Spring. Sprouts. And Cinco de Mayo cerveza.
Can you name that sprout? We’ll give you a few hints. They belong to the genus Physalis, for one. They are a key ingredient in salsa verde. And we’ll be damned if you’ll find them on a menu in the Hauptstadt…although we’re willing to be proven wrong, as long as you direct us to said restaurant immediately.
These little green friends represent the first sproutlings from three secret locations where HIB and a few very generous friends are growing decidedly non-local vegetables for cooking fun, perhaps even for a little guerilla planting once they’re all sprouted and feeling strong. (Don’t tell the Ordnungsamt.) We’ll keep you posted on their progress…
But in the meantime, we’ve got some Cinco de Mayo to celebrate. While briefly in Barcelona we came across an amazing Mexican restaurant where they served micheladas alongside some of the finest, authentic food we’ve ever had both south of the border and this side of the Atlantic. (And yes, that was a plug. If you’re in Barcelona, find this place and eat.)
But what’s a michelada? A mixed beer concotion that might make most Reinheitsgebot-purists faint, a michelada combines hot sauce, Maggi (or soy sauce or Worchestershire sauce), some salt and lime juice with a Pilsner-style beer (or Mexican beer, if you’ve got a Tecate or other light sort available.) Oh, and even the WSJ thinks it’s cool.
I’d like to establish this as Berlin’s next cool hangover cure, the proper beverage to go with that 3 p.m. Sunday brunch. It might even make Berliner Pilsner potable…
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May 5th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Hola!
I googled “Cinco de Mayo Berlin”, to see if there was something going on today and, luckly, I found your website! I’ve been in Berlin for about 3 weeks (I’m from Juarez, Mexico), and I must say, I already miss jalapeño. However, I haven’t thought about micheladas, as there are a lot of beers I’ve been trying
, and now, I really want one! And as for a cool hangover cure, do you know what a Clamato is? That’s the perfect cure! Supposedly it was created in Juarez, and now it is mainly consumed in northern Mexico, not in the south. So, the ingredients are: Clamato (tomato juice with clam broth), hot sauce such as Tabasco or others, Maggi sauce, lemon juice and beer. The key is the clam, because plain tomate juice doesn’t really work. If you ever find Clamato, can you please let me know? 
Also, I really like your blog, I think it is very nice written and very helpful.
Saludos and Happy Drinko de Mayo!
Claudia
August 4th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
So…are they tomatillos, and if so, are they surviving? We’re thinking about doing the same thing here in Amsterdam….
August 5th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Mark — So far, so good. Or so OK, at least. They’re definitely tomatillos, and they’re tall and flowering, but no sign of actual fruit yet. June and early July were so cloudy here, they’re probably looking for their passports and trying to get back to Mexico before fruiting.
But we’ll post an update, w/ pics later. If you do try them in Amsterdam, we’d love to hear how it goes.