Paninoteca

I was all set to make a Salad Nicoise for lunch today, I was going to quickly stop by the supermarket and pick up some new potatoes and tuna.

Then I passed this teeny tiny shop, with a haphazard display of bottles in its front window – badly discolored and wearing at least 1 cm of dust.  Inside it was dark and narrow, with a few cheap bar tables leading up to an old-fashioned glass display cabinet piled high with sandwiches. The ciabatta looked really fresh and each sandwich was stuffed with Parma ham, mortadella, grilled vegetables or other delicious goodies.  The girl behind the counter didn’t pounce on me with “what would you like?” instead, she let me take my time checking out the sandwiches – which to me meant they weren’t exactly hankering after customers.

I went for a mozzarella, pesto, tomato and basil ciabatta and asked for it to be grilled (which they do ever so slightly so the volume and pillowiness of the ciabatta are preserved but the outside is warmed nicely!).

Little L and I went outside to enjoy the traffic fumes.  Not exactly the most picturesque of locations.  That is when their lunch trade started piling in, mostly guys in suits from the nearby offices coming in for a bite.

And here I thought I had stumbled on something – it seems everyone knows this place.  They do a roaring trade.  I understand now why they have the chutzpah to leave that window the way it is, because they don’t have to get all dolled up to get our attention!  Everyone already knows this paninoteca is special.

Then a few minutes down the road there was a frozen yogurt truck!  Look how cute it is!  Honestly!  How cool is this city?

Paninoteca - Friedrichstrasse 128, 10117 Berlin, T. 030 28 04 73 27