Hallo Berlin!

Look out Germany, I'm coming for your pickles...

...and I've already begun training. In Hell's Kitchen there is a large beer hall type of place called Hallo Berlin that serves a pretty big selection of beer and wurst. My travel buddy and I went there back in the spring with the artists Venkse & Spänle who will be our hosts for part of our adventure in Deutchland. The menu says "German spiced pickles, $2"", and Gregor (the Spänle half) ordered 2. Naturally, I assumed 1 was for him and the other was for, um, everyone else, but Germans can be wiley and I thought to double check. Nope, Gregor just wanted 2 for himself and it was at THAT MOMENT I knew that I couldn't be in better hands for my trip to Germany!

I ordered my own pickles.

I was expecting a bowl of whole gherkins but instead we were presented with an elegant platter of spears and I was not one bit disappointed with taste or presentation. Here's the platter about 2 minutes after being placed on the table:


Venske & Spänle are two German artists who work together in carved marble. Their work is truly amazing and I have been privileged to work with them and get to know them over the years at the gallery. They have always extended an invitation to visit them in Munich where they live part of the year when they are not in Brooklyn or traveling the world and I am so excited that I can finally take them up on the offer when I visit in August. It's a guarantee when we are together that beer and pickles will appear...and then disappear.