Fried Pumpkin Filled Raviolis Topped With Daikon And Radish
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| This dish was the star of the night. |
Move over Matt Damon and enter Bjorn, the real Bjorn. The last post featured Bjorn, the rockstar chef, who is behind the all vegan Italian place Mio Matto, above the all vegan grocery store, Veganz. However, before there was Mio Matto there was Kopps. This is where Bjorn sharpen his knife. To be honest, this was the must visit restaurant that I picked out from happycow.net. Just from looking at the menu and reviews, Kopps seemed to be focus on veganizing popular German dishes. I'm not sure why Bjorn left or if he still has any involvement here, but whatever the reason the food at Kopps is still outstanding.
Starter Spread
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| I wish I could remember exactly what this was! |
The special one and I make a perfect team. We divide and conquer the menu. I went for the the 4 courses while she ordered off the menu. The only thing I was kicking myself for (and I still am) is not doing the beer or wine pairing with the 4 courses. When (not if, since everyone needs to go at least once), do me a favor and order the wine or beer pairing. German beer and wine deserves every accolades it gets. I bet you didn't know germany was known for their wine. See, you're learning something new everyday.
Egg Salad
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| Food flashback, AMAZING! |
I'll be doing this in order, but keep reading until the end because the desserts might overshadow the food. Well, I said *might*. To start, the server brings you some sort of spread. Pretty awesome since I might have got a wee bit lost heading here and may or may not have had to go into an internet cafe to look up the address. I can not confirm or deny this, but it was worth the trouble. I would just print out a map for future reference so you can guide yourself since europe tends to not number streets/builds. Just a forewarning. Anyway, back to the food. Along with the spread, the special one got the egg salad. I know, it doesn't sound fancy but damn this was the best egg salad I've ever ate. I even talked to the server about it afterwards. I believe they used rice as the egg substitute, perhaps like a risotto. Someone should figure this out or translate one of their cookbooks, because it was amazing. I might have said that twice but this dish deserved it.
Vegetable Terrine with Tomato Compote and Leek Oil
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| Terrine! |
Up next was my first course, the vegetable terrine with tomato compote and leek oil. To be honest, I'm not sure what a terrine was or a compote, but this was perfection. I figure a terrine is kinda like a lasagna and compote is a fancy way for saying sauce. Perhaps I'm wrong.
Celery Soup and Caramelized Apple
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| Soup For You! |
Pumpkin Soup
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| Tempura Carrot! |
It was early October and lightly raining so these two soups hit the spot. The special one is a fan of halloween so we wanted to get as much pumpkin food stuff as possible. The celery soup was a light and refreshing with a clean, crisp and creamy taste. The pumpkin soup had a nice hearty rib smacking taste. I wish I could remember what the drizzle on the side and on top was, perhaps a balsamic. The tempura carrot was interesting and made for a beautiful presentation. Both tasted as good as they look, just ignore the shadows. It's kinda dark inside and intimate so kinda awkward to take multiple pictures inside when the first don't turn out. Speaking of the inside, it's as beautiful as their presentations indicate. They had these old doors on the roof and framed mirrors that really made the place stunning.
Inside of the Restaurant
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| How cool? |
Now moving on from the soups to the main courses. When the fried pumpkin raviolis or perogies as they called them, I believe, came out. I couldn't stop staring and my fork keep invading the special one's plate. This dish was outstanding. I don't think I ever had fried raviolis, but this needs to happen more often. Not to mention this sauce that was drizzled over them. Again, I should've taken notes, but alas I didn't. Scroll back up and look at that fantastic dish. This was the cherry on top of the german dining experience.
Fried Pumpkin, Pumpkin Roam and King Oyster Mushroom Risotto
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| You say Risotto, I say risotto! |
Oh, man. Did I mention we were on a pumpkin quest? Well, this was what we were after. I haven't had many risottos, but this was awesome. A little on the small side but it had a perfect texture and the pumpkin foam really made the flavor pop. I generally treat rice as something to put something else on top of, but risotto gives rice the center stage with the pumpkin and mushroom playing the supporting cast. I wanted a second helping, but the best was to come.
Semolina Balls, Pear Coriander Seeds Ragout, Hazelnut And Chocolate cream
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| Time to make the Semolina Balls! |
I know what you're thinking semolina balls doesn't sound delicious. Well, guess what you're wrong. This was like a donut. You know those donut holes from Ronald's? Well, these are even better becuase they had this hazelnut cream inside and the pear coriander ragout brought everything together. There might have been a fork battle goiing on between the special one and I, these were awesome. This was a perfect dessert after taking train after train with pastry case of berliner donuts in each station.
Molten Lava Cake
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| A Chocolate Explosion |
Once we got over the awkward feelings of a waiter coming and delivering the cake and a little chocolate boat filled with chocolate. The server went and poured the chocolate boat into the middle of the cake and viola! the cake collapsed! Death by chocolate! Pretty rad, almost as rad as the flamed at our table creme bulee from la Mano Verde (also in Berlin!). I don't think either one of us, had this before. The cake was dense and moist with an explosion of chocolate swirling about. Imagine if mashed potatoes were a desert and cake, this is as close as I can. The candied fruit also made for excellent presentation. It's hard to say what was the ultimate restaurant in Berlin. I'm not sure I can make that determination, unless you want to fund me to go back on another trip. Berlin is definitely a city we want to visit again and again. Hell, I would be down for living there for a few months. I even read about a couple who sold their house and travel the world living for a few months in each city.
Coconut Balls
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| Time to make the coconut balls! |
We must have raved to the server enough about the food or maybe this is a common occurrence at Knopps, but the server came out and brought us these coconut balls the chefs was trying out. It might of had a better name than coconut balls, but it was delicious. What makes Kopps stand out is their attention to detail, marrying perfect flavors to mingle and brought together with excellent presentation of the food. Not to mention the intimate and exciting decor. Kopps is a must visit. And yes, it's all vegan!
Foyer of Kopps
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| If you encounter this, it's a sign of good things to come! |
Menu of Kopps
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| My note taking system revealed! Checkpoint Charlie |
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| Not Real Troops |
Berlin Wall Crumbling
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