When I first arrived in Berlin in early October of last year, I was shocked by how cold it was…read morealready. With it being in the 70s back home (both homes, KC and NYC), I was ill prepared for weather hovering around 50F.
Bring on the dreary, rainy early evening, for the ultra warm and cozy interior of Al Hamra beckoned, the Aurora Borealis of Prenzlauer Berg.
Get it: dim lighting, candles on each table, walls painted in rich tones and the smells of coffee, cigs, and delicious food all combined so that I felt like I had just stepped back into the womb of my mother, had she been Omma Kolsoum, the Egyptian Billie Holiday.
Now for the food. Berlin has its share of doner stands, what NYers call Falafel joints, and although many people swear by the delicious offerings contained within, as a vegetarian, I beg to differ. For starters, in Berlin doner stands do the unthinkable: they serve falafel with *mayo* instead of tahini. A travesty!
I digress. The best Middle Eastern food I had in Berlin was at Al Hamra, in large part to the lovely atmosphere, true, but the food, it was so damn good! They didn't only have the standard Middle Eastern fare, either, but some of the best nachos I've ever had (I think I put on about 5 pounds eating here repeatedly over the span of 2 weeks). I also had a panini that was utterly delicious as well.
Their drinks were absolutely *die*vine. I'm a huge fan of glühwein and Al Hamra's was just right. Nothing like drinking hot wine in cold weather. It makes it not only bearable but enjoyable!
Other lovely things about Al Hamra: free wireless, decent outlets, computers if you come without your own, friendly waitstaff that don't hate you for not being fluent in German (I wish, sadly, I can barely manage a few words), excellent coffee drinks and I do recall them having soymilk, too.
I can't wait to return to Berlin, surely my favorite European city, and spend some chilly evenings in the warm embrace of Al Hamra.