An Organic Spindel Dinner on Sat 21 May 2011

There is a place in Berlin that is doing its best to support organic farming, and insists on getting nothing but the freshest organic produce from local suppliers around Brandenburg and Berlin. As the restaurant has been going for some time, I must presume that this is a winning strategy for this place is not cheap. Nope, you can call it many things but you can't call it cheap. But I have never had an wholly organic dinner in Berlin so I thought that we will try this place and see if it lives up to its reputation for good wholesome dining. To make it more challenging, the location is in the deepest depths of East Berlin so it must be *really* good to survive so long at these prices.

So for May, we will do our dinner at Die Spindel at Bölschestraße 51, 12587 Berlin, a spot way past Koepenick and in-between S-Bahn Friedrichshagen and the Mueggelsee. And after this dinner, I don't want to hear people say again I don't ever venture into East Berlin.

To make things easier (and more palatable), we have ordered a special 4-course menu, but as the cook is very particular about getting the best and freshest stuff, we actually don't know what it is except that one of the mains will be a spargel dish. And he tells me that he will be matching the dishes with his best wines. So for this dinner, I am afraid that you will have to pay 70 EUR in advance for the pleasure of dining at Die Spindel on the evening of Sat 21 May. I can understand if some people think this is a bit steep for a restaurant nestling in the nether regions of East Berlin but this sounds like an interesting place and could be very surprising. Well, I hope so anyway.

For more details, their website is http://www.spindel-berlin.de/ and some reviews can be seen on http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g187323-d1901214-Reviews-Die_Spindel-Berlin.html

The closing date for this dinner is Saturday 14 May and remittances should be done by 16 May latest to confirm your booking. My suggestion is, don't look at this event as a dinner - look at it as a little safari into a part of Berlin I am pretty sure you have never been to! So if you feel adventurous, drop me an email as soon as possible and all those who make it will be informed before 16 May along with the payment details. Once again, the dinner is planned for the evening of Sat 21 May so please note it in your diary now.

See you all soon!

Chris

How it went on the night...

Maybe it was because it was the night of the Rapture or perhaps it was because we came such a long way that my expectations were unrealistically high, but I have to confess that the dinner was not as spectacular as I had hoped. This was supposed to be our last meal on Earth after all. However, saying that, the food is indeed nothing short of good, and all the ingredients were noticeably fresh, of great quality and of course, organic. There was also an odd moment when the head waiter inexplicably tried to change our wine from the specified Chianti to a rather nondescript German red but we stuck to our guns and kept with the Chianti (which is good but again not the noblest Sangiovese). Overall, a fellow diner summed it up rather well when he suggested that we might mosey off to get a doner to top up the dinner! But he was only kidding. I hope.

Anyway, it is rather sad but Mark is leaving Berlin although he assures us that he will be back and therefore we will hold him to his word. We all wish Mark the best of luck in Middle England - where men are men and women don't wear enough in winter and drink more than men. :o)

By the way, some of the pictures below were taken before the dinner club night and some after. Spot the difference...