Food as Inspiration - Dinner at Rutz

 

Tonight's dinner came after a poignant day, as you can read in the last post. Having left the hotel at 8.30am and not got back until 4.15pm we might have been a bit tired. But a couple of hours to refresh ourselves and we were ready to leave the hotel again at 6.15pm. 

We caught the M85 to Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) and then the M5 Tram from there to Hannoversche Strasse. 

This was our route:

Rutz was immediately across the road, which was lucky as a fine day turned into a downpour and we had forgotten all our Welsh skills - they say in Wales, if it's not raining it is just a sign that it will soon! - so we should have more than shirts on - even our trusty Macs in Sacs were back in Drew's bag in the hotel.

Back when planning for this holiday I had looked at the Michelin Guide and had seen restaurants in Germany, Finland and Stockholm which had good tales to tell and menus that suited us. I began with Berlin as it was the first place we were staying for more than a day and came across this description of Rutz:

Let yourself be taken on a "journey" ... (with) terrific ingredients such as Wagyu beef from Germany, the distinctive flavour of which is in a class of its own, and squid (an invasive species from the North Sea). ... the dishes here are sure to surprise even experienced foodies at times – in an absolutely positive way! 

That was tempting enough to get us to book the restaurant, which was the first booking we made in the holiday plan.

We of course didn't discuss the menu choices. Going with the Inspiration Menu "Nature & Aroma" by the chef of this venue Marco Müller.

Arriving at the restaurant it was a treat to be met by the Restaurant Manager - Falco Mühlichen - who joked that we were 15 minutes early, so were welcome to wait in the rain. 😂 It was true we were early, the joke was that they weren't ready for us, as they were.

We were taken upstairs to our table and given chance to read the menu which asked us to:

Dip into our world and see how creativity and perfect artisan meets tradition and indulgence.

We were ready to do so, so opted for the full menu with the accompaniment of the non-alcoholic drink flight. 

This began with the waiter offering us a sorrel and white tea aperitif with a sorrel infused ice cube - Sorrel with its vibrant tart flavour is often used to spice up salads in the UK, but I've not had it as a drink - it was as tart as expected, but as I have a preference for sharp flavours it was an ideal start for me.

Falco arrived and provided us with Apple Blossom, rose leaves, rose buds and fermented honey made on their farm in 2021 along with herb honey. Often we think of honey as sweet, but the fermenting process had given this a tangy, slightly bitter note, so neither honey was sweet - this was served beside a warm napkin for us to freshen up at the beginning of the meal.

The second amuse-bouche of the evening was a cucumber, sorrel, miso paste pastry with cream cheese. It was so light and airy, the flavour designed to be matched perfectly with our sorrel drink.

The next amuse-bouche was "Helgoland" lobster. The waiter asked Do you know where Helgoland is? Well we didn't, but we do now (a set of islands in the North Sea) as you'll see in the link. This was Lobster meat, lobster gel, lobster in a doughnut (called locally a Berliner - everyone knows of the famous JFK speech, when he said "Ich bin ein Berliner" - I am a Berliner) but could be understood to say - I am a doughnut! - this had a fermented Cream with rich umami tastes and little drips of vinegar sharp and inventive it hit all my taste buds in an assault of deliciousness. If this is how things begin, we are in for a good night.

Our second drink was rhubarb granita, white blossom tea and coriander oil - an unexpected and unusual combination. I'd had all the ingredients in one form or another before - but combined they are astounding - drinking crushed ice seems to be more night-club than restaurant, but again the tart nature of rhubarb was enhanced rather than diminished by the other ingredients.

The next, officially the first, course was raw local spring water trout with a rhubarb cream, tiny cubes of rhubarb, pine blossom and a smoked sauce with sourdough breadcrumb - Not only did it look pretty on the plate but it gave an almost palette cleansing sharpness to the mouth. The sauce had a full-on sense of charred wood about its flavour and that made the fish seem richer and more enhanced in flavour - while I may think this more than one time tonight - this was definitely one I would ask for more of in future.

The bread course came and this was a Sourdough loaf served in a basket with Aniseed butter and a salted butter with black pepper to choose from, we chose both!

We also received an inventive black sausage bread, which tasted as full of the German blood sausage Drew had tried a few days ago in Cologne and shouldn't have worked with dark rye bread - but it did. The taste of a sausage sausage with the texture of rye bread - delicious. 

Next came “Signature dish MM" a delight of summer tomatoes three ways, red, green and pineapple tomatoes with a light chilli sauce served with pike roe and verbena and smoke. Tomatoes in all their types are a treat in themselves. My sister often gets a tasty box of Isles of Wight Tomatoes, well this course was like getting a box of those and adding flavours I love to vegetables (yes, I know they are really fruit) I think are delicious. The roe was like little drops of salty delight on the tongue, the chilli brought out the tomato delicately and the verbena added a slightly floral note. A great combination.   

Our next drink was a lime, seaweed and cucumber cocktail topped up with an intense cucumber jus. I love the sharpness of lime and often cook with lime juice as I find it tangier than lemon juice (which I also like, but not as much). This with the tastes of childhood rock pools in Oxwich (or at least Laverbread from Swansea market) made for a refreshing taste.

The lime, seaweed and cucumber flavour went perfectly with the North Sea Squid. We were told that due to global warming, Germany now has access in its waters to squid which had previously been the preserve of Italian, Spanish or Greek cuisines - this theme of local provenance ran throughout the mea. The dish smells of the sea with the squid being joined by sea herbs, sea cucumber, pickled cucumber (gherkins) and a mussel gel, the flavour profile matched the drink perfectly. How people can taste match like this is a mystery to me, they must explore many options before hitting on the right notes, but here at Rutz they do just that. 

After the delight of the fish it is time for another drink. This one was astounding. It was made with a Pumpkin foam and hazelnut milk (oil) again sharp and tangy, as I like, but also the foamed up texture of a thick double cream, after the first shot of favourable delight you had to wait for the drink to gently slip out of the glass - creativity redefined.

The cucumber drink was served with a dish of caviar and hazelnut, with a pickled radish, crab meat and crushed percolated lobster shell. The waiter told us that the restaurant had long been a part of the N25 movement - which only harvests eggs from Sturgeons which are 25 years old, or older. The sturgeon involved in this dish had been 28 years old and only produced one set of eggs. Though a generous set, the restaurant froze them on arrival and use them, sparingly, in the time since. The taste is rich in salty, tangy, freshness and the crab provides an additional tone of seafood flavour to the caviar. Drew didn't used to like fish eggs, but when they taste this good, even he can be converted. 

The next drink, Falco had to come and deliver it with his usual cheeky chappy style is Vegtini that is a vegetarian martini. A radish is on a stick (normally an olive in the original) with salad turned into a drink. I kid you not, the flavours are that of cucumber, lettuce, radish and tomatoes, liqudised into a drink which taste delightful. It is refreshing surprise to the palette and very green.

The food served with the Vegtini is nasturtium flowers and leaves, rabbit tartare, oil of turnip which has soaked for 24 hours topped with nasturtium oil. I love rabbit, it has childhood memories for me, but those memories of hearty rabbit stew are a long way away from this delicate, tender rabbit loin served here. The nasturtium flowers and leaves are gentle flavours and allow the star of the dish, the rabbit, to really sing. I was a little eager to get to the rabbit, so the photo is taken halfway through I'm afraid.

The next drink is a fermented Buckwheat Tea and Turnip leaf juice, this is much better to drink than it sounds. Turnip makes me think of strong earthy notes, but here it enabled the buckwheat to take on a tang which was more like a meaty gravy.

The tea was perfect to go with the Kohlrabi sauerkraut, Wagyu beef, turnip, fresh grass smell, garem (fish sauce) and marrow foam. Drew was put off Wagyu on his 40th birthday dinner in the US when it had been fatty and chewy, but this delicate cut had none of that, it was well marbled and strongly meaty and delicious. What came as a surprise is that having another sip of the drink it had, once you had eaten the wagyu a completely different flavour profile, now perfectly balanced with the food. I rearranged the dish pre-photo, so you can see the lovely wagyu.

After this dish was completed Falco, potentially confusingly  returned and announced: "Someone order an espresso", but the truth was that what he delivered in espresso cup were what he called a Mushroom cappuccino. This thick drink made from three local mushrooms with a butter sauce was served hot and was very rich, it was probably more butter than I had eaten in the last 12 months!

The mushroom drink was served with Jerusalem artichoke and black truffle gel on a spoon 

which you eat first before diving into the Hen of the woods mushroom accompanied by a mushroom stock. with leaves, herbs and a Hay sauce. Mushroom nirvana might be a way of describing this. Again the richness of the drink made much more sense against the complexity of the food flavour.

Our next drink was Tea made with morel juice, black tea and blackberry leaves topped with intense mushroom oil. This thick, slightly viscous liquid was a little intimidating, until it was introduced to the food.

The "Husumer" lamb loin, with a ragu of morel, wild garlic, onion powder and mustardy cream was tender and flavour full. Of course the drink had to be tangy and strong, if it had any chance to match the intensity of the lamb.

Following the lamb our pre-dessert arrived: Green strawberry with tarragon infused yoghurt ice cream. This works great as a palette cleanser and a preparation for the sweeter things to come. It is sharp tangy and unexpected in flavour.

Between this course and the next I went to the toilet, and very nice they were too. When I arrived back at my chair Falco was there to pull it out for me with a flourish and a "That's why you pay so much to come here." 🤣

Our final drink is Wheatgrass with sessile leaves, 

this is served alongside the dessert of Knotweed leaf, strawberry gel, strawberry and wild rose jus, strawberry and wild rose granita. I'd not eaten knotweed, but it has a rhubarb like taste and balanced well with the sweeter tastes of strawberry and wild rose. The whole dish was not overly sweet, so again I was very happy, and Drew didn't have to help me out, as he often does, by having an extra dessert. [Co-pilot's note: I, dear readers, am not entirely sure I like this turn of events - it is a slippery slope I tell you, a slippery slope]

Falco reappeared with the bill and proclaimed "Oh, I do love this part" 😃 We didn't mind it either, we are happy to pay for such delight and unexpected flavours which had played with our tongue all evening.

We left and reversed our journey. Taking the M5 tram to central station and the M85 bus back to Potsdamer Strasse and our hotel. 

We arrived back at the hotel at 11.30pm, a late night for us, but a very, very enjoyable one.