Paris is a 'has been' as far the foodie world goes. Copenhagen is the new king of the dish pile. Noma has been the number one restaurant for the last two years. Of course, this meant I had to try to experience this culinary capital during our stay.
The first night we dined at the new kid on the block, Louise, in the Nimb Hotel overlooking Tivoli Gardens. This is one of those places where you are served over the course of the evening twenty courses of bite sized delights. They made sweetbreads delicious, burnt hay intriguing, and onions seem normal for dessert. Each presentation was a work of art, almost too beautiful to touch. The optional wine pairings included mostly French offerings we could never find back home. This adventure took a little over two hours with one offering immediately following another. This is not to say we were rushed, we were encouraged to take our time and enjoy each morsel. What a great start to a culinary tour.
Lunch the next day was at the classic open face sandwich Mecca of Schonnemans. This off the beaten path, below the street, lunch only diner has been serving up their classic Danish foods for decades. I have a confession: while I profess to eat almost anything, herring has always scared me. Well that has changed since the soulfull curry herring I had as a starter. It was a meaty and not fishy delight. Next up for me was the classic tartar with raw egg yolk and capers. The boys had more of the traditional open faced sandwich, the chicken salad looking particularly yummy. Washing it all down was pints of house made ale and aquavit (their version of vodka). Another not to be missed meal.
Tonight found us in the ultra hip meat packing district. Kødbyens Fisekebar is a happening bar and fish restaurant with both small and large plate offerings. My scallops (3 to an order) were sweet and tasty while David's salad was fresh with local greens. My second course of langoustine bisque had an ingredient( fish sauce?) that I was unfamiliar with, leaving a not altogether good taste in my mouth. David's fish and chips using smoked cod was much more to my liking.
We actually broke my rule of not having Mexican in regular restaurant, wanting to see what the Danes take would be. Their nachos were on a bed of nacho flavored Doritos type chips, surrounded by sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. Salsa is usually what makes or breaks a great Mexican meal and this one was more tomato sauce than salsa. My wrap was filled with a chicken fajita mix with similar accompaniments. For a place so far from the mexican border, they did a pretty decent job.
Our final dinner was up an alleyway at a local bar called Tight. I believe the name came from the seating arrangements where the maximum numbers of dinners are shoehorned into at least four rooms in this multilevel place. The food was pub fare, with mussels, smoked salmon, hamburgers(a specialty David enjoyed) and my cod in papillote. This place was just plain fun. The wait staff was warm and friendly and fellow dinners shared touring tips.
One last food item I would be remiss in not mentioning - the Danish. Bakeries abound with each corner offering more baked delights. I felt more like I was in France with coissant offerings bidding from the store front bins. Our sampling left us questioning why Tulsa doesn't have some kind of upscale bakery options. Waking up was easier knowing that a little pain au chocolate awaited me.
In the end, our culinary tour was deemed a success, eating in places where we were the only English speaking diners and dining on a variety of Danish delights.
The first night we dined at the new kid on the block, Louise, in the Nimb Hotel overlooking Tivoli Gardens. This is one of those places where you are served over the course of the evening twenty courses of bite sized delights. They made sweetbreads delicious, burnt hay intriguing, and onions seem normal for dessert. Each presentation was a work of art, almost too beautiful to touch. The optional wine pairings included mostly French offerings we could never find back home. This adventure took a little over two hours with one offering immediately following another. This is not to say we were rushed, we were encouraged to take our time and enjoy each morsel. What a great start to a culinary tour.
Lunch the next day was at the classic open face sandwich Mecca of Schonnemans. This off the beaten path, below the street, lunch only diner has been serving up their classic Danish foods for decades. I have a confession: while I profess to eat almost anything, herring has always scared me. Well that has changed since the soulfull curry herring I had as a starter. It was a meaty and not fishy delight. Next up for me was the classic tartar with raw egg yolk and capers. The boys had more of the traditional open faced sandwich, the chicken salad looking particularly yummy. Washing it all down was pints of house made ale and aquavit (their version of vodka). Another not to be missed meal.
Tonight found us in the ultra hip meat packing district. Kødbyens Fisekebar is a happening bar and fish restaurant with both small and large plate offerings. My scallops (3 to an order) were sweet and tasty while David's salad was fresh with local greens. My second course of langoustine bisque had an ingredient( fish sauce?) that I was unfamiliar with, leaving a not altogether good taste in my mouth. David's fish and chips using smoked cod was much more to my liking.
We actually broke my rule of not having Mexican in regular restaurant, wanting to see what the Danes take would be. Their nachos were on a bed of nacho flavored Doritos type chips, surrounded by sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. Salsa is usually what makes or breaks a great Mexican meal and this one was more tomato sauce than salsa. My wrap was filled with a chicken fajita mix with similar accompaniments. For a place so far from the mexican border, they did a pretty decent job.
Our final dinner was up an alleyway at a local bar called Tight. I believe the name came from the seating arrangements where the maximum numbers of dinners are shoehorned into at least four rooms in this multilevel place. The food was pub fare, with mussels, smoked salmon, hamburgers(a specialty David enjoyed) and my cod in papillote. This place was just plain fun. The wait staff was warm and friendly and fellow dinners shared touring tips.
One last food item I would be remiss in not mentioning - the Danish. Bakeries abound with each corner offering more baked delights. I felt more like I was in France with coissant offerings bidding from the store front bins. Our sampling left us questioning why Tulsa doesn't have some kind of upscale bakery options. Waking up was easier knowing that a little pain au chocolate awaited me.
In the end, our culinary tour was deemed a success, eating in places where we were the only English speaking diners and dining on a variety of Danish delights.
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