My Favorite European Food

When I was younger, I had the good fortune to live in West Berlin. Yes, before the wall came tumbling down—did I mention I was much younger?

One of the most amazing things about the fascinating city was the food. In addition to the expected German (Deutche cuisine), the divided city hosted an international mecca of restaurants. I later went to China, but tasted my favorite Chinese food on the Kurfurstendamm. While Italy didn’t make my travel itinerary, I can’t image any better pizza than the yummy, gooey, slices discovered at the Italiana. The French Sector boasted delights that would make Julia Child drop another turkey and the English Nafi served tea and biscuits that made a girl feel like a duchess.

Most of the German food left me wanting more flavor, but one Berlin fast food still ranks as one of my favorite foods. Ever. This culinary delight is currywurst and pomme frites. You probably guessed pomme frites are French fries, but if you’ve never tasted currywurst, it’s like nothing you ever imagined. Although currywurst is a sausage, the treat can’t be compared to an ordinary bratwurst and the curry doesn’t really taste like curry. Fried pork is cut into slices and topped with a ready-made ketchup seasoned with curry and the other spices. The result: heaven for the mouth.

Supposedly, currywurst was invented by Herta Heuwer. Our fraulein supposedly absconded with ketchup and curry powder from a British soldier. She mixed these with other spices (and they must be amazing spices to make ketchup and curry powder taste so delicious) and poured it over grilled pork sausage. And voila, perfection. If you ever get the opportunity to order this treat, make sure you tell the vendor to leave the pomme frites plain—otherwise, s/he’ll put mayonnaise on your French fries.

It’s been twenty years (alack, alas) since I tasted this concoction, but if a fast food joint could replicate the treat I remember, a fortune could be made. During the passing time, I’ve become a semi-vegetarian, but if the Golden Arches or that funny-looking king decided to serve currywurst, I might just have a lapse.

What about you? Any foreign foods that delight your palette?