as the döner kebab. Brought to Berlin by Turkish migrant workers, this quick and easy lunch soon took the city by storm. My first trip to Berlin was in 1994, as part of a three-month exchange stay in Germany during high school. The German government took the Canadian students to Berlin for a few days and, after a morning of touring, would drop us off somewhere central and peel us each off a 10 (was it euros or marks in 1994?) to go find lunch on our own. I remember always buying a doner kebab from a truck for 5 and turning a nice profit on the meal.

My next trip to Berlin was as part of a work conference with German software company IDS Scheer (no relation, I don't think) in 2008 and, that trip, I was all about the currywurst: chopped sausage mixed in a curry ketchup. So good.

But back to Wolf Down. While it will set you back $11 instead of $5 (granted, some inflation in 25 years is inevitable), it's still pretty good value that will leave you satisfied. The Art-Is-In Bakery sesame-crusted bread has a nice chew, the veggies are fresh and plentiful, and the meat (I had the beef) is well-seasoned. It's another take on the donair, familiar to Halogonians -- same meat, different veggies and bread. And, important for me, a different sauce -- I'm not a fan of the sweet donair sauce.

The feel of the reasturant is industrial, and it's wide-open -- but with limited seating. There's certainly space for a few more tables to be added, and it was pretty busy on this second day of opening, as the Ottawa rain chased people inside. Ordering is quick but prep takes a little while. And, something I didn't see on the web site -- they're cashless.

Also of note, my bottle of water came in a little Wolf Down cozy. I don't know if I was meant to keep it; I left it on the counter just in case. But a cute touch.

I enjoyed my sandwich, and will likely be a regular, particularly as it's two blocks from my condo. A welcome, and healthier feeling, alternative to the ubiqutous Ottawa shawarma. I would like to see them expand on the Berlin theme though, and, if they decide to add a second menu item, please make it currywurst. Then you'd never get be out of there...

An industrial vibe.

A close-up before I began wolfing it down.

Veggies are great, but I love the point when you're down to mostly delicious beefy goodness.

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A BCer in Berlin

Expect little to no blogging from this corner for the next week or so. Later today I'm off to Berlin for a combination work trip and vacation. As excited I am to take in the sights in Berlin, a city I last visited in 1994 when it was undergoing a major post-unification construction boom, I'm almost as excited about being upgraded to business class on my Air Canada Toronto to Frankfurt flight, and having the chance to check out the pod suites on the new Boeing 777s. They look pretty sweet.

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