Chikarashi Visited 7/18/2016 3 Forks

Chikarashi  227 Canal St., New York, NY 10013

This review makes me super sad because I had really really high hopes for this place.  Poke has become the "it" food of the year in NYC and new poke places are popping up left and right these days.  But none has gotten more love that Chikarashi - the chef has experience working at high end sushi places like Neta and Masa and the quality of the fish has been praised as being some of the best around (I mean, he uses fucking toro in some of the bowls - that is crazy!). The location of this place is a bit random as it's smack in the middle of the bustling streets of Chinatown and the shop is pretty small - only a small take out counter and some counter space along the walls. 

The bowls here not your typical Hawaiian version - it's got a bit of a twist to them.  Given that this was my first go (and I was expecting to come back again), I played it safe and got the Ponzu Salmon, which came with Scottish Salmon, Wasabi Ponzu, Shisho, Avocado, Tobiko and Shichimi.  I was super excited and couldn't wait to eat it as soon as I got home.  But when I opened it, I was a bit disappointed based on my first glance.  It was super heavy on the rice and the fish didn't have that translucent color you see when it's raw and marinated in soy and sesame oil.  While it wasn't necessarily cooked, I didn't feel like I was eating raw fish but a lightly seared fish dish instead.   While you can tell that all the ingredients were of high quality (even the rice tasted like it was on a higher level), there was a slight dryness to the entire dish that I didn't love about it.  Maybe it was because it had too much shichimi (Japanese spice)?  I don't know - something was just off about it and I finished it feeling like I was missing out on a real poke meal.  I guess when it comes to poke, I'm more of a traditional gal and I'm definitely not opposed to coming back and trying the toro bowl but for now, I'll stick with the Blue Ribbon one I usually get at work. Total bill:  $16

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pasquale Jones Visited 7/14/2016 4 Forks

Pasquale Jones  187 Mulberry St., New York, NY 10012

I had been wanting to try Pasquale Jones ever since I heard that it was from the same people as Charlie Bird - as restaurant that I really loved when it first come out (I'll be honest and say that I haven't been back there in a while, so I don't know how it is now).  As with any hot new restaurant, getting a reservation here is painful and next to impossible since they only release a few on Resey 2 weeks out. 

But if you come here right when it opens like Neel and I did at 5:30pm, you will stand a great chance of getting a seat.  The menu is small plates, thin wood fire pizza, pastas and some secondi type dishes. Neel, my oenophile friend, was obsessed with their wine list - which includes half bottles, which is a great idea for both the restaurant and the diners (also super dangerous because you think you're only drinking half a bottle but clearly you end up order much more).  We settled on the pane carasau ($9) to start, the sweet shrimp ($20) and the cuttlefish ($18) for appetizers and for mains, we got the little neck clam ($24) and the squash blossom pizza.  The pane was strictly a survival order for Neel since he was starving. It was a thin crisp "bread" that's like papadum and it came with light ricotta, black pepper and honey. It was a nice way to start the meal but not sure if it is a must order.  However, for me, the must order was the sweet shrimp.  Yes, it's crazy pants to pay $10/shrimp and I can understand that this type of shrimp isn't everyone's cup of tea but I loved it.  It was creamy, sweet and simple with just olive oil and a dash of salt - don't forget to go after what's in the head of the shrimp too.  The cuttle fish was also a really wonderful dish - cooked perfectly with a a nice charcoal earthy flavor to it and it had some chew to it.  I liked that it was also cooked simply with not a lot of fuss to it. 

Next we got the little neck clam pizza.  Of the 2, this one was definitely my favorite.  It came with parsley, garlic, lemon, cream and clams of course.  It was really different and well balanced in flavors.  You could taste the clams but it didn't taste weird on a pizza - it just all somehow worked well together. The crust was great, that perfect combination of chewy and crispy at the same time.  It was a thin crust for sure but it held all the toppings really well.  Unfortunately, the squash blossom didn't wow me as much.  I love a good squash blossom dish and while this one wasn't bad, it just didn't stack up against the clam pizza.  It kind of felt pedestrian and they made it because squash blossom are so on trend.   To be fair, I was kind of drunk at this point, so it's possible that I wasn't in the right state of mind to make a fair assessment but I can definitively say that the clam pizza was much tastier and better than the squash blossom one.

I can see why Pasquale Jones is a hit - nice space, great wine selection and simple but great pairing of food.  It's a great space to catch up with friends and chill in an unpretentious environment.   My only gripe is that the appetizers were priced too high - while I gladly paid the $20 for the sweet shrimp, it doesn't really make it ok to charge it but I should note that 20% gratuity is included to the menu, so I guess it was really $17 but still....Total bill:  $108/pp with tax, tip already included and lots of wine

Photo Credit:  Yelp

The Cannibal Visited 7/13/2016 4 Forks

The Cannibal  113 E 29th St., New York, NY 10016

Sorry - I know this picture is a bit grotesque but it is the sole reason why Vince, Laura and I went to The Cannibal.  As you can imagine, any place with a name like that is not going to be for the faint of heart or vegetarian.  For a place that calls for an intense food outing, the space is not very big.  In fact, we sat at at table outside and they literally shoved the 3 of us in a corner that was barely passable for 2 people.  I found that to be kind of annoying because there's no bigger buzz kill at dinner than when you're squeezed into a tiny space and unable to enjoy your meal. 

Space aside, the menu here is obviously focused on meat.  You can order a whole pig or lamb for the table if you order in advance.  However, our mission was to try the General Tsao's Pig Head ($85) which they said was for 2 but really it's more than enough food for 3 or 4 people.  We started with beef tartare ($15), tuna tartare ($16), chicharron ($7) and the potato salad ($8).  These sides dishes were merely palate cleansers to the main course.  I know it sounds weird but the tuna tartare was a bit too fishy for me.  The perfect raw fish dish shouldn't taste like fish but should be clean tasting and this missed the mark a bit.  On the other hand, the beef tartare was fabulous.  It came on a small crumpet with bearnaise sauce, herbs and crispy shallots and it was wonderful.  They were so easy to pop in your mouth one after another - it was a perfect appetizer.  The chicharron was ok - it's actually not really my favorite thing in general as I find them dry and tough - these were a bit like shrimp chips where they had some crispy puffiness to it but still not something I would write home about. 

And then came the star of the show.  It's really quite a sight to be seen and if you are squeamish about seeing an animal's full head - don't order this because it's literally the whole head including the eyeball, tongue and teeth.  It's covered in General Tsao's sauce and served with broccoli rabe and scallion salad and some moo shu pancakes in case you want to make it a wrap.  The first stab into the meat is amazing.  I recommend you go straight for the cheek and jowl area because that's where the meat is at its best - incredibly tender and juicy and the skin crispy yet fatty.  There are definite parts of the pig where there is too much fat but you can easily find and pair it a section of moist meat to make it worth your heart stopping while.  It's definitely an aggressive dish and it was more than enough food for all 3 of us.  There was actually no need for the potato salad as the broccoli rabe was enough of a "green" to make us feel like we weren't being total gluttons. 

The presentation is what's most impressive here.  I would post an "after" picture but I'll spare my veggie friends the gore of it all.  I left feeling uncomfortably full and slightly regretful of eating so much.  This is definitely an experience to be had at least once in your life but it's not one to make a habit out of.  

Anejo Tribeca Visited 7/12/2016 3.5 Forks

Anejo Tribeca  301 Church St., New York, NY 10013

After spending a week in Scandinavia, it was a nice treat to come back to the US and eat other kinds of ethnic food to really bring some flavor back to my palate.  April was in-town for work, so the B-school gals and I decided to go for a Taco Tuesday run at Anejo.  Despite it being not that far from work, I've actually never been there before.  It's a nice space with a pretty decent sized bar and seating outside.  My one complaint about the lay-out is that it's not great for acoustics - the table behind us was super loud and raucous (yes, I'm an old lady) and it was really hard to hear everyone at our table without screaming at each other. 

As you can imagine, the menu here is Mexican but of the slightly more upscale variety.  We started with the trio of guacamole ($20) - traditional, verde and pineapple.  I'm honestly not sure when the hell guacamole started to cost an arm and a leg but it seems to be the norm these days.  To make it even worse, the serving size of each of these kinds were tiny.  They were in a small plate that was divided up into 3 section and it couldn't have been more than 2 1/2 medium sized avocados total across the 3 plates.  I also learned that I am not a fan of pineapple guacamole - in fact, this made me realize that I am much more of a guacamole purist and don't want any fruit or other ingredients in it that would take away from the actual avocado taste.  

We then split every taco they had on their menu (I mean it is Taco Tuesday right?):  short rib, chicken, pork, fish, shrimp and mushroom (tacos ranged from $15 for 2 to $21 for 3) plus a side of yuca fries ($8) and Brussels Sprouts ($8).   Given the ratio of tacos to people, I didn't get to try every kind but I did have the pork and fish tacos.  The fish was a beer battered white fish with poblano mint and jalapeño slaw - good balance of heat and herbs to the taco.  The pork one had shredded cabbage, chipotle crema, pico de gallo and cotija (we got that on the side since Richelle didn't want cheese on anything).  The taco was piled high with ingredients and super filling although the pork could have been a bit more moist. Everyone had raved about the short rib one but I didn't get a chance to try that one.  The yuca fries were ok - they were also a bit on the dry side and didn't have the crunch that I normally like with it and it didn't come with the cilantro or garlic mayo that I usually love with it. The brussels sprouts were what you would expect - roasted and these were mixed in with chorizo for a tasty but salty combination.  

It was a fun dinner and I would go back there - especially to try out some of the other tacos that I didn't get to partake in but I would probably skip the sides next time.  They have a great line-up of margaritas and other drinks to indulge in your Taco Tuesday outing.  I would also advise that if you want to actually to be able to hear your table mates, ask for the corner table in the front or sit outside as the main dining area will make it hard to hear anyone, even if they're sitting next to you.   Total bill:  $84/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Bergen Day 8 Visited 7/9/2016 3 Forks

Fish Market Torget, Bergen, Norway

One of the more famous spots in Bergen is the Fish Market which is smack in the middle of town. There is an enclosed area that has an actual seafood market along with several restaurants attached to them with nice views of the harbor.  Right next to it is an outdoor version with stalls offering slightly more casual fare - lox, chilled seafood, paella, fish soup, whale meat, and fried seafood.  At first I was super excited to visit it, but after visiting it, it was a bit of a disappointment.  It's rather small - you can walk through the whole thing in less than 15 mins and all the stalls pretty much offer the exact same line-up of food.  They also know that it's catered to tourists so when you're walking through, the workers will just start screaming at you to come check out their food.  It's really quite distracting and annoying - especially the ones who were screaming at me in Chinese (there is a shockingly large number of Chinese tourists in Norway).  

I almost didn't want to eat here but I felt like I would regret if I didn't, plus I love seafood and getting a sit down seafood meal elsewhere would be really expensive.  I looked around and decided on this place right by the beginning of the outdoor market - they had a plate of chilled seafood that looked pretty decent and seating in the back.  The plate had several pieces of smoked salmon, chilled tiny shrimp, chilled langostino tails (they're like tiny lobster tails), and caviar on a piece of bread with garlic mayo - all on a giant bed of iceberg lettuce (175 Krone = $20 USD with a diet coke).  It looked nice enough and while it was a fun experience to have, from a culinary standpoint, this seafood snob wasn't really blown away by it.  It was missing seasoning to it as it was all a bit bland (except for the lox which was super salty).  Also the bulk of the dish was really the lettuce which if you know me, I hate iceberg lettuce.  It didn't come with any dressing, so I was basically eating a seafood salad plain. I guess it was healthy and good for me?  I wouldn't tell people to not come here because it is such a central part of the city and it is a fun experience to sit outside and have an affordable meal.  I just wouldn't necessarily get your hopes up that this is some super traditional local experience with really high quality ingredients. 

Overall, I really fell in love with Denmark and Norway.  Stunning scenery, stunning people, cool design and at least in Copenhagen, it's really becoming a culinary hot spot.  I would most definitely recommend this part of Europe to anyone (who can afford it!), especially in the summer time when the sun is out for 20 hours and the temperature is a fantastic and comfortable 60-70 degrees.  Take me back!

Bergen Day 7 Visited 7/8/2016 3.5 - 4 Forks

Bar Barista  Øvregaten 12, 5003 Bergen, Norway                                                          3.5 Forks

After an early 4 hour boat ride, we arrived in our final destination of Bergen.  It's a quaint town that's actually Norway's 2nd largest city after Oslo.  Luckily, it has a bit more character and charm than Oslo.  One of the big things to do in Bergen is to take the funicular up to the top of the city to get a spectacular view of the whole town.  But before we did that, we needed to grab a quick bite to eat. 

I had read about Bar Barista in a few blogs and it was 2 blocks from the funicular, so we headed there.  So it turns out that it really is more of a bar/coffee shop than a cafe or restaurant.  It has a very limited food menu (some panini, waffles and crepes) but quite an extensive beer and beverage menu. The big draw here is the super fun an funky decor - it's loud, colorful and fun.  It's got a very hippie, artist vibe which was a nice change from the grey rainy backdrop (apparently it rains 4 or 5 days a week in Bergen).  I ended up getting a ham and cheese panini and a Belgian lager (175 krone = $20). It was a pretty basic but filling panini - I liked the fresh cut tomato salsa it came with as well as the garlic mayo that came on the side.  The guy next to me got a waffle (which is almost like a national dish in Norway) which looked delicious and sweet.  

I can't really say this is a great place to go to if you're hungry and really need to eat.  But if you're looking for a cool place to chill, relax and get something to drink, this is definitely a place to check out. 

Escalon Vetrlidsallmenningen 21, 5014 Bergen, Norway                                                     4 Forks

Lav and I had spotted this cute Spanish tapas place while we were walking around town and filed it away in our head as a place to eat for dinner.  While I never really had a terrible meal in Norway, I was ready for some more flavor and something besides fish and sandwiches.  Tapas seemed like a nice change up to our usual meals.

The menu here has your usual line-up of traditional tapas dishes - we decided on manchego (80 krone), shisto peppers (78 krone), potatoes bravas (69 krone), eggplant with goat cheese (72 krone), fried cheese balls (44 krone) and the meatballs (80 krone).  The manchego was simply cubes of cheese, so while it was good, it wasn't anything innovative or creative (although I did end up using it as a vehicle to sop up the tomato sauce that went with the meatballs and the garlic mayo in the potatoes).  The shisto peppers were a nice dish - it's what you would expect of these types of peppers: salty outside with a hint of heat on the inside.  The potatoes bravas were delicious but it was really because they were drenched in a super garlic-y mayo (who doesn't love that?).  The eggplant wrapped and filled with goat cheese was also great - the goat cheese wasn't overpowering and the eggplant had a nice soft but not too mushy texture.  The best dish of the nice was the fried cheese balls - gooey on the inside and crunchy on the outside - I could have eaten another order of it.  The only disappointing dish was the meatballs which is surprising since it's Norway and you'd think they would excel at meat.  They weren't super juicy or moist and seemed pretty one dimensional.

We got suckered into a chocolate cake dessert (98 krone) that in all honesty wasn't chocolate cake at all but some dry cookie with super sweet chocolate sauce dripped all over it - very unimpressive, especially for the price.

Overall, it was a nice reprieve from the slightly mediocre food we had been having in the small fjord towns.  It was a nice change of pace from Balestrand where there weren't a lot of options but there are most definitely lots of restaurants to choose from in Bergen - however, the prices definitely reflect it. Bergen is a cute town, especially the Bryggen area and the suburbs beyond that, but I wouldn't really spend more than 1-2 days here.  Most people use it as a jumping off place to the fjords, so we kind of did it backwards but I actually preferred it this way - it was nice to end of a quiet and relaxing note. Total bill:  800 Krone = $93 USD with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  TripAdvisor

Balestrand Day 6 Visited 7/7/2016 4 Forks

Sognefjord Aquarium  Holmen 2, 6899 Balestrand, Norway

This might be the most random entry I've written about as this review isn't about a restaurant but about the local "aquarium" in Balestrand.  I use that term "aquarium" very loosely because the aquarium was the size of my apartment in Brooklyn and I'm honestly not sure what kind of animals you'd find in there. 

To be fair, I didn't actually go into the aquarium but had dinner at the cute cafe/bakery that was connected to it.   It's right in the front next to the ticket office and I was surprised at the variety they had in terms of baked goods and other snacks that all looked freshly made.  Given the lack of other really inspiring dinner options in town, how tired we were and the fact that it had started raining, we made a decision to stay here and make it a night. 

They have a bunch of sandwiches, egg scrambles, and savory pasteries for a main dish.  I opted for the shrimp sandwich on a pumpkin seed bread, fruit cheesecake, and cappuccino (179 Krone = $21).  It was all shockingly good for this totally random setting.   The pumpkin seed bread was fabulous - healthy tasting and fresh and the shrimp was the small thin Norwegian kind piled high on the bread and served with mayo, tomato, cucumber and sprouts.  It was all super tasty even if the shrimp was probably out of the jar that I saw at the grocery store next door.  The cheesecake tasted less like an American style cheesecake but more like a tart with a fruity gel top.  I enjoyed most of the desserts in Norway because none of them were super sugary or sweet - you could really tell that this dessert here was homemade in the bakery and not from a box.  Lav got scrambled eggs on a buttery homemade croissant which looked delicious as well. 

While I wouldn't call this a culinary hot spot, it was certainly a surprisingly enjoyable meal - it was probably even better than some of other places I've eaten on the trip.   If you're staying in Balestrand or even if you're passing through and want a solid snack, definitely check out the aquarium and maybe even check out the fishes while you're there!

Flam and Balestrand Day 5 Visited 7/6/2016 3.5 Forks

Food Stalls at Flam Rail Station                                                                               3.5 Forks

The highlight of my trip was a visit to the fjords - they are truly stunning and a site to be seen in person.  Most people do the "Norway in a Nutshell" track where you take a combination of trains and ferries from Oslo to Bergen to take in the sights.  It's basically you and a thousand tourists taking the same route across the fjords, which is fine but a bit annoying.  Most people transfer at the Flam station to either catch the train back to Oslo or the ferries onward to the fjords.

Flam is definitely one of the more developed villages along the fjords but even then I was still surprised that when we got off at the station that there was a mini food truck situation.  There is a Thai food truck, seafood food truck, hot dog stand, ice cream and a crepe stand.  So a pretty decent line-up of food.  I, of course, go straight for the seafood one.  They had a giant seafood paella pan, fish and chips and other varieties of seafood dishes.  I saw that they had a green mussel plate and I had to get it because they are one of my favorite seafood dishes.  Unlike the common black mussels, the green New Zealand ones are usually much plumper and filling.  I got a plate of them (149 Krone = $18 USD) and they were covered in a curry cream sauce (I should have asked for it on the side).  While the mussels were meaty and satisfying, texture wise they were a bit tough and old - you could kind of tell that they had been sitting in that vat of curry sauce for a while.  But hey, I'm in the middle of nowhere Norway, I can't complain too much about it.

I was still a bit hungry, so I searched the grounds for another snack.  Strangely, hot dogs are all the rage in Scandinavia (I noticed that when I was in Iceland a few years ago).  Since I never got one while I was in Copenhagen, I figured that I might as well give it a go here.   It's an expensive street dog at $8 USD and it wasn't anything mind blowing but it did taste a bit less processed than the ones back home.  It was more along the lines of a home made pork sausage than a ballpark frank.

If you're doing the whole Norway in a Nutshell thing, definitely bring some snacks with you but rest assured that when you get to Flam, you will have some interesting food truck options, even if they are a bit overpriced.

Gekkens Holmen 15, 6899 Balestrand, Norway                                                     3.5 Forks

Finally, after 2 trains and a boat, we arrived in stunning Balestrand.  It's a tiny village off the fjord with less than 800 people - I'm generally not a nature person but this place was really really special. There is absolutely nothing to do there but to take in the beauty. 

Unfortunately, that also means that there's not much to eat either.  We stayed in a super cute "hotel" that was more like a B&B which didn't have a on site restaurant.  I think the girl who checked us in mentioned that there were literally 3 restaurants in town.  After looking at the menus, they were pretty much all the same and within 5 minutes of each other.  We picked Gekkens because it looked to be the most veggie friendly. 

It was totally packed when we got there but since it was pretty cold there, we were able to get a table outside (they provide wool blankets for you).  The place is very mom & pop (as is everything in town) and was run by what looked to be a Thai family?  It felt like you were having dinner in someone's home which was nice.  The menu was as expected in a place like this - pretty basic - some local fish and meatball dishes and randomly pizza.  I opted for the fish soup (89 Krone = $11 USD) and the cod while Lav got a veggie pizza and fries (again, life saver on the trip). 

Norway is known for their fish soup, which is why I got it here and to be honest, it wasn't all that. I had expected it to be a chunky chowder or stew but this was watery, thin and heavy on the celery and carrots instead of fish.  As for the cod dish, the fish itself was fine, it was similar to the cod I get at Trader Joe's and it was covered in a cream sauce.  The dish was served with steamed broccoli (maybe the first green I had seen on this trip in a while), carrots and potatoes and a very small garden salad with 1,000 Island dressing on it.  Given how low of an expectation I had, the meal was totally fine - it actually was a meal that reminded me of what a Norweigan would eat at home. 

Luckily, you aren't coming to Balestrand for the culinary scene - you just need food that doesn't suck and will last you through the day.  The highlight was actually the fries, which I think were essentially frozen ones they bought at the grocery store next door but they were the yummy crinkle cut kind and it was sprinkled with some chili flakes to give it some heat.  The waitress was very nice and I liked that it was a family affair here.  I'm sure it can't be easy to run a restaurant in a tiny town with the limited supplies and ingredients they get but if you're in Balestrand for more than a few days, I'm sure you'll end up here at some point.  We had originally wanted to go to the Cider House, which was set on a orchard but they were closed for dinner, so do your research before you go so that you're not disappointed.  Total bill:  340 Krone = $40 USD

Photo Credit:  TripAdvisor

Oslo Day 4 Visited 7/5/2016 3 - 4 Forks

Mathallen  Vulkan 5, 0178 Oslo, Norway                                                     3 Forks

After 3 fun filled days in Copenhagen, I was off to explore the fjords in Norway. But first, a quick pit stop in Oslo before I started my journey.  I'll be honest, Oslo is eh - especially compared to all the other beautiful parts of Scandinavia that I've been to.  It grew on me a little bit as the day wore on but my initial impression was that there really is no reason to spend more than 24 hours here as there are so many other more gorgeous places to go in Norway. 

But as long as I was here, I was going to try to enjoy myself.  Of course, I searched to see if they had a food market and of course they did!  Similar to a lot of food markets, it's located in a slightly out of the way neighborhood and while it had all the makings of a good food hall, it just didn't really do it for me.  It's a nice small space but there was something lacking about it - it felt cold and impersonal. However, if you are going to spend time there, you can find good things to eat while you were there. It's no real surprise that Norwegian food isn't super famous but what they are known for is their salmon.  I ended up going to a Japanese bento box place and getting a salmon sushi box (50 Krone = $6 USD) and a salmon teriyaki box (69 Krone = $ 8 USD).  The fish itself was pretty good - fresh and clean - it felt very Norwegian.  It was a bit disappointing that the teriyaki was cold but it was totally edible with the sushi white rice it was served with.  For $14, it was not a bad meal to be had in a country where everything is expensive.  My advice is that food markets are always a better deal than eating in fancy restaurants and it gives you access to lots of variety.  This food hall had potential and I did see a few restaurants next to the main hall but maybe it was because I was so blown away by Paper Island that I felt pretty underwhelmed by this one.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Åpent Bakeri Frydenlund Inkognito Terrasse 1 , 0256 Oslo                                           4 Forks

While strolling around the area between the park and downtown Oslo, Lav and I stopped by for a snack at Apent Bakeri which is in a nice fancy part of Oslo - it reminded me a bit of the West Village. We had been walking all day and need to stop and refuel.

While the Nordic countries aren't really well known for dessert and they quite well known for their pastries and breaded products.  Lav and I split a cinnamon roll and chocolate chip cookie.  Similar to the cinnamon roll I had in Copenhagen, this one was great because it didn't have any gooey fake frosting - instead, it focuses on the actual pastry part.  It was not too sweet - much more like a bread than a dessert.  It was a great snack to split on a sunny afternoon.  The chocolate chip cookie was also yummy - very buttery though.

While I generally don't review cafes, I felt like it was important to highlight them on my trip here because Copenhagen and Oslo are such cute cafe culture cities where I've had some of the better meals on my trip.  If you are walking around this part of town, definitely stop by and treat yourself to a pastry or two.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Pacific Poke Aker Brygge, Stranden 3, 0250 Oslo, Norway                                     3.5 Forks

Apparently the poke craze has spread to Norway too. We arrived at our final destination of the night, Aker Brygge, and this was definitely the highlight of the city. While harbor fronts are generally a bit touristy, this one was actually really nice and relaxing.  It's a whole strip with lots of hip restaurants, places to sit and relax by the water and all the way at the end is a really cool modern art museum with beautiful views and funky architecture.  There were a ton of cool modern looking condos there too - I wonder how much it would cost to live there??  

Along the boardwalk are also a few food trucks and a poke one caught my eye.  I knew that it was a craze sweeping the US but I was surprised that people in Norway caught on to it as well.  I ended up chatting with the guy behind the truck - he's Swedish and said that he read an article in Business Insider about how poke was the next big thing and so he quit his job and decided to open this poke truck with no real experience or exposure to the real thing.  In fact, he had never been to Hawaii or CA before - he just knew that he liked to eat raw fish.  I had to admire his ambition and risk taking. While, it definitely wasn't traditional poke by any stretch of the imagination, I'm not sure if that's the approach he was going for. 

The salmon, while fresh and good, was missing the signature soy, sesame, ginger marinated flavor to it. It was kind of more like plain raw salmon and then it was combined with a bed of salad (my bad for not getting the rice but he only had white rice, no brown rice), tobiko, pickled onion and avocado. He's definitely on the right path and I appreciated his effort but it doesn't quite hit the real poke on the head.  I'm still glad I tried it and I would go again after maybe he's visited a few other poke places in the States.  Total bill:  129 Krone = $15 USD. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Note:  There was one more place we ate at on this day, but it was TGI Friday's and well, I can't bring myself to review it.  So needless to say, I ate there out of courtesy to my traveling companion who was having a craving for it. 

Copenhagen Day 3 Visited 7/4/2016 2.5-4.5 Forks

Parterre  Overgaden Oven Vandet 90, 1415 Copenhagen, Denmark                 4.5 Forks

Copenhagen is full of adorable cafes and bars but none as hipster cute as Parterre.  First, it's in the Christianshavn neighborhood which I loved - it's a wonderful part of Copenhagen separated from the rest of the city by the inner harbor and it has a much more local and liveable feel to it.  If I ever moved here, I could see this being the part of Copenhagen I would live in because it just oozes with charm. 

While I loved this place, it's definitely much more coffee shop than breakfast place.  Regardless, it's a wonderful place to spend some time.  Hipster location? Check.  Gorgeous minimalist Danish design? Check.  Hipster avocado toast on the menu? Check.  Totally indifferent but adorable staff? Check. This was actually the first place in Copenhagen that I experienced where they didn't really try to accommodate English but hey, I guess we are in Denmark afterall.  I settled on a cappuccino and yogurt with fresh berries (95 Krone) and Lav got avocado toast and a soft boiled egg.  They have a few small seats outside with warming lamps (yes, even though it was July, we still needed warming lamps) and it was great people watching out there.  The presentation of all the food was super Instagram worthy - beautifully sliced avocado on local rye bread and covered in some kind of health crunch on top and the yogurt was served with super fresh bright strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and combined with a sweet rhubarb jam (the Danes really like their jams).  Side note, the coffee is pretty great there too.

You can tell that it was a pretty local joint as it is a bit out of the way of anything else and everyone there looked like they rolled out of their apt to enjoy some coffee.  I could have stayed there for hours reading the paper and hanging out.  My only wish was that they had a bigger food menu because it's not really a place to go if you're really hungry but then again, most people aren't going to a coffee shop if they are looking for a full meal.  This place is definitely worth checking out if you are on your way to Freetown Christiania - an interesting autonomous, hippie "free town"that's a 5 min walk away.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Fru Nimb  Bernstorffsgade 5, 1577 Copenhagen, Denmark                            2.5 Forks

By total coincidence, 2 of my good friends Greg and Sarah from NYC happened to be in Copenhagen the same week as us but due to the timing, the only overlapping day we had was July 4th (which seemed appropriate - Go America).  We decided to meet up at the Tivoli Gardens which is a fun, fairly large amusement park right in the middle of the city.  It's a step up from a local country fair but it's definitely not on par with a Six Flags or other large scale amusement parks in the US.

After walking around a bit, we wanted to grab some lunch and I had read about this place in a blog as having good authentic open face sandwiches, which is a big Danish dish.  Up until this point, I hadn't really had one yet, so we figured why not?  Plus it had nice outdoor seating which was nice for Eli. The menu here has over 30 different kinds of open faced sandwich (which really just means it's missing the top) ranging from fish to shrimp to meat to a few veggie options - the most famous kind is a pickled herring with egg but I just don't love herring and settled on a roast beef one (125 krone or $18.5 USD).   Luckily, Lav ordered a side of fries (didn't I tell you that would be a theme?) which honestly saved the meal.

This was the one meal I had on my entire trip where I thought it was way expensive and overpriced.  The "sandwich" that came out couldn't have been more than 3 bites and without the top half of the bread, it was not filling at all.  The roast beef itself was a bit dry and there was nothing inspiring about this "national" dish at all.  Thank god Lav got the fries, those were nice thick cut steak fries that helped to fill me up for the rest of the day until dinner.  While I don't want to necessarily poo-poo the open face sandwich concept, I think you're better off going somewhere else for it outside of the amusement park.  If you do want to eat in Tivoli, there is a Wagamama there and you definitely can't go wrong with a meal there.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Paper Island Trangravsvej 8, 1436 København, Denmark                                    4.5 Forks 

Complete obsession.   Greg reminded me that this place is very similar to Smorgasburg at home, so maybe that's why I loved it so much.  It's a food hall/market but it's right by the water in this very industrial warehouse setting with great views of the city on the other side.  When you turn the corner and actually see the set-up, it's pretty cool because it's just throngs of people but in a very organized way sitting on communal tables or in lazy chairs drinking and hanging out.  So much fun.

When you go inside, it's a bunch of different food stalls from all parts of the world: burgers, Thai, Mexican, Korean, beer, mojitos, etc.  It's funky, creative, sustainable and affordable street food all in one place.   After touring the space multiple times, I ended up getting an egg wrap with pulled pork and shredded pickled veggies.  I know, it sounds kind of weird and not something that I would get, especially when there were giant burgers, but I was trying to be slightly healthy.  It was a like a savory crepe but made with an egg base instead.  It was filling and delicious.  Lav got Mexican (she apparently ordered a quesadilla but it still turned out to be a taco - maybe something was lost in translation?) and Greg and Sarah got these giant plates of yummy looking Middle Eastern food.  I don't remember how much it was but everything was pretty cheap.  

I had walked by this doughnut stall earlier and had to go back because (A) the guy who worked there was super hot and (b) he was serving creme brulee donuts.  What?!?  It was exactly how you would imagine it - a fluffy sugar donut, stuffed with vanilla creme and then burned on top to give it a sweet crunchy glaze.  Amazing.  I could have easily eaten another one but refrained. 

I was bummed that we couldn't get a seat outside, especially in the lazy chairs by the water but it looks like people had gotten there super early and just parked themselves there all day.  It seemed like the place wher people get there early and just park themselves all day if it's nice outside.  While I do love fancy experiences like BROR, it's places like these that really bring me the most joy. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Copenhagen Day 2 Visited 7/3/2016 3.5 - 4 Forks

Torvehallerne  Frederiksborggade 21, 1360 København K, Denmark        4 Forks

As most of you know, I am a huge sucker for food/farmer's markets.  Even though many of them are touristy, there's just something about being in one area surrounded by fresh produce and different food stalls that just makes me super happy.  I had read about this one in a funky part of Copenhagen and made sure I went to it while I was there. 

After I long and lovely day at the Louisana Art Museum (while I didn't eat there, I want to give a shout out to their amazing looking cafe) and the Kronberg Castle in the Danish country side, we headed back into town to have lunch at Torvehallerne.  It's like many other cool food markets where there are tons of local produce as well as food stalls with food ranging from bakeries to open face sandwiches to seafood.  What I love about food halls is that it gives you the ability to try a little bit of everything in one place.  I was overwhelmed at what to get and since our breakfast buffet in our hotel was a pretty large spread of food, I wasn't starving.  I ended up getting a Nordic looking mayo based potato salad topped with shredded bits of cooked salmon.  While probably not the healthiest thing, it was pretty tasty and was flavored nicely with onion and dill.  I can see it as a great side dish for a picnic, if you like salmon.  I also indulged in a mini cinnamon bun  at Laura's bakery.  Scandinavia is famous for their cinnamon buns and what I like about the ones here, unlike the ones in the States, is that it's not covered in an icky frosting.  But believe me these are sweet enough on their own with the buttery flakey dough and cinnamon/sugar mix that it didn't need extra frosting on it.  

Unfortunately, it started to pour outside, so we didn't get to walk around to the other market much but the vibe of this place was really cool.  It seemed like a place that a lot of locals do hang out on a chill summer's day with some beer and food.  

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Mad Klubben  Vesterbrogade 62, 1620 Copenhagen, Denmark                         3.5 Forks

After going back to our hotel to take an afternoon nap, we decided to head to the Vesterbro part of Copenhagen, which is supposed to be their hipster/Meat Packing neighborhood.  Apparently it was literally a meat packing neighborhood not too long ago and you definitely got a sense that it has a much grittier feel than the more touristy parts of the city we were in earlier.  

Maybe we weren't in the right part or I'm so used to hipsters now that I didn't really feel like it was any comparison to Williamsburg at all.  But I will say that when we entered in to the restaurant, the clientele did have a lot of beards going on.  

The space here is huge and it has a lovely looking open kitchen concept that is quite impressive.  The vibe is low key with a Danish sense of design and aesthetic.  The menu had a bit of everything but there seemed to be a big focus on meat - they had an awesome looking rib eye for 2 (sadly I couldn't eat that on my own).  Since we had just eaten at the food hall not to long ago, I wasn't starving but of course I couldn't help myself and ordered the beef tartare (50 Krone or $7 USD) to start and the pan fried flat fish (175 Krone or $26) as my main.  Lav got a fantastic cheese plate with quince (75 krone or $11) to start, a side order of fries for both of us (this would be a recurring theme through out the trip) and the vegetarian risotto ($15).  Price-wise, I was again pleasantly surprised but the exchange rate has been quite favorably lately (5 years ago the rate was 5:1, whereas it was almost 7:1 for us).  

I'm not sure if it's a cultural thing but their beef tartare was more like ground beef instead of cut up chunks of beef.  While it tasted fine, the texture kind of weirded me out because it was a bit too mushy.  As for my main, the was a whole pan fried white fish with the bone (but no head) served with a king oyster mushroom brown butter sauce on the side.  Thank god the sauce came on the side because it was super rich and heavy and I only poured a bit of it on there to give some moisture to the dish.  The dish felt very Nordic with the heaviness of the sauce and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't anything mind blowing.  We ended the night with a flourless chocolate cake with rhubarb ice cream (they really seem to like their rhubarb here).  While I definitely enjoyed my time here, I'm not sure the food was anything super inventive like BROR but I don't it's meant to be either.  It feelsl like this place is meant to be a fun neighborhood hang and I can see that fitting in with that crowd.  The table next to us got the rib eye and I was super super jealous because that looked amazing.  I also want to give a shout out to the local Mikkeller craft beer I had there, it was delicious and quite strong.  I wish I had more energy to go to the actual bar there but definitely give it a try if you see it in a restaurant.  Total bill with tax and tip:  410 Krone or $61/pp

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Copenhagen Day 1 - BROR Visitied 7/2/2016 4.5 Forks

BROR Sankt Peders Stræde 24A, 1453 København, Denmark

Copenhagen has been on my list for quite a while and of course any time you mention it to a food lover, the first question is "Are you going to Noma?"  Sadly, I wasn't able to get a reservation there but instead I was able to get one at BROR which is run by 2 of the restaurant's former sous chefs who branched out on their own in 2013.  Although I've never been to Noma, I would guess the concept here is heavily influenced by it with a Nordic flavor set menu made from in-season produce.  They must be doing something right as they were awarded the Michelin's Bib Gourmand in 2014, 2015 and 2016. 

The space is relatively cozy - a split level restaurant with simple finishes.  We sat on the upper level and were immediately greeted by a handful of really enthusiastic and kind waiters.  It's a set menu and you can choose between the 5 course (595 krone or $88 USD) or 4 course (395 Krone or $59 USD).   The 5 course comes with 5 additional "snacks", so you're actually eating a 10 course meal.  I had heard that Scandinavia is super expensive (which it is) but this meal was real steal given the quality of the food and overall experience.  As long as I was going to be in Copenhagen, I was going to go all out and get the 5 course menu.   If you're coming all the way to Copenhagen, don't be cheap and just enjoy the meal for what's actually probably cheaper than what you would get in NYC. 

The first snack was bull's balls with tartar sauce.  Yes, I had bull's testicles. It was pounded into almost a patty and breaded and tasted very delicate and tender.  Dipped in the sour tartare sauce, it really made you feel like you were eating a fish filet sandwich instead of bull's balls.  2nd snack was ox heart in a lettuce wrap.  The ox heart didn't freak me out and since it was in a lettuce wrap, it made me feel like I was just eating something healthy sprinkled with some small cuts of meat in it. Third snack was English peas chilled with ice.  The peas were fresh and delicious -  how can you not love the taste of a freshly picked peas?  I wasn't a huge fan of the ice that it was sitting in - it kind of diluted the taste of the pea but I guess it did keep it super chilled? 

Fourth snack was cod's neck with crispy fish skin, horseradish, and egg salad.  This was one of the top dishes of the night for me.  This is what I envision when I think of Nordic food.  The fish neck was tender and delicious - fish head is actually one of my favorite parts of the fish, people don't realize how tender the meat is there.  The egg salad was a homey touch to the meal with the dill on top of it.  I didn't finish all the fish skin since it was a bit too dry for me, but I loved everything about this dish. 

Fifth snack was a traditional sourdough bread with butter that had bone marrow in it.  Jesus - there is just something about fresh warm sourdough bread that I could eat for hours.  The bread on this entire trip was awesome - you could tell it's not the white processed crap we eat at home but it was all multi-grained, seeded brown bread.  I was really trying not to eat all of it but I couldn't help myself. The butter with bone marrow was an interesting touch - it just added a lot more unnecessary fat to the butter.  I actually like the regular butter that Lav got with hers. 

After all this snacking, we get served our main courses.  I honestly could have stopped eating here and been a happy camper.  But onwards!  The 1st main course was marinated mackerel with green strawberries. 

This was a stunning dish, incredibly beautifully plated.  And not bad tasting either.  The fish was nicely marinated and served chilled.  The green strawberries added a nice tartness to the dish.  The next dish was asparagus with chicken heart - more hearts!  This was also a fantastic dish - the heart was surprisingly tasty - chicken heart can be really rubbery but this one was crisp and well balanced with the crunchy fresh asparagus.

This was followed by a delicious white fish dish with pate, fish roe and a charred broccoli-rabe like veggie and cauliflower.  Another favorite of mine - I should have known that any of the fish dishes would be winners.  

Lastly, we were served 2 desserts.  While I usually wouldn't say I need less dessert, I could have been fine with just 1 of them.  The first was a bone marrow brulee with fresh strawberry sorbet.  As much as I love actual bone marrow, having it in a dessert form didn't really do it for me.  There wasn't a lot of sweetness and it just tasted fatty to me but it was a gorgous presentation of the brulee instead the bone marrow.  But the sorbet was fantastic - super refreshing.  In an ideal world, we would have stopped there.  But we ended with another fruit dessert of tarragon and rubarb - I was so full at this point that I kind of just picked around it.  Lav mentioned that she would have liked one of the desserts to be more of a chocolate focused dessert, which I don't disagree with.  It would have been nice to change it up a bit between a fruit and chocolate dessert. 

Overall, it was a really lovely way to kick off my Danish and Norwegian adventure.  Everyone who worked there was incredibly attentive and seemed very educated about the dishes - they spoke to them in such great loving detail that it really puts my blog to shame.  They also did a wonderful vegetarian version for Lav which was great because places like these can traditionally be a bit difficult to accommodate but they did a really lovely job.  Of course I would have loved to have tried Noma before it closed but if you can't get a reservation like I did, BROR is an extremely affordable and excellent back up.  Total bill with tax and tip:  $149/pp