📍 Goldies, Berlin
I like to stick to local foods when I travel, but I can't go too long without craving a burger. Even a decade ago, this used to be a real issue outside the US, where quality burgers were hard to come by. Between the internet (YouTube + Instagram) and easier travel, quality burgers are everywhere. When I found myself in Berlin for a week, I zeroed in on Goldies as a burger to try. I scanned a bunch of best of burger lists in Berlin, and Goldies was on a few of them. I did some research on them (and others), but the story of Goldies really hit home for me. A couple of chefs from a Michelin-starred restaurant decided to go make accessible food. NYC has lots of places like this, run by folks with a fine dining background that brings those sensibilities over to economically attainable food. They call themselves the "best bad food in town," and that all really speaks to me.
They have a few locations so I decided to go to one in Charlottenburg in West Berlin. It's a shipping container outside of a shopping center surrounded by garbage can standing tables. It's kind of odd but also smart idea to have a clean and flat surface above garbage cans so you can stand and eat or drink while functionally using the base to store trash. I should have taken a picture. I went with it.
They started years ago and focused on fries and fried chicken. Then in 2021, seemingly got inspired by 7th Street Burger in NYC (surprisingly, I've never written about 7th Street) and decided to make a smashburger. On their menu, you can find an homage to the 7th Street burger plus a few other options. They had a special that included a single patty and a potato rosti patty (think hashbrowns) which I was tempted by.
I was here for science and to satisfy my craving. Of the 4 burgers they had, I chose the most complex one (something I try not to do) called the Super Smash BLT. I did a side of fries and a Pepsi Zero Sugar. It feels sacrilegious to not order a beer in Germany. It also feels wrong to get a Pepsi instead of a Coke Zero, not that it was an option. I thought much clearer after the burger.