Even though we’d been to Germany many times over the past decade, we had never visited Berlin. The German capital, being situated in the northeastern part of the country, is not as easily accessible to travelers from the west as other cities such
as Frankfurt, Freiburg, and Stuttgart. But when the opportunity arose of going to the east this spring, we decided to add Berlin to our itinerary. The city’s very name, of course, conjures up vivid memories of the twentieth century: the Nazi regime, the Berlin wall, famous speeches by JFK and Reagan, among others. A trip there, however, makes the visitor aware of a much richer historical and cultural past.

Berlin, with an area of over 300 square miles, is one of the largest cities in Europe. The western side of town is especially spread out. So, in order to get our bearings, one of the first things we did was to get tickets for one of the many bi-lingual city bus tours. Clerks at our hotel directed us to go behind the Hauptbahnhof (main train station), where a number of different companies offer tours of the city. Tourists visit around twenty different sights and can get on and off the bus at will all day long for about 15 euros apiece. Since it was a beautiful day, we chose to
sit upstairs in the open air to observe Berlin's places of interest. There are natural areas like the river Spree which winds through the city and the huge, beautiful Tiergarten park. Many sights underscore the city's long history. There are eighteenth century landmarks such as the emblematic Brandenburger Tor and the Prussian Schloß Bellevue which now serves as the official residence of the German president; and Checkpoint
Charlie, the famous crossing point between east and west when the city was divided after World War II. There are also modern shopping areas like the Kurfürstendamm (referred to by locals as Ku’damm) and Unter den Linden, the lovely tree-lined boulevard in the heart of town. We later took a boat tour--all in German--which served as a kind of review of what we had learned earlier.

Perhaps our favorite part of Berlin was the Nikolai Viertel (the quarter around St. Nicholas Church) in the Mitte district. This section of town (established around
the year 1200) abounds in old buildings; interestingly, our bus tour guide explained that during the nearly thirty-year separation from the west side of the city, east Berlin didn’t have the money to demolish and rebuild in a modern style which allowed the area to retain its historic architecture. For once, poverty was a blessing, I suppose.

All in all, Berlin struck us as a vibrant, livable city. The Berliners are friendly
and fun-loving; the bier-bike is a good example! Surprisingly perhaps, it also seemed to be a very peaceful city—no loud honking cars and very few sirens disrupting the calm. There are many more things to experience on future visits such as the Berlin Philharmonic and numerous art museums.

A few weeks ago on a trip to Maine we went back to the college town of Brunswick, where one of our sons spent his undergraduate years. It’s one of those small, idyllic northern New England cities with a large village green, tree-lined streets, and ties to American history and literature. Brunswick is also home to several good restaurants and, it being Mother’s Day, we decided to try to find one. We had been to quite a number of the town’s eating places in the past. Our first choice was Henry and Marty on Maine Street, but with the holiday they were booked until 8:30 or so. We opted for another place we’d visited before called Back Street Bistro (because of its out-of-the-way location). We were pleasantly surprised at how much it has improved.

For one, the owners have brightened the interior with a lighter shade of paint and maybe new lighting fixtures. Both of us remembered the restaurant as very dark from our visit a decade or so earlier. The staff, too, was very friendly and accommodating—like ushering us right in when we arrived a good half-hour before our reservation time and in proposing a Pinot Noir that was more in our price range than the $50 bottle on the wine list. So even before the food arrived, we were enjoying the place very much.

Our dinner also proved to be entirely satisfactory. My husband started off with a chèvre salad which was fresh and delightfully dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. I had the beef carpaccio. The meat itself was fine, if not exceptional like the appetizer served at Joelle’s French Bistro in the Finger Lakes last summer. The outstanding part here was the marinated cubed peppers and lime aïoli served with it. Very nice. Another accommodation made for us at the restaurant was that they allowed us to split the main course. We were not at all disappointed in the evening’s special: a pan-fried duck breast in a tasty sauce on a bed of vegetables. Even the bistro’s dessert menu tempted us. I am always game for crème brûlée and theirs was just right: a hint of vanilla but no other heavily flavored (and just plain wrong!) additions to it. Hubby chose a deliciously creamy chocolate fondant. All in all, it was a wonderful dining experience at not too high a price. We’ll definitely go back!

French filmmaking used to be at the top of the form. All one has to do is to think back to great directors of the 1930s like Jean Renoir (Grand Illusion, among others) and the 1960s such as François Truffaut (notably The 400 Blows) to know that this statement is true. In recent years, however, movies from France have tended to be more Hollywood-style, which, in my mind at least, is not a compliment. A few younger directors are beginning to stand out from the rest as inventive in the art film genre. For one, there is François Ozon whose Under the Sand I greatly admired, if not so much others such as 8 Women. This weekend I discovered Xavier Beauvois, who has been creating feature-length films since the early nineties. His 2010 release Des Hommes et des Dieux is really worth seeing.

Based on a true story, Of Gods and Men shows the plight of French Cistercian monks living in northern Algeria during the civil war of the 1990s. Whether by providing medical services, helping fill out government forms, or joining in Muslim celebrations, the eight men are devoted to serving the Algerian people. To his credit, though, Beauvois does not portray the men as saints. They are quite human and have the same fears as anyone living as a foreigner in a war-torn country. Some want to leave the monastery for home after a group of Croatians are massacred by terrorists; one monk prays aloud nightly, yet seems to feel abandoned by God; the leader, frère Christian, makes a decision for them all to remain in Algeria without consulting his fellow priests. They ultimately decide to continue their simple, peaceable life praying and farming on their mountain-top retreat, despite being surrounded by two groups who don’t trust them: the Algerian army and Muslim fundamentalists. At one point, brother Luc cites seventeenth century French philosopher Pascal: Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from a religious conviction.

The artistry of the director reflects the film’s themes in many ways. The setting in the Atlas mountains is beautifully peaceful, as are the Gregorian chants sung by the monks. (In fact, I would really love to have this soundtrack.) Several times, Beauvois cleverly cuts from serene moments in the monastery to the brutal, thundering violence elsewhere in the area. The spectator will recall Into Great Silence, the 2005 documentary by Philip Gröning. Yet Beauvois’s film, which won le Grand Prix at Cannes in May of 2010, is more deeply moving and haunting. For local friends, it is currently playing at the Spectrum; I thoroughly recommend it.

We love appetizers! Very often, too, we find that, looking back on a restaurant meal, the first course was the best. It’s like the chef gave it his all at the beginning and then simply gave up after that. Maybe that’s why the Spanish invented tapas: they wanted to have a lot of small tasty dishes without bothering with the main meal. I’m frequently searching for something other than the traditional American dip and chips or cheese and crackers to start off meals, especially for dinner parties. Here are a few of my favorite new and old hors d'oeuvres.

Just last week I discovered a simple dish called “eggs and anchovies” prepared by Jacques Pépin on his PBS television show. But before you run screaming from the room, let me say that variations could easily be made for those who don’t enjoy the taste of the small, salty fish! Inspired by his mother, who originated the recipe at her restaurant in Lyon, France, Pépin prepared it as follows. He took several boiled eggs (approximately one per person), cut them in half, and inverted them on a serving dish. Then he made a pretty pink sauce using about 1/3 cup of mayonnaise, a tablespoon or so of ketchup, about a tablespoon of water, and several shakes of Tabasco. After whisking the sauce to remove any lumps, he poured it over the eggs. He then topped it all with one anchovy per egg, some chopped red onion, and a sprinkling of capers. An alternative, in my mind, would be to replace the anchovies with bacon and even change the ketchup to curry powder and Worcestershire to make a nice yellow sauce. Any way that you do it, it should be quite elegant and easy to prepare. By the way, our children gave us a handy egg cooker made by Krups which produces perfectly cooked soft- or hard-boiled eggs every time.

Another new dish we tried recently was Mussels Saganaki. Despite the rather Japanese sounding name, it is a Greek invention which combines fresh herbs and feta cheese with the mussels. You start out softening a few chopped garlic cloves in moderately hot oil in the bottom of a large pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of Dijon mustard, cooking for just a half-minute. Then pour in about two pounds of cleaned mussels and cook until steam rises. Meanwhile chop about ¼ cup of fresh dill and an equal amount of fresh parsley and add to the pot with ½ cup of white wine and some kind of mild chili pepper (I used about ½ cup of chopped poblano). After this cooks for a few minutes, add in ½ cup of cubed feta and one cup of heavy cream. Serve with crusty bread. Yum!

One tried-and-true recipe, created by one of my friends, is always a big hit. Crabmeat, which is the basis of this dish, comes in many forms. I’ve used canned crab, as well as the kind that you find in the refrigerated section. Get the best you can find and combine it with some grated onion, a dash or two of Worcestershire sauce, and lots of grated, sharp cheddar or gruyère. Thinly slice a French baguette and top each piece with a small mound of the crab mixture and sprinkle with cayenne pepper, if desired. Then broil for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and serve immediately.

Sixteenth century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne once wrote: “L’appétit me vient en mangeant”—“My appetite comes from eating.” I hope that the appetizers described here will serve to get your salivary glands working.

To be honest, Italian restaurants in this country have never held much attraction for me. I suppose it’s because of the preponderance of pizza/meatballs-and-spaghetti types of places where the quality is minimal. This was not the case at Bellini’s in Clifton Park Friday night. But, as you have to expect, the prices are naturally higher than at the run-of-the-mill Italian eating place. Located in a strip mall across from the side of Clifton Park Center, the restaurant has a warm, lovely décor with booths all around and a wood-burning pizza oven at the entrance. The menus for both food and wine are quite lengthy, so you might want to give yourself extra time to look them over.

The waiter Joseph started us out with a warm, yet average, small loaf of bread served with a very good pesto dipping sauce. We chose to share a bottle of nice, woodsy J. Lohr merlot to accompany our meal. The main courses our party chose proved to be one better than another. Mine was a perfectly cooked Saltimbocca. The two chicken cutlets were served on a bed of fingerling potatoes, spinach, and mushrooms in a dark, perfectly seasoned gravy. One of my friends had her Bellini’s favorite: Cavatelli. This dish, which had hunks of sweet Italian sausage, spinach, tomato, and peppers on pasta, was indeed delicious. Our other friend went for the Papardelle, which included seared pieces of chicken with artichokes, asparagus, and sun-dried tomato in a garlic cream sauce. The portions are quite large, so we did the most logical thing: saved half of our meals and ordered dessert! Believe me when I say that one piece of the award-winning chocolate cake was plenty for the three of us! I would describe it as a rich chocolate cake topped with hazelnut mousse. How can you go wrong with that combination? The total bill was just over one hundred dollars before tip.

Apparently Bellini’s is well-appreciated by its diners as evidenced by their expanding business. Other locales include the Bellini’s in Slingerlands--just outside of Albany--and another in South Windsor, Connecticut. They also run Jacob & Anthony’s American Grille in Saratoga. If you like fine Italian food, and don’t mind the price, give it a try.

Physicians in this country, besides deploring the way most Americans eat, often extol the benefits of the so-called “Mediterranean diet.” We could all probably cite certain elements of this heart-healthy fare such as olive oil, fruits, vegetables, small amounts of meat, and so on. But, one might ask, what specific countries does it center on? One article I found recently suggests Italy, Spain, France, Morocco, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, and Israel as sources for this type of cooking, so woohoo ! I believe we could all live with cuisine from those areas without feeling deprived. Hummus, pita bread, grape leaves, paella, and Greek salad, for example, would add up to a pretty tasty meal.

Last night we visited a pleasant medium-sized, Lebanese restaurant on Remsen Street in Cohoes called Al-Baraki. Originally situated on River Street across the Hudson in Troy, this family-run establishment is the total package: good service and good food at reasonable prices. The friendly staff from waitress, daughter Maya right up to chef Paul and his wife, all seem to want to make sure that you’re enjoying your meal. We had eaten at their Troy restaurant a couple of times and noticed the new location while on a walk through downtown Cohoes in November. Finally, we remembered to try out their new place this weekend.

After perusing the menu, we started out sharing their mezza sampler, a combination of hummus, baba ghannouj, a grape leaf with their own yummy garlic dressing, two falafel, tabouli, and some pickled radish. It was all very fresh tasting. I especially appreciated the tabouli—the best I’ve ever had, full of fresh herbs and lemon. For my main dish I took Maya’s suggestion about their oven pies. Although it was hard to pass on the one with goat cheese and mozzarella, I selected the lower-cal, lower-cholesterol spinach version. I was not at all disappointed in the small crusty pizza and highly recommend it. In fact, this total vegetarian meal did not leave me, the ultimate carnivore, wanting for meat at all. Now I really want a Lebanese cookbook! Our only splurge, calorie-wise, was the homemade baklawa for dessert, a version of what most of us consider the Greek classic which has the same combo of nuts, cinnamon, and phyllo dough.

All in all, this experience has taught me that there is a way to find and cook very healthy, delicious meals without going vegan—not that there’s anything wrong with that, if you're into it. Mediterranean cuisine does exactly what doctors and author Michael Pollan recommend: treat meat as a side; eat real food, not too much, mostly plants; don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. And, I would add, enjoy yourself while you’re eating it! Try Al-Baraki; you'll like it.

We eat a very healthy diet in our house: mostly lean meats, vegetables, some vegetarian meals, and few snacks. From time to time, being human after all, we get a craving for that all-American favorite: pizza. Since the restaurant chains we’ve tried seem to offer varieties which we find too salty and greasy, often overdoing it on cheese, making our own pizza suits us just fine. You can really get creative, too, in the version you make at home—which I hope this posting will encourage you to do.

The first thing to decide on is the type of crust you want to have. I know that there are many options out there, including packaged mixes and pre-made, ready-to-use crust. If I’m feeling lazy, I go to the supermarket or the bakery and pick up a bag of frozen dough, which naturally has to thaw before use. But it really isn’t difficult to make your own, though it is time-consuming. Here is a recipe for a delicious, homemade pizza crust that I’ve had for years. Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar and one package of instant yeast in one cup of lukewarm water. (The trick here is that the water cannot be cold, but cannot be hot or else it will kill the yeast.) Let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes; it should have grown considerably in volume by that time or else you may think of starting over. Then add in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of flour. Gradually incorporate another cup and a half of flour, then put the mixture into a bowl which has a tablespoon or so of oil in it, turning the dough so that it’s coated with the oil on all sides. Now cover the bowl with a dishtowel and let the dough rise for about 2 hours. Often, in winter at least, I place the bowl in a 200 degree oven (which has been turned off) so that the dough has a warm place to double in size. When the time is up, punch the dough down with your fist and start stretching it to fit the size of your pizza pan; there is no need to throw the dough up in the air, but please try it if you’re feeling extra-confident that day. (You could also cover the bottom of the pan with cornmeal, if you want.) I usually cook the dough at 425 degrees for 5 or 6 minutes before adding the sauce and toppings.

Sauces for the pizza can be varied to suit your mood. Recently, I sliced some fresh garlic (2 or 3 cloves) into a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and let it sit for a half-hour or so before slathering it on the partially cooked dough. This was great topped with goat cheese and grilled red peppers and onions. A quick red sauce that I regularly make starts with a can of tomato paste. I doctor it up with minced herbs, garlic, and parmesan, and dilute it to the desired consistency with chicken broth. You can then put the sauce, grated mozzarella and parmesan, as well as your favorite toppings onto the crust. The pizza then goes back into the oven for another ten minutes or so before it’s done.

Years ago, on a trip to The Purple Pub in nearby Watervliet, our family tried their Mexican Pizza. Ever since, I’ve been making my version of this very tasty cross-cultural meal. I use a cup or so of Mexican salsa as the sauce and cheddar cheese. I brown about a ½ pound of ground beef for the topping, adding in sliced green onions, sliced black olives, chopped jalapeños, as well as cumin and chili powder to taste. This, according to my husband, is the best homemade pizza ever! If you like Mexican food, you just might agree!