A slice of Vegan perfection at Monella

Wandering along Weichselstraße in Neukölln, beneath the perfumed Linden trees, you'll find a crazy amount of bars and restaurants. In the last couple of years, the number of hip places to be fed and watered in this popular district has sky rocketed and it seems as though a new one pops up every week.

A couple of weeks ago my boyfriend and I were strolling around the neighbourhood, looking idly for somewhere new to eat and happened upon Monella. It looked welcoming and boasted a simple chalk menu of various pizzas and with it being a stones throw away from home, we decided to give it a whirl. The world of vegan cooking fascinates me so it was the vegan pizza option that swung it.

We sat outside to enjoy the delicious, balmy nights Berlin has been blessed with of late, but had a peek inside to find a rather impressive silver pizza oven burning away. It looked to me as, if Frank Gehry designed pizza ovens, this would be his creation. Other than that, the restaurant had all of the typical Berlin restaurant/bar favourites- the stripped back, rustic and 'shabby chic' charm.

The pizzas came and without expectation, were absolutely delightful.

Vegan options can so often be simply an after thought and while it is great when places choose to include vegan dishes, when the offering is a slice of rock hard avocado with slices of vacuum- packed beetroot stuffed into a dry tortilla wrap, (no names mentioned), I'd rather they just didn't bother.

The vegan pizza at Monella was no afterthought.

Much care and consideration had gone into its creation with the rich tomato base, beautifully roasted aubergine and courgette teamed with a drizzle of fragrant green pesto. The dusting of ground cashews pleased me no end and created a perfectly unctuous and comforting affair and also reflected the obvious attention to detail that had gone into the planning of this pizza. My partners Calzone was bursting with flavour and a liberal amount of gooey cheese. 

To accompany my blissful enjoyment of this vegan pizza, the service was a dream, something that still seems a treat when eating out in Berlin. Good service is never a guarantee in this city. Here, the chap behind Monella with Italian/Austrian roots, (hence the taste for great quality pizzas), takes his menu very seriously. On telling him of my complete relish for the vegan pizza, he explained he had taken a lot of time experimenting with different flavours to achieve the best combinations. And you can taste that, my pizza was simple but perfectly flavoured.

As well as pizzas, you can find anti pasti, desserts and some rather fancy cocktails.

By Berlin standards, the prices are not cheap, but reasonable between 8-12 euros per pizza. And I have to remember that Berlin and in particular, Neukölln, is no longer the place I moved to five years ago. More and more people like myself have made it their home and prices have soared in all aspects of life. Of course it is still cheap compared to London and many other hauptstadts, but times are a changing!

Anyway, Monella is great, and if this is one of the positives that has arisen from such gentrification- divine vegan pizzas served with happy, smiling faces, then to that aspect of gentrification I say, amen.

Monella, Weichselstraße. 17, Neukölln, Berlin

U-bahn- Rathaus Neukölln

http://monella.berlin/

Tales of Potatoes and Potsdam

The potato, or rather the Kartoffel, is king in Germany. 

It is the staple accompaniment for so many dishes, the childhood favourite of simply boiled and served with herby quark, or fried alongside an intimidatingly large schnitzel or used to create pillows of deliciousness in the form of German dumplings, Knödel. Debates are made as to the best way to make your kartoffel salat (potato salad) and any traditional German dish is not without the humble tuber in some form.

The potato invokes passion and great enthusiasm here in Germany, which is perhaps most evident in the sweet tale of the potato Linda. This particular variety of potato almost became extinct in Germany back in 2004, when the company that distributed it decided they were no longer going to. This meant that any farmer that continued to grow this potato would be acting illegally. Petitions were signed and rallies were made and with support from the media, Linda was saved. This was a farmer's success story and supports the fact, one should never try and come between a German and their potato! 

Now, in the area I live in Berlin- Neukölln, there is a farmers market named Die Dicke Linda (the fat Linda) in honour of this special spud.

Cookbooks and restaurants can be found dedicated solely to this humble veggie. The potato is revered and celebrated and to be honest, I can whole heartedly understand. WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT POTATOES?

It is thanks to Prussia's favourite king, Frederick the Great, that we have such potato based specialities in Germany today.

He introduced this strange and exotic vegetable to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1743 which, initially, was met with suspicion and avoidance.

However, Old Fritz, recognising the potato's affordable and nourishing qualities, was on a mission to encourage his people to accept it. He decided to grow potatoes in abundance within the gardens leading up to his palace, Sanssouci, in Potsdam and ordered his soldiers to guard the potato fields heavily, thus piquing the interest of the villagers. At night, the king instructed his soldiers to relax their guard so as to allow villagers to creep into the fields and steal these 'treasured' potatoes.

And the rest, as they say, is history. To this day, the Germans love their spuds. If you visit the palace at Potsdam and go to Frederick's grave, you will find an array of potato offerings, scattered across his resting space. Flowers are redundant, it is the potato that should be left as a mark of respect and gratitude for bringing this great vegetable and source of such culinary wealth to their land.

Interestingly, the potato was shunned across Europe, originally brought over from South America by the Spanish during the 15th century. During the 18th century, it was met with doubt from the British, as potatoes were not mentioned in the Bible, and in France, Marie Antoinette needed a lot of persuasion to accept the strange looking tuber as food. This was achieved by a scientist named Antoine Parmentier (Parmentier potatoes!) who introduced her to the beauty of potato plant blossoms in the form of a trendy head dress.

Back in Germany, I recently made the journey from Berlin to Potsdam with my brother, visiting from London, and decided to respect the potato-offering tradition by leaving a few from my kitchen on the old king's grave. Unfortunately, my offerings were not too pretty and had become a little old and shriveled, (it was a Sunday when the whole of Germany is closed!).I decided to take them regardless. I mean after all- they were from the very expensive Bio Company, so I figured they would be good enough for Old Fritz and not too offensive!

Now, I am a fairly sentimental person and to be fair, it doesn't take much to stir my emotional side,  but it felt quite special to take part in this old tradition of placing a potato on top of Frederick the Great's grave and remembering his part to play.

Should I get out more? I don't know, but lets raise a schnapps (preferably a potato based one) to Old Fritz and his faith in the potato.

http://www.potsdam-park-sanssouci.de/palace-Sanssouci.html

Mo's Imbiss - the King of Falafel

Along Urbanstraße lies a little hole in the wall adorned with a funky sign claiming to be 'the king of falafel'. Hmm I wonder, in Berlin? In the world? Well, I was going to find out.

People are always crowded around this little spot and having exhausted the other falafel hotspots in Neukölln where I live, it seemed time to put this claim to the test.

Arriving at Mo's Imbiss, we are met with 2 hungry groups waiting despite, what was, a chilly evening. Once it was our turn we are greeted by the kind faced co-owner ready to take our order.  Taking time to consider the menu, I notice that someone here is either naturally health conscious, or seriously clued up as to what is popular on the food scene right now. There is a variety of clearly stated vegan options with vegan 'halloumi', cutely named- 'vegalloumi', freshly- pressed beetroot and ginger juice and salads. This is a falafel- come- cleaneating health nut's dream. I LOVE IT.

I order the vegan falafel with vegan halloumi, (this is essentially tofu but it really works) and hummus. My boyfriend orders the regular halloumi falafel.

The lady prepares the falafel with care and precision and it arrives stuffed with roasted vegetables; aubergine, potato and broccoli and a generous dollop of creamy hummus. There are some great falafel in Berlin but I found this seriously delicious and bursting with a freshness others lack. Leafy greens and a spicy harissa sauce take this to another level for me, even the falafel seems to have veggies in it. Nothing greasy about Mo's falafel apart from the spicy harissa sauce dripping all over your fingers. And that kind of grease is ok by me.

The lady behind the window serves us copious amounts of hot, sweet tea and apple slices to refresh our palates, you get the impression she wants to look after her customers,  that she cares. Something not always so common in Berlin and so always a treat. We have a little chat with her and learn she comes from Russia and owns Mo's with her Damascan husband- Mo of course! They used to have a slightly larger restaurant in nearby Graefestraße, until the lease ran out and they moved to their tiny spot in Neukölln.

Mo's is a little gem, fresh, clean and mouth-watering falafal with a little bit of Russian love. I'd definitely recommend this place for Berlin locals and visitors alike. Before long they will have to start looking for somewhere a little bigger than than their quaint little hole in the wall- I'm sure of it!

Mo’s kleiner Imbiss Urbanstraße 68
10967 Berlin

U-bahn- Hermannplatz