The Bird

On a side note that has nothing to do with Malaysia adventures...on our way to go see Up in the Air a couple nights ago, my Mr. Fish and I got sidetracked. We were planning on going to go eat something quick before heading to the movie and he suggested The Bird. Some of my fellow ex-pat coworkers had been telling me to go to this place for a while because it has undisputed "the best burgers in Berlin!" (I can't say that there's much competition though. Except of course Burgermeister, but that's for another day.) A few months ago, Mr. Fish had the nerve to go there WITHOUT me and so he too, raved on and on to me about their burgers. But every time we had tried to go to The Bird together (it's walking distance from our place), it was packed so full of beer-guzzling Americans and meat-loving Germans that we never managed to get a seat. 

Finally, this week, we were successful. We gladly sat at the bar when all the tables were full and happily ordered large (German, not American, you get the best of both worlds here!) beers from the overly-friendly-for-German-restaurant-standards Irish bartender. Quick, friendly service? In Germany?! I felt instantly jolly and at home. Just stepping into that place transported me back to the States and due to some strange subconscious American-induced brain click, Mr. Fish and I simultaneously switched to English for the course of the evening. (German is our usual language of choice.) It was fantastic in there. The cheesy, but not really cheesy regalia, the vegetarian's-nightmare drawings of cows saying "Eat me!", the all English menu with burgers such as "The Filthy Harry" (bacon + cheddar--Mr. Fish's choice) , "The Ghetto Burger" (plain), the "Ghetto De Luxe" (with American cheese!)  and, my all-time favorite,  "The Fat Stingy Gonzales***" (sour cream, avocado, and hot sauce). I didn't try this one yet, but am determined to in the summer. Here's why:

"*** Note re the Fat Stingy Gonzales burger. It is very difficult to find perfect avocados and chilis here in Berlin, where up until 19 years ago there weren't even bananas. Instead of making shitty guacamole with bad avocados, we sometimes choose to have no Gonzales. We are sorry, we don't like it either."

Those three asterisks absolutely made my evening and gave the guacamole-loving California girl in me a warm, fuzzy feeling. I can guarantee that I will be going back there. And often. Preferably with all my visitors from home too. My hips will not thank me. And neither will my vegetarian sister. But that menu...oh it sings to me...

(And in case you were wondering, no, we did not make it out of there in time to see Up in the Air, unfortunately. But we did manage to let the bartender's dreamy accent talk us into two more beers each and even came very close to finishing our giant mountains of homemade crispy, various-sized fries. Complete with an unlimited supply of ketchup, a rarity when dining in Germany. 

And to sign off, I will leave you with this smile-inducing tidbit from the front page of their menu:

"At least TRY eating the damn burger with your hands. All you uptight people with your forks and your knives are driving us crazy.
And for God's sake don't order your meat well done."