Fragrances Bar

This is the first bar  of its kind. The bar is situated at the Ritz Carlton in Berlin, Germany. Think cocktails in combination with the world of perfumes and aromas. A few examples of fragrances are brands from Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, Guerlain, Annick Goutal to name a few.

I was intrigued when I walked in to take a peek at this bar. The ambiance is striking. They had just opened for the evening when I went in to investigate. I was greeted by a good looking guy and I just pleaded guilty to ignorance as to what this bar was all about. He explained that all I had to do is sample the numerous scents and pick what I liked. He would then make a drink with those scents/flavors. My first reaction which was obvious, was an expression of disgust. "Eeeww, I don't think I would like that, it would be like drinking perfume." I don't even like eating edible flowers so I imagine this would be similar. He immediately assured me that it was not like that and that I would be surprised. I told him I would pass it on to the rest of my party and that we would all come back and try it.

The following evening after a big dinner, Raymond, Aimee, Elliot, Ryan and I decided to be adventurous. The rest of the party went straight to their rooms. Before you enter the main bar, you go through a dark corridor and see what looks like an exhibit of high end fragrances beautifully displayed in glass domes with pictures that show how the drink will be served. Next to them are the main ingredients of the scents. Though the bar was busy, they were able to find us a table but we had to wait for extra chairs.

Raymond did not feel adventurous so he just ordered his usual Scotch. Elliot followed Raymond's lead and just ordered Old Fashioned. Aimee and I were determined to experience the fragrance cocktail. She ordered the Saffron Black, based on the Byredo Perfume. I had the Oriental Bahia by Frau Tonis. Ryan was the only adventurous of the male species who ordered the Pomegranate Noir. He commented that the name reminded him of his ex-wife.

Aimee was first to sip the exotic drink (Saffron Black) as I watched closely. No reaction till her second sip and her face suddenly was not pretty. She handed her sexy black glass to me as I took a sip. I figured it can't be that bad..... till I had a sip. It was that bad. I can't even explain it. I on the other hand lucked out. My drink served on an exotic container was delicious. I loved it and so did everyone else that tried it. Aimee commented that the glass looked like a uterus. I agreed plus it looked like it also had the fallopian tube attached. It took me awhile to realize it was really a flamingo! The drink was so good that I was talked into ordering another one.  I must say that Raymond, Elliot and Ryan had no complaints with their drinks. Our server brought us some popcorn to go with our drinks. It was good old plain popcorn without any gimmicks.

Fragrances Bar is best described as an experimental journey. It demands courage while your curiosity escalates. I was lucky to love what I ordered. I think they should give you a small spray bottle so in case you don't like your cocktail, you could pour it in a bottle and spray it all over you; at least you will leave smelling good.

Fragrances Bar is at the Ritz Carlton at Potsdamer Platz 3, 10785 Berlin in Germany.

Fischers Fritz

This elegant restaurant is in the Regent Hotel in Berlin, Germany. This was the venue of our last supper in Berlin; all 12 of us plus a baby and a toddler. Chef Christian Lohse and his staff have been awarded 2 Michelin stars and continues to specialize in fish and seafood delicacies.

Since we were a big group, we had to pre-order our meal. We picked the Prestige Menu which was a six course meal. Several baskets of bread were laid on our table with the ever delicious European butter. Before the first course, they brought us little plates. John Dory with seaweed and a salad with chili, mayo and fennel crackers. This was followed by Trout with lemon juice, bell pepper chutney and corn. These were not listed on the menu so in my effort not to forget these amuse-bouche by writing them down, I completely forgot to take pictures of these work of art. I guess I cannot multitask when it comes to gourmet dining.

Our first course was the Roasted Langoustine with cream of peas and some pickled pied blue mushrooms. It was amusing to see this langoustine doing a somersault onto a little pond. It was as delicious as it looked. The next course was the Frog Legs which was also delicious except hard to eat since they were little. Though we were expected to use our hands as they served little towelettes after, no one really wanted to get their fingers dirty. The third course was a fried egg encrusted with a nice crispy breading on top of the veal tongue.

The fourth course was Codfish with its very crisp skin; ever so tender and flaky. The sac of cabbage stuffed with asparagus and artichoke was a beautiful partner for the fish along with the salted butter sauce. By the time we got to the fifth course, we were getting antsy since the time in between courses seemed to be getting longer and longer. The Fresh and "Matured" raw milk cheese was a nice welcome back to the dinner; so to speak.

We had sorbet for a palate cleanser. Right after that, they served plates of petit fours. The finale was the main dessert which we all thought was super!  Russian Milch Schnitte; sweet cream of salad licorice and puree of lemons. A few of us absolutely hate licorice so we were afraid we would not like this dessert.  We could not taste any licorice at all, thank God! Instead, this wonderful dessert was mighty edible.

I must say that though the staff was attentive and presentation was beautiful, the whole experience could be greatly improved with a little more speed.  Sure we need to savor the food and relax in between courses but this was too long of a relaxation. The dinner lasted 4.5 hours. I have never experienced this length of time in one restaurant. I have previously had 8 to 10 course meal and it did not go over 3 hours.

Fischers Fritz is at the Regent Hotel at Charlottenstrasse 49, 10117 Berlin in Germany.

Restaurant Aigner

Restaurant Aigner is a culinary institution since it opened more than 13 years ago. The cuisine is German-Austrian. Thirteen of us including 1 baby and a toddler landed there last night after a full day of touring Berlin. They were very busy and it was nice that they had our table ready with flowers and a candelabra. None of the other tables had them.

Not everyone ordered appetizers. Alma ordered the French Fries with Bearnaise sauce. She had me try one and I ended up having more than a few. It was so good. I would take Bearnaise over ketchup anytime! Ross had the Steak Tartare. It was delicious though his only complaint was it would have been better if they prepared it themselves rather than leaving it to him to mix it all up. I totally agreed.

I was excited to see Wienerschnietzel on the menu. The majority of the people ended up ordering the Meatballs. Aimee had the Tongue with bone marrow. Raymond had the Pepper Steak, someone else had the chicken.

Service was a bit slow. It took awhile for us to get our food. This seems to be the pattern in restaurants here in Berlin. Again, the wait gave the baby and toddler a chance to exercise their lungs. They didn't really cry, they were just too excited about everything.

There were interesting items in the dessert menu. "Kaiserrrschmarrn" Viennese dessert which is a shredded pancake that got it's name from the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I who was fond of it. This was served with a vanilla ice cream, apple sauce and cranberry cream. It was delicious. It reminded me of a dutch baby. I especially loved the cranberry cream. The ice cream was not bad either. Someone else had the Chocolate Cake with a warm liquid center served with vanilla ice cream. Aimee had the Catalonian Cream with blueberries in black currant sauce. This was like a creme brulee. I was told that it was very good.

Restaurant Aigner is at Franz Strasse 25 10117 in Berlin, Germany.

Paris Moskau

No, I am not in Paris but in Berlin, Germany.  We took my nephew Ryan and  his wife Maria to dinner last night. This restaurant originally was  a Russian restaurant and was named Josef. It later changed ownerships and in 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin wall, the restaurant was committed to the idea of combining flavors of the east and west; hence the new name Paris-Moskau.

We got to this cozy restaurant which was fully dressed in white tablecloths at 7 p.m. Though there were no people downstairs, we were led upstairs. We were seated and handed the menu. They had several tasting menus. They had the Goose Menu, the Goose being the main entree. The other tasting menu was the Autumn Menu which featured Prime Boiled Beef. Ryan and Maria opted for the Goose and Joma and I had the Autumn Menu. Otto only wanted the Hauptgang by itself which was the Leg of Goose.

The bread was served with a hummus but really tasted like mustand (not butter) with a side of coarse sea salt. We all enjoyed that. They started us with Amuse Bouche, in this case it was a swirl of salmon with cucumbers. That was inhaled by everyone. The next course for 2 of us was the Cabbage Soup with gold beets. The funny part was we forgot what kind of soup it was supposed to be; and our guess was Pumpkin soup. It was delicious though. Ryan and Maria had a salad with duck ham, lamb's lettuce/ potato dressing with cranberries.

The main entree arrived: Gansekesule/Rotkohl/Semmeltaler/Maronen. Translated, that is leg of goose/red cabbage/"Semmeltaler/Chestnut. Both Maria and Ryan loved their geese. I was too busy enjoying my boiled beef. This sounded like the most boring thing on the menu but I was curious to see how exactly would it be prepared.  I loved it. It was tender and had a very simple yet wonderful flavor. It was served with a horseradish sauce.

After our entree, we all looked forward to the nachtisch (dessert). Maria and Ryan's dessert was a Vanilla parfait with rum flavored fruits.  Otto and I had the Apple Tart with caramel sauce with pumpkin-seed ice cream.

Though all the servers were attentive and very nice, the service was slow. As the evening went by, the slower the service.  It almost seemed like we were there for a 6 course meal (we had 3 course meal).

It seemed to take forever for the desserts to be delivered. We had to entertain ourselves as we were getting antsy because we were all burning. It was too hot as we were all dressed in sweaters since it was cold outside. It didn't seem to bother anyone else but us.

When the nachtisch finally arrived, we gobbled them up as fast as we could. They were all very good; at least it was worth the wait.

Paris-Moskau Restaurant's address is Alt-141 10557 Berlin.

The Penthouse

This gorgeous restaurant on the top floor of the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica is a great place to have Sunday Brunch. I had purchased a voucher from Gilt City for brunch for 4 recently.  I decided to use the voucher to celebrate my friend, Nako's 87th birthday. His wife Amy was also invited. This couple look great for their age as they go to the gym everyday and work tirelessly in their garden; I guess this is their secret.

We got to the Penthouse 15 minutes early so the manager told us we could wait in their lounge and will call us when they start seating at 11:00 a.m.  As Nako and Amy admired the view, I asked the manager if we could have the nice table with the curtains and the fantastic view as we were celebrating a birthday and I wanted it to be special. She was very nice and said: " Oh, I'm sure we can do that as you are early enough". There was only 1 person at the bar at this time.  People came streaming in steadily and waited at the bar. The manager approached us at 11 a.m. and told us we could be seated. She asked if we had any vouchers and I said yes. So she excused herself and said she would get the special menu. When she returned, she led us to a different area. I reminded her about the table which she agreed to earlier. Her reply was the other lady (bartender or server) told the people in the bar they could have the table. There were about 3 of these tables, we were the first party to arrive, the manager told us we could have the table. She was the manager and yet could not do anything for us. My suspicion is we had "a voucher". I guess $125 precludes people from getting the best seats; like we did not pay full fare! I think this is VERY unprofessional and I myself would not want anyone working at my restaurant who makes people feel like 2nd class citizens. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

Now, on to the food. Our server, Antonio made up for the manager's lack of professionalism. Since there were only 3 of us and I paid for brunch for 4, we all ordered our entree plus an extra one to share. Antonio was very attentive and kept the Mimosa coming. The birthday boy ordered the Eggs Benedict with classic Hollandaise. Amy had the Corned Beef Hash and I had the Sirloin Burger with the fried egg and steak fries. The entree we wanted to share was the Scottish Salmon with baby artichokes, olives and fingerling potatoes and piquillo confit. Everything was delicious. We all loved the crispy skin of the salmon.

We were all too full but desserts were included so we had to suffer through the Milk Chocolate Molten Cake with Caramelized Banana Hazelnuts with Bourbon Ice Cream. More suffering came in the form of multiple Profiteroles which were excellent especially after pouring the hot fudge all over them.

The Penthouse is located at the Huntley Hotel at 1111 2nd St. in Santa Monica, California. I can only imagine how crazy this place can get in the evening. If you want to enjoy yourself, go during the day. If you get there early and you are promised a nice table, have them sign on the dotted line!