Birthday Loot - Jassi's Munich Picks

It's true that the best gifts are personal. For my birthday (a few months ago) My friend Jassi, a real Munchner Kindl gave me a truly incredible gift. A sweet little Notizbuch für München Landmark Notes, Arts, crafts and Coffee in Munich (which incidentally, the publisher of reached out to me about a few weeks later. Funny the things you start getting when you start a blog)

The book is great, but the real treat is the list of her favorite München spots. She wrote down the following places below, on a sweetly trimmed peice of kraft paper. Gold, I tell you, pure gold!


I was pleased to see I knew several of the places, and even more delighted to see a bunch I'd never even heard of. Here's the run down:

Gerdismänner - Super cool vintage antique shop near Sendlinger Tor (there is also a cool bottle store near by)
Conway's Recycle Art - Shabby Chic store on the border of Au and the increasingly hip (in my estimation) Untergeising
Func Feldafing - Oh. My. God. and look at their Pinterest boards! Following.

Josefa - I actually wrote about this in the Design*Sponge Munich Guide
Cafe Schöntag - This article gives a better overview.
Gartensalon - Make sure to go here on a sunny day, next time I'm in Schwabing.
Das Neue Kubitschek - Fuck the Backmischung! Good cake. Also hit it in the D*S Guide.
Goldene Bar - I have been here, and it is definitely a cool bar. Have to remember this as a good mid-way meeting point  bar for friends that live in Schwabing.
Cafe Kosmos - I've walked by it, thought 'That place looks cool' and my immediate following thought was 'I may be too old.'
Kaffee Sonnenschein - In Geising!
Pavesi Picknic - Yummy looking healthy place on Turkenstr.
Charlie - Vietnamese place with Hotpots. Across from the Scheryenbad.
Wash & Coffee - Looks like BrainWash in SF. (but maybe a little less charming and cool.) Fortunately I have a washing machine, so may never make it over here.
Hoover & Floyd - LOVE this place! So much so we had our wedding day lunch there.
Maria Passagne - Another favorite that I don't get to enough. A Secret bar in Haidhausen. Also wrote about it in the D*S Guide.
Die Blaue Donau - Never even heard of it, but looks great.
Hotel Achterbahn - Definitely going on my list for visiting out-of-towners (in non-Oktoberfest season, though)
Hotel Ritzi - Ritzi indeed! Met a friend for dinner here years ago, I remember it being nice. Also goes on the out-of-towner hotel recommendation list.
Bar Centrale - A München classic. Also included in the D*S guide.

So after going through this list, the places I want to hit in the near future, which I've never tried, in this order are:

• Die Blaue Donau
• Pavesi Picknic
• Kaffee Sonnenschein
• Cafe Schöntag
• Cafe Kosmos
• Fund Feldafing

The places I want to go back to soon because I love them and want to document in this notebook are:

• Maria Passagne
• Goldene Bar
• Bar Centrale

What does it mean that they are all bars?
Stay tuned for reports!

Cocktails and Steak at Bar Tabacco

One of the earliest posts on this blog was about where to get a good steak in Munich. It was supposed to be the start of a round-up. I think round-up's are going to take about 3-4 years here on Wahlmünchnerin, but no matter.

Last Friday night, my husband and I had the perfect date night. It was perfect because we didn't really plan it as a date night (because, how lame) and it was just one of those evenings when things kind of unfolded easily and everything was perfect.



Mr. Wahlmünchner needed a new jacket. I said I didn't have time to go looking, and when he said he understood and that he'd just find one on his own (which was really a subtle threat) I sprang to action:

"Let's meet at Beck's at 6:30, Friday after work"

Ludwig had nothing on offer except a host of crappy schnösel faux aviator looking jackets. We ended up in Muji in the Funf Höfe, which didn't disappoint.

After finding a no-frills, no brand name black spring jacket (and a few goodies for me), we hoofed on over to Tobacco. 



Tobacco has been suggested multiple times when I've made inquiries about finding a good steak. Since it was um the ecke from our shopping, I made a reservation earlier that day. I knew we would need a drink and a slab of meat after trying on all those jackets.

It's a dark wood and leather, classic bar-keeper kind of place. That's not typically my kind of thing, but the service was great, and the vibe was laid back but hopping. And the steak. I had a filet which was excellent with a really nice mix of braised vegetables. My husband had an Entrecote with the most salty, succulent, ridiculous border of perfectly crisped fat around it. Good goddamn, was it lecker.

We washed it all down with a nice Babera and a perfect Whisky Sour.

Go there, it's good.

Bar Tabacco
On a little side-street right across from the Bayerische Hof

Three Munich Tips By Way of California

My Dad emailed me this short video the other day. Ironically it had to land all the way over to him in California and then back to me here in the M.U.C. in order for me to find about about two places I've never been to.

Sama Sama - Which, among other delights, creates super tricked out Pralines and other amazing sweets(I'll have to remember this for gifts)

Zwickl - I've walked by this place a thousand times. Frankly, there are so many, many Bavarian Wirtshauses here they blend in with the scenery and rarely do I get the impulse to peek in for a closer look. Although the last time I walked by at night, I did notice that it was pretty hopping, and had a more contemporary, less 'yodelayheehoo' vibe than usual. Vegetarian Pflanzerl? I'll be stopping by soon.

A side note: I have really tried to get into Deutsche Welle programming. I appreciate that they broadcast content in 30 languages, but sorry the tone is just so stiff (surprise!). PBS or BBC it is not. Inject a little personality, guys! Mensch.

Creative Nites and Morgens

Over the last month or so I had the time and good fortune to attend two of the (increasingly frequent) events targeted towards München's creative class. The first was Creative Nite, I've written about Creative Nite on this blog before, and even had the honor of being one of the speakers on the event's debut evening.

I really like Creative Nite, but this last one was especially awesome. The location, Milla Live Club*, was great (despite a small mix-up with the address) as were the speakers, but the cherry on top was the audience and the general buzz of the evening.

The speakers included:

Lucas Bock, Julio Brinkmann und Gabriel Czembor, the young cuties from sueco - Einfach Selbermachen. A company they founded where you can order kit online to make your own leather bag (needless to say I found the self-production idea brilliant!)

Anke Eberhardt from the fabulous, creative and inspiring CUT Magazin (you'll remember CUT from this early post about a Strickliesl abend at Trachtenvogel)

Lou and Jay, from Vibe Alive, an underground online radio station right here in the M.U.C.

A social media, performance art (?) group called the Kulturkonsorten (these poor souls took a LOT of heat from the audience, but I have to say it added to the fun and liveliness of the evening) The group is very, uh, conceptual.

Till Hoffmann who owns the underground music club, Milla (and I mean that literally, the venue is in a cellar, under the ground)  as well as Millaphon Records. A self-effacing Bavarian chap who talked about starting the club and his experience.



The whole thing made me feel glad and happy to be exposed to and part of such a vibrant creative scene in Munich. (That's me, chatting with my friend, in the first row on, second from the left!)

I also usually find German audiences to be very reticent and shy to speak (as opposed to a bunch of loud-mouth Americans), but that was utterly not the case at this Creative Nite. When people's side chatter got too loud someone shouted 'Ruhe!' which met with roaring applause. The audience was boisterous, engaged and asked a lot of questions. People didn't hesitate to push a little on the, 'high-concept' way that Kulturkonsorten presented their idea. A friend of mine asked 'Maybe I'm stupid, but What do you actually do????' which met with another approving round of applause. All in all the 'nite' was herzlich, authentic and fun.

A few weeks later, in the cold light of morning at 8:30 a.m. I went to the inaugural Creative Morning in Munich. Creative Mornings are a  monthly, worldwide locally-hosted creative lectures, started by Tina Roth Eisenberg.

It's high time that Munich hosted one of these, and kudos to Frog Design and Kalle who organized it.  It was a stroke of genius to host it at the Bayerisches National Museum; the contrast of such a design-y event against the marble, classical art and traditional European museum architecture was inspiring.

The speaker was Mirko Borsche who showed his portfolio reel and then kicked-off a QA.



I enjoyed the questions, and appreciated Mirko's honesty, but I was also disappointed that there wasn't something more prepared for the specific monthly theme of the event (in this case, 'money'). I don't need to rush to get somewhere before work at 8:30 to spend 20 minutes watching someone's portfolio reel.

This felt a lot more like an 'industry networking event' (nothing wrong with that!) rather than a community happening, which I suppose is what it is. It also took place in the broader context of Munich Creative Business Week (read up on that on another old post here).

I'm glad this got kicked off, and look forward to the next one. The audience was, in this case, the more reticent type, but I attribute that two things: People are not at their loosest at 9:00 a.m., and the whole thing is in English. I understand that the event is global, but it's a shame because I think the tone may have been a little different and the mostly German audience might have been less hesitant to speak if they could ask questions in their native language.

Find out when the next Creative Nite is happening here, and the next Creative Morning Munich here.

*Years ago, like ten or so, there used to be an event hosted here called the 'Bachbett Party' (or something like that). They were fantastic; great DJs, live percussion, good vibe. I am NOT a club person and never have been, but I remember walking out of the place as the sun was rising which is totally insane behavior from me, even in my youth, that's how great they were.)

Hoover & Floyd

This is going to be an image heavy post, but you'll enjoy it.  I've had a post about Hoover & Floyd in the backlog for some time now.

This is a great little (and I mean little) cafe in the Glockenbachviertel, but it feels more like an Oma's cozy, Alpine-chic-funky living room. The main room has a large dining room table and there is a smaller room off to the side, complete with gold brocade wall paper and a couple of two top tables.

My first vist was a zillion years ago for a friends birthday party who rented it out for a small geschlossene gesellschaft (private party) birthday celebration. I remember sitting around the table enjoying glass after glass of Prosecco and eating really good, freshly grilled paninis that were served heaping on artisinal-Italian looking platters. Excellent.

Years later when my husband and I were looking for somewhere to host a brunch after our Standesamt (civil wedding) ceremony, I remembered this place. It would be perfect. We met with the owner, a warm, slightly offbeat lady who put together a really nice lunch for us. Paninis, coconut pumpkin soup, goat cheese, honey and red pepper canapes. It was lovely.




If you're ever looking for a place to host a small, private celebration or just want a quiet afternoon coffee or cocktail, I can't recommend this place enough.

www.hooverundfloyd.de

Christmas Loot - Antonetty

This  Christmas Mr. Wahlmünchnerin (or should I say Wahlmünchner) gave me a fantastic gift. It was wonderful for many reasons. It was something I've been wanting for awhile, but had forgotten about. Since it was a gift, it took all the agony out of the style/color decision making, and most of all it adds to my Münchner street cred. I'm talking about my new Antonetty wallet of course!

As I wrote in the Design*Sponge Munich City Guide:

Owning one of Antonetty’s hip, colorful leather wallets or bags makes a clear statement: I am a local, and one who knows what’s cool in town. Part of the appeal of this leather work studio is that it started years ago on a corner of the Glockenbach and sold its wares directly out of the workshop, which is on full display through the plate glass windows of the storefront. You can see the designers and craftswomen creating the items as you walk by. Not only can you order a wallet or purse with custom colors for the leather and zippers, Caroline Antonetty and her team also make jackets, belts and other accessories to order.

Little known fact (at least to me, anyway) According to my husband, the woman who runs it is Canadian.

More info and pix hier, hier and hier (under Shops > Accessories).

Aroma Kaffeebar

The first time I came here a few years ago, it immediately reminded me of the kind of cute café one finds in San Francisco or somewhere in the East bay. I don't get over here nearly enough, but every time I do I'm glad.

It goes without saying that you can order all sorts of excellent coffee drinks at a place like this, but there are also tasty smoothies and fruit juices and a really good deli counter serving sandwiches and lunch fare. I also always forget how central it is. It's in the über-trendy Glockenbachviertel, but it's just a few minutes away from Sendlingertor on foot. 

If you meet here for an evening drink, have a back up plan though, they close at 20:00

Aroma Kaffebar
Pestalozzistr. 24
089.2694.9249