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“The image foreigners have of French cuisine is fattening and very fancy food. But it’s not true – French food isn’t just rich. The word “healthy” doesn’t exist in French. We have many, many words, but not that one. To … Continue reading
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“A painting is not a picture of an experience; it is the experience.” – Mark Rothko London is glorious this April. The weather seemingly slip-streams from California. Royal Tulips are odes to Spring in public spaces along the Thames … Continue reading
“Taking trains and trams in Berlin, I noticed people reading. Books, I mean – not pocket-size devices that bleep…”
– Joshua Cohen, Novelist
Ernst Lubitsch (1892-1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, and writer.
His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood’s most elegant and sophisticated director; as his prestige grew, his films were promoted as having “the Lubitsch touch” – a style of romantic comedy at once elegant and ribald, sophisticated and earthy, frivolous yet profound.
Among his best known works are: The Shop Around the Corner, To Be or Not to Be, and Heaven Can Wait.
With few exceptions Lubitsch’s movies take place neither in Europe nor America but in a place of metaphor, benign grace, rueful wisdom.*
Restaurant Lubitsch, on a quiet commercial street in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district, is the setting for a perfect Saturday lunch.
Elegance from another era, “benign grace”, urbane. Homage to the great impresario!
Relaxed patrons – lively families with well-mannered wire-haired dachshunds under table, couples engaged in intriguing conversation, a single older woman reading the paper, all have dedicated their afternoon to being right here.
Starched heavy linen, good-humored waitstaff moving with alacrity seemly comfortable joking in English, French, and perhaps Polish, banquette seating in rich mushroom tones, all assembled to transport guests from life’s trivial concerns.
The food is a delicate alliance of traditional dishes from Berlin, Vienna, and Paris harmonized as very fresh, contemporary interpretations. (Crispy perch on a bed of warm, tangy cabbage was delicate, textured. A dessert Riesling lingers as a delightful memory.)
We are reminded once again why we return to Berlin.
This culinary Star of our journey is playing very well, thank you, on Bleibtreustraße 47.
*Danke, Wikipedia for some of this content.
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All photos taken and edited on iPhone 13 Pro Max
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Thank you so much Howard. WOW! Great stories on Rothko - I had a poster of his that always made…
I remember wandering into the art gallery on the campus of SUNY Purchase in 1974. The whole place was filled…
i believe these, on the whole, are my favorite ever.
Love the pics - especially the last two! ; )
I love your photos! Larry and I will be in Paris 5 days in Sept-Now I look forward to our…