By kaandle
German food is a difficult thing to define. Some will argue that since Germany officially became a state in 1851 and its history prior to that consisted of tribal territories and was included in various empires' borders, food unique to Germany does not actually exist. Add to that the buzzing metropolis that is Berlin and suddenly finding traditional german food is a difficult task.
That being said, here are five of my favorite eats as of yet:
Frikadeller
This is essentially a round, grilled piece of beef that falls somewhere between a hamburger and a meatball. It's deliciousness has yet to fail me - ranging from specialty flee market food trucks to prepared sandwich sections in grocery stores (yes, it comes in sandwich form too), frikadeller is always top notch.
Spätzel
Imagine mac&cheese made with gnocchi pasta. Clearly a match made in heaven. If you find yourself in Berlin and craving some spätzel, go to Clärchens Ballhaus. Not only does your cheesy dish come with apple sauce and fried onions (sounds weird - just go with it) but you can also get a style-specific dance lesson with your meal.
Bavarian Mac&Cheese
You're probably thinking this will be redundant since I just described spätzel as mac&cheese-like, but that would be incorrect. Markethalle Neun, essentially a warehouse packed with awesome food stands, sells a Bavarian Mac&cheese that will make you never want to eat anything else ever again. I have not been to Bavaria, but this dish in itself is close to convincing me to take the five hour bus ride just to eat it in its natural habitat.
Döner
Here we have a non-German food item making the list. Berlin has a large Turkish population and as a result large amounts of döner. I'm pretty confident in guesstimating that every other street has at least one döner stand. And it's a good, cheap, filling eat. Personally, I opt for the falafel döner over more traditional veal or chicken. Fair warning: your breath will smell strongly of garlic and onions once you're done.
Bratwurst
Basically a higher quality hotdog. What are Germans known for? 1. Meet 2. Beer 3. Cars (a bit irrelevant, but still very true) Put your faith in their meet expertise and buy the inexplicably cheap bratwurst off the street and enjoy.