• Best Italian: Lavanderia Vecchia - Berlin

What you're getting: Set menu Sure, there are loads of Italian spots in Berlin, but none that offer the surreal, semi-secret atmosphere, the convivial vibe, and the amazing deal of Lavanderia Vecchia. Set in an old launderette (hence the name) in a back courtyard in Neukölln, this place offers endless plates of delicious appetizers, a pasta course, a fish or meat course, and coffee, dessert, a digestivo, and half a bottle of wine, all for less than the wine would cost you in many restaurants. The open kitchen and cavernous space festooned with aprons, handkerchiefs, and all manner of vintage linens complete the experience.

• Best French: Brasserie Lamazère - Berlin

What you're getting: Oeufs cocotte Let’s face it: French food can be dull, even in France. Credit Régis Lamazère for bringing the talent of his father, famed French chef Roger Lamazère, to the city of his mother, a born Berliner. Red wine flows abundantly here, and the fish, pork, and entrecote plates are simply stunning, but you won’t start with anything other than the oeufs cocotte -- a little pot of baked eggs and chives -- if you know what’s good for you.

• Best Mexican: AGÜEVO! Taquería Cantina - Berlin

What you're getting: Tacos de nopal con queso or tacos arbacoa Expats have long bemoaned the lack of good Mexican food in the German capital. A while ago, Maria Bonita came along and introduced Berlin to good Mexican food. If Maria Bonita introduced it, however, then AGÜEVO! perfected it. A long list of mezcals and a tall, cool michelada bring the festive atmosphere and keep the party going, but it’s all about the authentic food at this place, with tacos, quesadillas, and sopes filled with lamb, pork, or cactus, and finally -- finally -- chilies that actually pack a punch.

• Best Thai: Samakki Talad Thai - Berlin

What you're getting: Green papaya salad and a curry This place doesn’t look like much from the outside. In fact, it doesn’t look like much from the inside either. Basically a glorified cafeteria with unadorned tables and extremely low lighting that does anything but make you want to stay awhile, this place just happens to serve the best Thai food in town. It’s fresh, super spicy, and varied -- just point to the things that look good and ask what’s best. They’ll warn you that everything is too spicy for you, but pay them no mind. And always have the green papaya salad.

• Best Indian: Chutnify - Berlin

What you're getting: Bhelpuri salad and keema matar dosa The first (and to date only) restaurant to bring a semblance of authenticity to a city full of creamy, bland “curries,” Chutnify is great with the flavors, even greater with the prices, and has a stylish, creative, and colorful interior to boot. The bhelpuri salad with puffed rice, peanuts, and pomegranate seeds is a revelation if you’re used to Berlin’s drab salads, and the keema matar dosa with minced lamb, green peas, and a selection of chutneys is that perfect mixture of savory and sweet. Make sure to get a kulfi ice cream for dessert.

• Best Japanese: Sasaya - Berlin

What you're getting: Sushi There’s a reason it can take weeks to get a reservation at Sasaya: it serves the best sushi in a city not known for good fish. A smattering of creative rolls pad out the classics. Then there are small plates like roast beef rosa and marinated eggplant, as well as the standby soba and udon noodle soups. What makes Sasaya special, however, is not just the fresh, expertly crafted sushi and the excellent flavor combinations, but also the comfy, Japanese-style window booths that encourage you to relax and enjoy a slow, languorous, special experience.

• Best American: Mogg - Berlin

What you're getting: Pastrami sandwich The former Mogg & Melzer has now turned into Mogg, but the menu of this American-Jewish delicatessen hasn’t changed. That means it's still dishing out some of the most amazing comfort food in the city, like the sky-high Reuben, the pastrami sandwich big enough for two, the matzo ball soup, and the Israeli breakfast staple shakshuka. Unlike most so-called sandwich shops in Berlin, which add one slice of meat or cheese to a stale roll, along with a wilted piece of lettuce, Mogg does it right: packing its sandwiches so chock-full of home-cured meat you can barely get your mouth around them. But do try -- it’s worth it.

Best Korean: Arirang - Berlin

What you're getting: The set menu for two or three people What started out as a dirty storefront concealing a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Wedding has become a dirty storefront concealing a hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Kreuzberg and a huge, cafeteria-style space in a brutalist building in Charlottenburg, of all places. The food, however, remains the same: authentic, greasy, spicy, and entirely satisfying. Get the set menu for two or three people (there’s a good chance that even if you’re four people, it will be enough for you) to taste specialties like kimchi pancakes, Korean fried chicken, bibimbap, and bulgogi all at once. Followed by self-cooked Korean BBQ for dessert, of course.

Best food truck: The Future Breakfast - Berlin

What you’re getting: Eggs Benedict Getting a decent breakfast in Berlin has become easier lately, but trust The Future Breakfast food truck to really perfect it. By their own admission, the owners base their offerings on exactly what they would want to eat after a hard night out, and there’s nothing better than enjoying their perfectly poached eggs (still a rarity in Berlin) dressed up with market-fresh ingredients like pickled fennel, smashed tomatoes and sorrel pesto, or wild mushrooms.

• Best steak: Filetstück

What you're getting: The lunch special Let’s face it: Berlin isn’t really an expense account kind of city. Nevertheless, Filetstück manages to fill a certain high-end niche without all the pomp and circumstance that would accompany a steak meal in a more expensive city. Its cuts are truly top notch, including Irish, Pomeranian, and Freesian dry-aged beef, and its wine list well curated. The lunch special (for the non-bankers among us, which in Berlin means everybody) is a steal at less than 20 euro for the steak of the day, a side dish, and a drink.

• Best burger joint: The Bird - Berlin

What you're getting: Da Woiks burger The burger trend has really exploded in Berlin, but the one that started it all is still doing it best: with its established Prenzlauer Berg and newer Kreuzberg locations, the Bird is still setting (cholesterol-clogged) hearts aflutter with its premium German beef patties on an English muffin, graced with indulgent toppings like cheese, bacon, onions, and mushroom (our favorite, Da Woiks). Come for the burger, stay for the inevitable party that results when the waiters decide everyone in the joint needs a free shot... or several.

• LAVANDERIA VECCHIA - Berlin

Lavanderia Vecchia is one of the hottest names in Berlin, so you’ll need some luck, perseverance, and planning to get a dinner reservation. Dinner is a four-course set menu, including half a bottle of wine, for €58 per person. And it's all served up in a dramatically lit former laundry in a Neukölln back courtyard.

• Berlin Wall

Berlin, Germany Viewing spot: Invalids’ Cemetery Go ahead and get that necessary selfie against some East Side Gallery graffiti, but also take time to check out Invalids’ Cemetery where a decrepit, lesser-known piece of the Berlin Wall still remains. Here in what was once “no man’s land” between East and West, you'll also find the resting places of WWI veterans and Nazi leaders.

• Rothaus Brewery

Germany has rules for everything, but that’s not always a bad thing! The southwest state of Baden-Württemberg has a 501-year-old beer purity law restricting ingredients to barley, hops, and water only, making this a prime region for sippin’ suds. The Rothaus Brewery dates back to 1791, when it was founded by Benedictine monks in the Black Forest, and puts some serious effort into preserving and protecting its spectacular surroundings. Take the 90-minute guided brewery tour for a behind-the-scenes look at the process and a sample of Tannenzäpfle (a pilsner named for pinecones), or keep it light and take an audioguide on a stroll through the interactive BrewWorld exhibit (you’ll still get a Tannenzäpfle). Afterward, check into one of two guesthouses boasting Alpine views and free minibars stocked with a variety of Rothaus beers!

• Restaurant Tim Raue (Berlin, Germany)
• Hohenzollern Castle - Baden-Wurttemberg
• Road trip from Berlin to Munich

This is your chance to drive the famous Autobahn, making the one-way trip in about six hours — depending on your speed, of course. Heading south out of Berlin on A-10, you can drive straight through or stop along the way. Contrary to popular opinion, there are speed limits in certain zones, and they are displayed on electronic signs that can be adjusted based on traffic or weather. In other places, speed limits are just suggestions. Stay to the right — the left lane is mainly for passing. Your signal to get out of the way of a faster car will probably be that car hovering on your rear bumper and flashing headlights. Leipzig would be a good halfway point and an ideal place to spend the night. Historic and home to art, music, and culture, it’s a blend of old and new with great food as well. Spend at least a day in Munich, Bavaria’s capital, exploring its historic buildings, restaurants, and beer gardens. For your return trip, consider a scenic route heading north along A-13 and A-93 with a stop in Dresden, home to art museums and old town, reconstructed after World War II bombing. Be sure to spend a few days in Berlin, Germany’s capital, at either end of your trip. A visit to the remains of the infamous Berlin Wall and the 18th-century Brandenburg Gate should be on your itinerary.