Beelitzer Spargel

It starts as a delicacy. Beelitzer Spargel, or white asparagus, is in season here. The season is brief, we were told, so enjoy them while you can. Both Julie and I dutifully ordered the Beelitzer as the main feature of our entrees at our first Berlin dinner, just around the corner from home at Landauer. Sauteed or steamed, smothered in Hollandaise sauce or naked, they were a delight.

Berliners can't get enough of a good thing it seems. Walking home I saw every restaurant proudly declaring that "yes, we have Beelitzer tonight & they are fresh." Friday morning we bought Beelitzer at the local open air market. "Two kilo's for you... eight Euro," hawked the vendor. We wisely bought only one, then lugged our produce back home, visions of Beelitzer omlettes and Beelitzer stir fries dancing in our heads.

At dinner in hipster Friedrichshain, the East Berliner Beelitzers may have been better than their Western counterparts. At breakfast on Saturday the homemade Beelitzer omlettes were everything we'd hoped for and more. At dinner on Sunday, the Beelitzer provided a wonderfully fresh and crunchy contrast to Julie's seared salmon. I'm not sure at what point the worm turned, but we were both relieved to discover that although Ingo and his wife had promised fresh Beelitzer as one of the offerings at dinner in Schoneburgh on Monday, the spread on the table of their apartment's rooftop garden was Beelitzer-free.

Top left is a picture of the last of our Beelitzer stock, before they were spruced up with some sauteed mushrooms, butter and chicken bulion at dinner last night. For my part, Beelizer season can't end soon enough. My pee might stink until Chicago.