Searching for Schnitzel – German Potato Salad

Last year my daughter, Ariana, spent the spring semester of her junior year in college abroad. She went to Berlin. Of course being good parents of a child so far away, we had to pay a visit. The city was lovely; cultured, vibrant, and scenic, easy to move from place to place on public transportation. She had a great semester, and we had a wonderful trip.

I expected to find restaurants with German food – schnitzel in particular – on every corner; but this was not so in Berlin. It is truly an international city and there are cuisines of many cultures everywhere you look. For example, of all the foods you could learn to love while living in Europe, my daughter fell in love with pho – Vietnamese noodle soup.

Upon arrival that first day, we were exhausted from a restless night of travel. We asked the hotelier for recommendations for dinner and he responded with a question; “What kind of food would you like to eat?” We wanted schnitzel, of course. He chuckled and directed us to the one German restaurant in the former West Berlin neighborhood, warning that we might be turned away for lack of a reservation. Despite scores of empty tables, the stern hostess denied us a table. For dinner that night we enjoyed excellent Spanish tapas.

We figured the food tour we had booked in advance in the Kreuzberg neighborhood would focus on German food, with schnitzel being the star. Even though there was some food from the region, it was certainly not the focus. We dined on a sprawling plate of Sudanese delicacies, Korean fried chicken, and honeyed Turkish pastries, with German beer interspersed between bites. The one German stop was a neighborhood beer garden, hidden in a public park, obviously not frequented by tourists. As we rested among the locals relaxing on a Sunday afternoon our guide procured us some sausages; tasty grilled pork bratwurst on excellent bread with a heavy smear of mustard. It was accompanied by a vinegar slaw and potato salad. It was all delicious, but the potato salad stood out. The food tour was great, but still no schnitzel.

Our stay in Berlin continued, but we ate little in the way of German food. We consumed griddled Turkish flatbreads stuffed with ground meat or spinach and cheese, and a huge plate of stewed peppers and tomatoes over barley with satisfying kofta kebabs at the Mauerpark flea market. A slightly sweet “bagel,” a six-inch wide oval of dough, every speck covered with sesame seeds. A donner kebab, which can be found in shops all over the city. It was ground meat shaved from a huge rotating cone and seared and rolled into a flatbread with lettuce, red cabbage, onions, cucumber and a slightly sweet pink sauce – similar to a gyro, but more flavorful. Almost better was the same sandwich with grilled halloumi cheese in place of the meat; not quite as flavorful, but oh that cheese, with its squeaky bite. A satisfying Vietnamese meal after a busy day of sightseeing. And lunch at the twice-a-week outdoor Turkish market, where Ariana befriended the owner of a stand who sold appetizers, olives, and dips. He fed us samples and many of them we purchased (he was an excellent salesman), which we readily ate at a picnic table with a huge loaf of oily round bread.

At one point when we needed a snack we tried currywurst, sausages cut into bite-size pieces served with fries and a bright red curry sauce – street food found everywhere in Berlin, served in a little paper tray to eat on the go. Yes, it was German food, but with an international twist. The wurst and fries were great, the curry sauce, not so much. Drenching the other components, it was cloyingly sweet.

Our stay in Berlin was winding down. We were eating well, but we could not get schnitzel. We were determined and we searched for a German spot to dine. My wife finally located a restaurant in some random neighborhood in the former East Berlin. She tried calling to make a reservation, learning from previous experience and it being Easter Sunday, but there were communication problems and we could not even tell if it was open. As we rode the tram toward the restaurant (and our daughter’s apartment), we hopped off as close as we could get, hoping there would be an available table. When we found the restaurant, we couldn’t even tell if it was open. We hesitantly entered, and were invited into a sprawling space with tables set for dozens. But it was empty; we were the only customers.

Although the menu was entirely in German and the waiter spoke no English, we managed to finally order our schnitzel – I believe it was pork. When it arrived, it was crisp and delicious, the size of a dinner plate, with fries and a token amount of fresh vegetables. We were completely satisfied, having finally reached our culinary goal for the trip.

The meal ended with a gratis shot of a sweet dessert liquor. We were stuffed and had no real interest in a drink, but Ariana told us we could not turn it down. She had observed this as a common practice in Berlin, and it could be insulting if we demurred. In some broken English, we were invited back to brunch the following day – a public holiday – when as far as we could gather, the restaurant would be packed. It was an odd, but satisfying meal.

Our experience searching for schnitzel ultimately ended successfully, but it was surprising how hard it was to find what we considered to be traditional German food in Berlin. And while maybe we weren’t looking in the right places (or maybe the right part of the country), we ate extremely well and had a wonderful trip.

German Potato Salad

I’ve never been interested in potato salad in the United States. Often gloppy with mayonnaise and extra sweet, the potato salad from the beer garden in Berlin was totally different. Light in flavor, although not exactly heft – potatoes are rarely described as light – it was bathed in a slightly mustardy vinaigrette, heady with fresh dill. This was a potato salad I could eat, and one I could easily re-create.

Red-skinned new potatoes and fresh-picked dill from my summer garden would be perfect. I searched for German potato salad recipes online and none were exactly what we ate. Most had bacon, few contained dill, and none that I saw included mustard. I would have to use these recipes as a foundation upon which to build – or re-create – my German potato salad recipe.

half hour, serves 3 as a side dish

1 lb. small red or white potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces if necessary

¼ tsp. kosher salt, plus more for salting the water

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

¼ tsp. fresh ground pepper

2 Tbsp. finely diced red onion

2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

1. Scrub and cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces if necessary. Place in a pot and add enough cold water to cover by about an inch. Add kosher salt until the water tastes as salty as the sea. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Boil potatoes until a fork pierces them with some resistance, about 15 minutes (soft enough to eat, but not so soft that they fall apart). Drain and place in a bowl.
2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing by whisking together the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
3. Before the potatoes cool, add the dressing and stir to coat. Taste and adjust seasonings.
4. This potato salad is best served slightly warm or at room temperature, rather than cold.

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