Eating Blutwurst in Berlin

Overall, I embrace German food. Sure I miss my Mexican food, but expat life has a way of making you a mad scientist in the kitchen. I am far from an expert cook, but I have learned to whip together a bunch of things I always used mixes for in the States, or only bought when I ate out. A random list of some of my proudest cooking moments:

The start of PB

• Biscuits & Gravy
• Enchilada Sauce
• Mexican Rice
• Poached Egg
• Pico de Gallo& Salsas
• Peanut Butter
• Refried Beans
• Salad Dressings galore (Honey Mustard, Ranch, Raspberry Balsamic,Caesar)
• Croque Monsieur

Look at that Mexi deliciousness!

Anyhoo - back to the German food. While we've also learned to make several of these dishes at home, I usually rely on the wondrous offerings of Berlin for my German food cravings. Käsespätzle, halbes hähnchen, döner and the Geschnetzeltes Zürcher Art at Tiergarten Quelle. Lecker!

(But please no Sülze)

But there is one wurst that sounded like the worst (I know, I know - terrible). Blutwurst - known in different cultures as black pudding, blood pudding or simply blood sausage - is a traditional dish and the name says it all. It is made by cooking blood with a filler until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled. Sound tasty? It didn't to us.

When a friend told us about the oldest bar in Berlin and it's delicious Blutwurst we looked at each and realized the time had come. Let's chow down on some blood.

Wilhelm Hoeck was opened in 1892 with a large distillation center and tasting room. Artifacts like an oar and certificate awarded to the founders's son for winning the Gold medal in the 1932 Los Angeles's Olympic Games still line the wall. They are proud of their natural ingredients and make everything in-house. Our waitress was the rare bird in Berlin offering excellent customer service and the whole meal just felt special. The bar and restaurant were filled with people who looked like they had been here since the beginning (read older), but it was such a lovely place I wouldn't mind becoming a regular.

 

menu

Pork Belly with beer sauce

Our family & lovely dining companions

The most common variant of German Blutwurst is made from pork rind, pork blood and regionally different fillers such as barley. The version we ate most resembled a specialty of Cologne, the Himmel und Erde (Heaven and Earth) which combines apple sauce, mashed potatoes and Blutwurst served hot on one plate. Our version was some beautifully sweet & cinnamony cooked apple slices on top of the Blutwurst and a potato puree.

(Apparently a traditional Berlin version is hot Blutwurst mixed with liverwurst and potatoes called "Tote Oma" or "Dead Grandma".)

The good news? Divine. Legendary. Delicious.
The bad news? We might be ruined on other Blutwurst forever. 

Get in my belly!

Note that there is a bar, and a restaurant and we were asked which we preferred when making reservations. The restaurant was casually upscale with an open kitchen. I enjoyed watching the chef work and the mellow atmosphere. The bar was more jovial with an old tavern feel. We will back to sample your wares bar....

Restaurant Details

Wilhelm Hoeck 1892

Address: Wilmersdorfer Straße 149,  10585 Berlin

Tel: 030 3418174

Price range: 8- 14 euros for a meal; beers 3.50 

Hours: 11:00-1:00 

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Hot tip: This place is located just next to the legendary Rogacki. My sharp-eyed parents saw this historic deli featured on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and insisted on going there. Good choice p's, as Bourdain declared it his best meal in Germany. Here we are enjoying duck, roulade, pommes, boulette, and leberkase. Last time we went, everyone was ordering the fish. ORDER THE FISH. So good.

If you haven't gotten your fill of Blutwurst after Wilhelm Hoeck, this place might do the trick. Get a feel for this place in this lovely video via Econet: