Cafe Berlin…finally!
Posted on 15 December, 2009 | No Comments
by Gwen Ragno
After many, many failed attempts to eat at Café Berlin (map) over the past year, I was finally able to get there while it was open and have a meal. The hours are a little odd, and on one visit the kitchen actually closed for unexplained reasons minutes before I got there. So, before I get started, let’s get those hours straight. Pay attention now, so you don’t find yourself repeatedly facing locked doors as I did. Café Berlin is open from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. They are also currently opening for dinner from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and for late nights on Friday and Saturday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and Sunday from 10 p.m. to midnight. Whew! Even after committing this to memory, I would recommend calling ahead before you go, just to be sure: (573) 441-0400.
“Best breakfast in town, hands down, ask anybody,” they boast on their Facebook and MySpace pages. The menu looks amazing, with lots of tasty-sounding breakfast and lunch dishes using locally produced vegetables, dairy and meat and homemade breads and granola. There are also plenty of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options, which always wins a few points in my book.
The folks at Café Berlin are known around town for their sustainability efforts and, true to form, made their recent move from Walnut & Providence to 10th & Park using only bicycles. I never visited the old Providence location, but I am told that it was set up a lot differently than the new one. It used to be more café-like, where you order and pay at the counter, then your food is brought to you when it is ready. The new location is much more like a restaurant – you wait to be seated, and then a waiter/waitress comes to take your order. This isn’t immediately clear when you first walk through the door, however, so people tend to either just find a table and sit down (and then get chased away by someone informing them that there’s a wait list), or just stand in the doorway looking confused until an employee eventually notices and comes over to seat them.
The place was pretty crowded when I was there around noon on a Saturday, but I only had to wait about 10 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad. Only about half of the building’s floor space is being used for seating right now, but it looked like they were still working on the back room so hopefully there will be more tables added later.
I had heard wonderful things about the Café Berlin breakfast burrito, so after drooling over the menu for quite some time, that is what I ordered. It was eggs, roasted potatoes, cheddar cheese and vegetarian sausage wrapped in a tortilla, with spicy salsa on the side. You can order it with meat too, but a few of my omnivore friends have tried the vegetarian sausage and said they actually prefer it over real sausage, so if you’re feeling adventurous, give it a try. The burrito was everything I’d hoped for. The potatoes were cooked to almost the same consistency as the scrambled eggs and seasoned perfectly, and the “sausage” added a nice burst of flavor every now and then. The salsa was quite spicy – something I can’t always handle in the morning – but it was served on the side, so I was able to use it in moderation. The burrito was a little pricey at $8, but very filling and delicious. There is a smaller portion available for $3.50 on the “Not just for kids Menu.”
I also had coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. The coffee came from Lakota, Columbia’s resident independent coffee roaster, and was a special “Berlin Blend.” It was very dark and strong, qualities I very much enjoy in coffee. The juice was definitely freshly squeezed (found a seed!), but pretty expensive at $2.75 for a tiny 8 oz. glass. If you get the 16 oz. for $3.95, though, you can have mixtures – any combo of orange, apple, grapefruit and carrot.
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to Café Berlin, and I will definitely eat there again. The food is a bit more expensive than I’d like (because otherwise I would eat there every other day) but everything is local and organic, so your money is helping support the local economy and sustainability. Plus, most foods are sold individually as sides, so you could probably piece together a decently priced breakfast that way if you don’t mind smaller portions.
Did you ever eat at the old Café Berlin? How do you think the new one compares? Do you mind paying a little more for food if it’s organic and local? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you.
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