What would cavemen think of how food is packaged and sold today? Would they even consider today’s cuisine edible? Food certainly has come a long way since Cro-Magnon man had to pounce on animals to fill their bellies. Opening on the 1st of June at Direktorenhaus, the ten-day Taste Festival illustrates how it isn’t just the ingredients or the combinations of tastes that have changed drastically over time. [READ MORE]

The thing about Berlin and its bars is that after the fall of the wall there was almost too much free space to choose from. Berliners have been spoiled with bars in some of the most outlandish period venues. Enter “Le Chat Gris”, a neo-modern watering hole cum subterranean club right by one of Berlin’s busiest bar strips, Torstrasse. [READ MORE]

This bank holiday weekend, hundreds of thousands of people will take to the streets of Berlin for the Carnival of Cultures. The festival centres around Blücherplatz in Kreuzberg, but the smell of curry, the sound of drums and the high spirits seem to spread across the whole city. The most relaxed way to soak up the festival atmosphere, especially with younger children, is to head to the meadow next to Blücherplatz. [READ MORE]

Frederick the Great, otherwise known as ‘Old Fritz’, would have turned 300 at the beginning of this year. He is remembered as the man who transformed Prussia from a fragmented collection of territories into a major European power. As a patron of the arts and philosophy. As a rebellious youth who suffered at the hands of a brutish father. And, perhaps most importantly, as the man who first sowed the seeds for Germany’s love affair with the potato. [READ MORE]

In the heart of Mitte, surrounded by neo-modern townhouses and the foreign office, Chipps has earned a reputation as a prime breakfast joint. With Berlin’s culinary nighthawks in mind, the restaurant has now also revamped its evening menu concept. Could there be a restaurant crush coming on?

Heinz Gindullis, or Cookie as he’s known to his friends and partners, isn’t exactly a daytime entrepreneur. As regular readers of Berlin&I will know, he is a bit of a nightlife celebrity in Berlin. In the short space of 18 years, he has been the driving force behind a nocturnal empire consisting of two clubs, a restaurant and no less than three bars. For him to open a restaurant like Chipps – alongside his current project Drayton Bar – probably came as a bit of a surprise to those who only see him in the dark. [READ MORE]

The latest project from the Insitut français in Berlin promises goose bumps all round, summer or no summer. Les Nuits Du Polar explores the genre of crime in literature and the fine arts in all its diversity; from gruesome to beautiful, absurd to unsettling.

Nathalie van Doxell’s photo series ‘Présumés Coupables’ is one of two exhibitions on display as part of Les Nuits Du Polar. The artist has taken mugshots of convicted criminals, blown them up and provided a short handwritten description of their crimes. By choosing a ten year old child, an ‘innocent’, to write out the descriptions, she reminds us of the lost innocence of the criminals in question.

Artists duo Bachelot Caron provide an alternative perspective on crime, placing the observer in the role of police inspector… or perhaps even perpetrator. Their works, which can be described as somewhere between painting and photography, capture the moment just as something terrible has happened or is about to happen. [READ MORE]

Second birthdays are the first kids delight in. They’ve reached the phase where they think for themselves and are ready to run. Best of all, two year olds love sharing their excitement and passion with everyone around them. It couldn’t be more true for Neukölln’s favourite trattoria, Lavanderia Vecchia, celebrating its second anniversary on Saturday the 14th of April. [READ MORE]

It’s not like Berlin&I is obsessed with the morbid, what with our Nosferatu competition last month and this month’s bar of the month named after the famous vampire actor Bela Lugosi. But we do like to think we know a good bar when we see one. [READ MORE]

Whether you’re harbouring an inner Hamlet or suppressing a secret Sally Bowles, it’s time to let your literary alter ego out of the closet at the Shakespeare&Sons bookshop this Saturday. A Tale of Three Cities and Her Royal Majesty are throwing a literary cocktail party with live music, hot DJs and themed cocktails. [READ MORE]