Lokal | On Top of their Game

When I entered Maren Thimm and Gary Hoopengarnder's new restaurant on Linienstraße, I heaved a sigh of relief. The new place has stayed true to the original Joachimstraße location's canteen-style interior. While the Joachimstraße site had literally been a canteen for Chipperfield-architects and more of a temporary idea, it quickly flourished into a well-frequented dinner venue. But despite publicity by Architectural Digest, one of the leading architectural magazines, the canteen remained an interim arrangement. “The canteen was torn down on the very day we signed a lease for the new place on Linienstraße.” The latter has taken over some of the canteen's minute details, including the pianist, although he's currently on a world tour as Maren Thimm tells us. 

The pianist hasn't been the only one traveling – head chef Gary Hoopengardner used the period between the two restaurants to visit friends and family in Brooklyn, not missing a chance to take a trip down to “Meet the Farmer”, a monthly event where local farmers come to the city to sell their produce. Upon his return, Hoopengardner researched family-run farms in Brandenburg for a similar project. His search was successful, and now Hoopengardner regularly has whole lambs landing on his kitchen table. “I try to use every part of the animal.” This includes the innards – a sensitive topic for many customers. “They've had bad experiences because the innards they've had might not have been prepared the right way. Some people also believe innards to be a poor man's food or that we're trying to make use of leftovers.” But once people have overcome their prejudices, they order ox tongue, duck liver ravioli or duck duck's throat again and again. Maren Thimm is positively amazed at these dishes' popularity.

Berliners are also very much on top of their game. Venison, wild boar and patridge meat are amongst the favorites, and the current gaming season has opened up many new contacts and supply sources, like friends of the neighboring restaurant's owners, who regularly hunt for wild boar in Brandenburg.

The new restaurant still finds itself in a dynamic of constant change and improvement spanning not only the food and manufacturing processes but also the interior design. With the help of befriended designer Katja Buchholz, Thimm and Hoopengardner have played around with the tiles and made adjustments to the bar, going from wood to stainless steel. Buchholz designed the restaurant's three-legged tables, while Hoopengardner spent days finishing the stone floors.

(emh)