Saturday, October 22, 2011

Gendarmerie - Berlin

Mixed reviews elsewhere on the web . . .but we saw it on the way to our other destination and filed it away as plan b, which became operative when the Plan A place closed lunch at 2pm . . .WTF . . .is this Europe or what? We've been turned away from restaurants for getting there too early for lunch before, but never, NEVER, for being to late . . . 8^D . . .

So we went back to Gendarmerie. The staff was just short of effusive in their friendliness, which had been our only concern, based on the negatives posted on TripAdvisor, etc, so that was fine . . . It's a very Modern, German, Friendly/Cozy place, with that huge mural on the wall . . . There were a few large parties scattered around the large restaurant. I ordered some really good but pricey reisling and we perused the menu . . . After huge green salads our mains came . . . Mrs said hers was "fine" but the half lobster wasn't enough . . . Mine on the other hand, was too much, and -- based on the amount of seafood I have consumed in my life, I think I can say so -- not quite fine . . . I mean: the crab claw meat texture was iffy, and clung to the shell so that I couldn't get at it; the prawns and oysters were "fine" but the sauces really didn't add anything of value to me; the octupus salad was the best thing; the tiny sea snails were excruciating to get at. . . There's a definite knack I lack . . . Getting one out was a chore not worth the reward . . . IMVHO . . .

I felt like it was us, as much as the restaurant . . . Much like the whole trip to Berlin which we had looked forward to for so long . . . Starting when I left my umbrella in the cab because we got distracted by our charming Welsh cab driver . . . Just off in indefinable ways. I think we might have done better on the menu with more familiarity, so I wouldn't warn people away from Gendarmerie, but I would caution them inside . . . The staff was uber-gemuchlich . . . 8^) . . . and as you see, they send you into battle with a full armory . . . 8^) . . .

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