Vegan and vegetarian “butcher” shops are all the rage in Berlin, but whose fake meat reigns supreme? We put three to the test. Next up: Prenzlauer Berg’s Die Vetzgerei. (Read L’Herbivore here.)
Enter the shop on the corner of Raumerstraße and Dunckerstraße, and you’ll find yourself in a large, tiled room with not much else other than a neon sign spelling out “Vetzgerei”. After a successful crowdfunding campaign last summer, Sarah and Paul Pollinger reopened the former Prenzlauer Berg branch of English bookstore Shakespeare and Sons as a chic showroom for their seitan-, tofu- and vegetable-based sausages and patties, plus colourful spreads like paprika hummus and beetroot as well as a selection of salads. The space, split between an eat-in area and a glass butcher counter, seems far too large for the limited selection of products on offer. But the vegan couple, whose last venture was a leather-free shoe company called Freivon, say they’re only just beginning. Here, they and chef Hendrik Madeja experiment with sausage flavours like the rather polarising “sushi” with curry, seaweed and wasabi (€1.90/100g) and picnic-ready dishes like a Hungarian-style Wurstsalat made with their paprika “Beißer” (€2.30/100g). Nothing here will fool you into thinking you’re eating meat, at least not before you prepare it to taste at home. But if you’re looking for a mostly organic, additive-free Brotzeit alternative, you could do worse than the salami-like Aufschnitt with seitan, oat, smoked tofu and tomato paste. Try a selection in-store with bread for €4.50 before you commit.
