The sign outside of Checkpoint Charly restaurant advertises “American Jazz-z-z.” The theme of the restaurant is Checkpoint Charlie, the famous Berlin Wall crossing point and, now, a Berlin Wall museum. The restaurant is adorned with huge photos of German soldiers and graffiti; we wondered whether the graffiti was made by customers or somehow fake “vintage.” The placemats are decorated with newspaper clippings from communist-era newspapers, with headlines like, “Proletarians Unite.”

Checkpoint Charly resembles a typical large Italian restaurant; the food has no discernable theme, a mix of Bulgarian, Italian, and Greek food that is often found in many Bulgarian restaurants. I sat on the East Berlin side of the restaurant, and listened to the pianist on the West Berlin side play “Take Five” as I waited for my order of chickpea pancakes to arrive.