Students Starve in Oslo

the donuts that saved our lives in Oslo

Oslo is a nice city. Beautiful sculpture gardens, Munch's "The Scream", and a picturesque harbor with the prettiest sunset I have ever seen are just a few of the things you can do there. However, I felt extremely conflicted about Oslo. Even though my inner tourist enjoyed it, my inner foodie wanted to ditch the city as fast as possible.

There is nothing wrong with the food in Oslo. It is a city fully stocked with both local and international cuisine. Ah, but there lies the rub. Norway is country that cannot grow that much produce, especially in the long and cold winters. Therefore, a huge percentage of Oslo's food is imported from countries that are very far away. With imports comes import taxes, and with taxes, comes $30 chicken nuggets.

No, I am not exaggerating. Seeing a TGI Fridays fully packed with customers, my friend and I decided to check out the prices. Chicken nuggets, one of the cheapest items on the menu, were $30 USD. I was appalled. However, this is a perfect example of prices in Oslo. It is nearly impossible for a student to eat dinner without spending at least $40, and that is not including a drink. In New York, you could spend the same amount on a three course menu at Gotham Bar and Grill as a mediocre meal in Oslo.

Beer is a whole other story. The cheapest beer available (Carlsberg) at a restaurant was $15, and you only received the bottle, not a full pint. My friend and I thought that we hit the jackpot when we found an Irish pub that served a full pint of Guinness and Kilkenny for $16.

Our food saviors ended up being 7-11 and a Christmas market. Dinner on night one consisted of a beer at a bar and splitting a $12 pint of Ben and Jerrys. Classy. Day two we lucked out with multiple free samples of donuts, marzipan, pancakes, and cheeses at a Christmas market. While I had one of the best donuts I have ever had in my entire life - piping hot, right out of the fryer - I could not wait to get my stomach out of Oslo. If you want to enjoy the food culture in Oslo, bring your parents, and their credit card.

Copenhagen may be an extremely expensive city, but I will never complain about prices ever again. An $8 beer seems like pennies now.

Delirious in Brussels

In terms of food, Belgium is known for three things: Belgian Chocolate, Belgian frites, and Belgian beer. In my trip to Brussels, I covered all three. Extensively.

I was hoping during my 3 day stay in the EU capital, I would find fries cooked in duck fat. A growing trend in the US, I knew that Belgium and France were the two countries to go to in order to find the original of this thigh-expander delicacy. However, after speaking to some locals, they all turned down duck fat fries in favor for one spot. A small food stand outside one of Brussels' many cathedrals. In my opinion, what locals say goes, so after spending a bit too much time at the Margrethe museum, our empty stomach followed our noses to Place de la Chapelle Kapellemarkt.

Beyond looking ordinary to the point of being dingy, we wondered if we had found the right place. But then I thought, 'they're serving fries, not foie gras', so we approached with our 1 euro ready. In Europe, it is common to eat your frites not with ketchup, but with aioli, or mayonnaise. I am not mayo's biggest fan, but wanting the true frites experience, I followed my friend's lead and ordered it on top of mine.

Watching the guy behind the stand move, I knew he was a frites pro. The fries had already been cooked once, probably at a lower temperature in order to cook the potato through, and now he took each individual order and fried them again at a higher heat, to make them crisp and fresh. Coming out of the hot oil, he immediately tossed them into a metal bowl and tossed them with salt and a touch of vinegar. After pouring the perfect fries onto a plate, he threw on another pinch of salt for good measure, and with some mayo on the side, they were ready for me to devour. The fries reminded me why people enjoy fried food so much. Perfectly crispy, slightly acidic from the vinegar and the lemon in the aioli, and oh so salty, I had no qualms or regrets stuffing one lovely frite after another into my mouth. While most would think that this experience would turn me into a fries snob, and it kind of has, I also realized that you do not need a fancy ingredient like duck fat to make fries perfect sticks of heaven. With proper technique, you can make the simplest food, like a potato, taste divine.

In Brussels, there is at least two chocolate stores on every street. If that's not enough, there is even a lovely little chocolate museum, where you can see chocolate clothing and watch a chocolatier at work.While each one looks absolutely delightful in its tall displays of colorful candies and chocolate morsels, keep in mind that these stores are mainly catering to tourists, so that Belgian quality you are looking for is not always guaranteed. If you want great chocolate in Brussels, get it directly from a chocolatier, or try out Pierre Marcolini.

Pierre Marcolini does have a few stores around the world, including one on Park Ave in New York, but its flagship store is located in the heart of Brussels. Walking in, I felt like I had suddenly entered a store on Rodeo Drive. White walls, minimalist black decor with the exception of a huge crystal chandelier, I felt like Gossip Girl, getting my inside look at the world of the chocolate elite. Stuffy but not snobby, the sales people were very helpful in helping us choose from the endless amount of pralines, truffles, molds, and chocolate bars. The prices were also extremely decent. I was expecting to pay a fortune, but I was surprised that Marcolini's cost no more than the average tourist trap I had seen around the Grand Place. After trying one piece, however, I know I would have payed that fortune to get the quality that perfectly melted on my tongue.

I have had my fair share of high quality chocolate. But there was something different about the pralines I tasted at Pierre Marcolini. Each flavor, whether it was safron, earl gray, or pink peppercorn, was the perfect amount. It was subtle, there, but not overpowering the flavor of the extremely high quality chocolate. When your cocoa is that good, you just want to enhance it with other flavors, not destroy it. Pierre Marcolini's work clearly understands and practices this, making his chocolate the best I have ever tasted.

Of course, you cannot go to Belgium without sampling some good Belgian beer. It would be like going to France and not enjoying a good Bordeaux or Cotes du Rhone. While there are many Belgian beer shops you can buy from, I suggest trying out a bar to get them on tap and experience the local scene. And by "a bar", I mean one bar. Delirium.

Located down an alley off one of the most touristy streets I have ever been on, Delirium is famous for its selection of 2004 beers from 60 different countries, with about 50 or so of them on tap at a time. Ales, lagers, stouts, even chocolate and raspberry ales, it is a beer lover's paradise. While I thought that Delirium would be a huge tourist trap, filled with study abroad students like myself, I was surprised to find that the bar was packed with locals of all ages. From teenagers to grandparents, everyone was there to sit and relax at the large wood tables and enjoy a great beer (sometimes out of a 1 or 2 liter glass shaped like a boot!) with family or friends. I have never seen a better atmosphere in a bar before. Everyone was happy and friendly, suggesting beers to each other to try out, or letting perfect strangers taste their beer to see if they liked it. With 2004 options, it is nice to get the guidance!

The bartenders at Delirium are extremely knowledgeable about their beers. If you tried one, liked it, but want to try something new, they will know exactly what to pull out of the back room for you. A word to the wise: if you stick to the Belgian beers, as I did, watch the alcohol content. Belgian beers are known for their higher amount of alcohol, usually around 9-11%. It WILL eventually catch up to you! While we are not huge drinkers, my friends and I ended up at Delirium three times during our stay, once twice in one day! It was not just the beer that brought us there, it was the atmosphere of the place. We tried so many different types of beer and met so many interesting characters, it was the best time I have ever had at a bar.

Sure there are a lot of classy French bistros and Michelin starred restaurants in Brussels. But seriously, when you have chocolate, fries, and beer, who really needs the fancy food and the bill that comes with it?

The Sacher Torte can kiss my . . . whatever

try this instead of the sacher torte! blueberry marscapone, i think so!

In terms of food, Vienna is known for two things: schnitzel, (think Sound of Music) and cafes. I will admit it, I did not eat schnitzel once during my 6 night stay. Why? Yes, I understand that schnitzel is the thing that one HAS to eat while in Austria. But when it comes down to it, schnitzel is still the breaded meat cutlet my mom made at least once a week growing up. It is nothing new, and when you are only in a place for a few days, there are other things to try. I decided to focus my tummy's attention in another area - tortes!

Cafes are a huge part of Viennese culture. Many have been around for decades, perhaps even a century. Freud was known to be a frequent visitor to them. Packed everyday around lunchtime and in the mid-afternoon, the cafes are places where one can get a lunch consisting of tradition Austrian fare or a simple soup, salad, or sandwich. However, the largest draw to the cafes - other than to warm up from the raw fall and winter months - is to enjoy a piece of torte and a coffee from a seemingly endless list of options (many containing a healthy shot of liquor). Many cafes are also open in the evenings, offering mostly the same menu as the afternoon, but while going for a late dessert may be popular in the US, I have found that Europeans prefer to enjoy their sugar intake in the afternoons, leaving the evenings free for the bars.

There are so many cafes to choose from, and so many tortes to try once you settle on a location. However, the torte that Vienna is most known for is the Sacher torte, made famous by the Sacher Hotel next to the Opera House. The torte is a piece of bittersweet chocolate cake with a thin layer on apricot jam, covered in a light shell of chocolate ganache. Every cafe has their own version, but the Sacher Hotel's is the "original". So of course I had to try it!

The Sacher cafe has a pleasant enough atmosphere. Cozy but trendy and more modern than most cafes with its small high top tables and chairs. To be honest, it felt more like a trendy bar in New York than a cafe in Vienna. Regardless, upon sitting my friend and I ordered a slice of the "Original Sacher Torte" from the waitress, without even bothering to open the menu. The waitress had a look in her eyes that clearly read as "here we go, some more tourists". But really, what did she expect? Less than a minute later, a slice of torte came out, accompanied by a small cloud of unsweetened whipped cream.

The whipped cream was the best part.

Never in my life have I tasted a piece of cake so dry. While a decent flavor of dark chocolate and apricot mingled in my tastebuds, the sandpaper texture of cake interrupted any good qualities that taste could have provided. Even our slight tipsyness from alcohol consumed from dinner before did not make it any better. Granted, we arrived around an hour before closing, (just after midnight), but a place that is world famous for a piece of cake should know better than to serve their customers something that tasted like it had been sitting for days.

I should have applied my schnitzel theory to the Sacher torte. It might be world famous, but really, it is just a piece of chocolate cake. And a pretty bad one, at that!

I did not give up all together on Viennese cafes. Determined to find the cafes that make Vienna so special, special enough that all Danish pastries are known as weinerbrod or "vienna bread", I sought out two landmark establishments. Cafe Central and Demel Cafe. It was at these places where I found exactly what I was looking for. These were places that took you back in time, places where a simple pleasure, such as enjoying a coffee or a piece of cake, became something special and even slightly extravagant. The dark wooden bar and the open pastry kitchen at Cafe Demel, and the vaulted, turn-of-the-century celings and live piano player at Cafe Central provided the perfect setting for the perfect, Viennese torte-eating experience. Yes, they did offer their own versions of the Sacher torte, but I did not even bother to try it.

Sometimes, like with weiner schnitzel, you have to order what sounds or looks the best, rather than what the country is known for. Unfortunately, in this case, there are other tortes to try. Your tummy and tastebuds will thank you, I promise.

chocolate hazelnut torte at cafe central. there are at least 9 different layers on this torte. now that takes love!

turn of the century styled cafe central. freud would come here!

watching the pastry chefs at cafe demel

cafe demel, different style than cafe central, but just as delicious!

Munchin' in Munchen

roasted venison, braised red cabbage with chestnuts, and spaetzel (german gnocchi), drowned in a brown sauce

Dinner at Andechser Amdom

beer and pretzel!

Our beer garden adventure!

In a past post, I discussed how surprised I was about the lack of traditional German food in Berlin. Well, after visiting Munich, I can say that every German food fantasy of mine has been fulfilled - with perhaps the exception of a beer wench outfit . . .
While Berlin is a modern city that has fully embraced globalization since the fall of the Berlin wall, Munich has remained closely attached to its Bavarian roots. While Berlin felt like New York City, Munich felt like Europe. A sunny November day allowed locals and tourists alike to see beautiful foliage while sunbathing along the river, sit at the plentiful outdoor cafes, or toast their steins at the beer gardens in Englischer Garten. I knew the moment I stepped outside my hostel that this was my kind of city. After all, I am German!
I had two missions to accomplish in two days. 1: Beer garden with pretzel. 2: Traditional German dinner. Not only did I succeed on both these endeavors, but I also managed to have my first warm sake and all-you-can-eat sushi off a conveyor belt experience! I suppose everyone eventually gets tired of bratwurst. But that's another story.
There are so many beer gardens scattered across the easily walkable city. They range from small to ridiculous - one in particular can seat 8,000 people. Whatever the number, the atmosphere is relaxed, like a huge outdoor coffeehouse. Germans just drink beer like we drink our afternoon cup of joe. While you can get pretty much the same thing at every garden, if it is a nice day I highly recommend heading over to the Englischer Garten. It is an 1000 acre park right in the city and boasts 4 different beer gardens. My friends and I decided to try the Chinesischer Turm beer garden only because it was the closest, but apparently it is also the most famous.
Like the name suggests, the place is decorated like a Chinese garden, which offers a pretty weird contrast with the hundreds of people sitting around it drinking beer out of 2 liter steins and chowing down on pretzels and sausages. Whatever, it was pretty, and I was really more focused on the smell coming from the kiosk in the corner.
The kiosk was set up like an outdoor cafeteria, where you went up with a tray and took your food, or just grabbed one of the beers the workers were constantly pouring, then you went to the exit to pay. I wondered just how many beers each worker must pour each day. All lighter beers, I took the one closest to me and went in search of my pretzel. I found them by the register, dark brown, covered in big flakes of white salt, and larger than my head. Content with both our liquid and solid bread, my friends and I payed and headed over to one of the green tables. The beer was good, the pretzel was delicious. Rock hard on the outside, we thought we had made the mistake of taking a stale one. It was only when we broke it apart that we saw it was a thin and crispy exterior encasing a light and fluffy dough. I now know what the big deal about pretzels is. The beer was nice and went down easy, it was actually more refreshing than anything else. However, Germans like to do this thing where they mix beer and Sprite together. I found it to be like the "girly-light beer". When beer is that tasty, and that easy to drink, why sugar it down with soda? Maybe kids drink it before they graduate to the real stuff? Whatever the case, I do not get it, and I did not like it! Real beer, please! Danke!
In the light of the afternoon, we could see that the trees around us were completely covered in white twinkly lights, and I could only imagine how cozy it must feel at night. Every age range surrounded us, young children running around while the parents relaxed and recouperated, middle aged ladies enjoying a liter after a day of shopping, and old men playing chess or just watching the world go by. As large and as popular as the place was, it was clearly not a place for tourists. This was a place that is just a part of life, but if tourists want to come, the more the merrier.
After all the walking about we did that day, we were fully ready for the German dinner we felt so deprived of on our Berlin trip. By the suggestion of our hostel, we decided to try a restaurant called Andechser Amdom off of Mariansplatz. While trying to find it, we felt a bit worried, because all the surrounding restaurants were completely empty. Where were they leading us? It was only when we heard the soft murmur of chatter coming from down an alley that we realized where everyone was. They were at our destination! I was so excited because clearly Andechser was a local hangout. The inside was cozy with warm colored walls and packed with diners in wooden booths. Reading through the menu over a glass of house dark beer, we knew we were in the right spot.
The food consisted of the usual suspects - 6 sausages with potato salad, schnitzel, spaetzel - but the real draw was the game meats. Rabbit with blueberry sauce, roasted venison, pork chops, all served with sides such as braised cabbage with chestnuts, roasted red wine pears, spaetzel, and brussels sprouts. What made it even better was the prices. A huge, hearty, and good quality meal was so inexpensive, due to the fact that German food is simple and inexpensive fare. Potatoes, cabbage, the tougher cuts of meat - through trial and error Germany has created dishes from relatively boring ingredients that are truly delicious. Yes, it is simple and sometimes not the prettiest thing to look at (let's face it, a dark brown sauce over brown meat is NOT pretty), but it is the simple foods that are often best, and are the most soul-satisfying - especially with a GREAT beer. Although stuffed to the gills with food, we couldn't help but order an exemplary piece of apple strudel for dessert. As the plate was almost licked clean, I enjoyed a moment of reveling in my German heritage glory. We may not make things look fancy, but we sure know how to satisfy and fulfill. Don't believe me? Go to Munich, you'll see.

Travel Weeks!

Hey everyone, I will not be posting for the next two weeks. I will be traveling to Munich, Prague, Vienna, Brussels, Bruges, and Amsterdam! I am sure that I will have A TON of food experiences to share with you all! In the meantime, if there are any recipes that you think I should share with my host family, or any Thanksgiving foods that I should definitely make, tell me by posting them below! Talk to you in a few weeks!

Living Under a Dessert Rock

There is no such thing as a hot fudge sundae in Denmark.

I was shocked. No, I was scandalized. How could the concept of warm, sticky chocolate goo over cold and creamy ice cream, topped with the perfect cloud of whipped cream not exist? Needless to say my future plans involve opening a sundae shop in Copenhagen. I think I will make billions of Danish kroner.

A few weeks later, I was discussing Thanksgiving with my host family. When we got to the topic of dessert, I was disturbed that I had to not only explain what an apple pie is, but also just pies in general. My mom has to send me canned pumpkin and tinfoil pie plates for the holidays, because I have not been able to find either one in grocery stores.

How could Denmark forsake these iconic desserts that we hold so near and dear to our hearts? How could Denmark live without the pastries that we wait for months to devour? How could you, Denmark?!? The fact is that Denmark is too busy enjoying the sweets that are nearly impossible to find in the US. After sampling marzipan pastries from my local bakery, and layer kage from a Copenhagen Institution, my only question is this: How could we, America? How could we?!?

While lacking in the pies and sundaes department, Denmark certainly makes up for it with its tarts and kages (cakes). While fruit and cream fillings tend to dominate American pies and tarts, the star ingredient in Danish tarts is marzipan. Marzipan is a brown, sugared almond paste, and Danish bakers have mastered the art of this confection with its application to almost every type of sweet Denmark has to offer. It is in chocolate bars, it is stuffed in dates at Christmastime, it is dyed pretty colors, and it is the filling for the best tart I have ever had.

Every Friday is kage day at my house. My host family has the whole extended family over to eat, laugh, and catch up on each other’s week. When I came home from school one Friday, there was a marzipan tart sitting on the dining room table. A perfectly buttery tart crust was filled with the almond paste, topped with honey-glazed hazelnuts and almonds, and generously drizzled with a dark chocolate ganache. It had the perfect amount of sweetness, balanced with the savory nuts and the slight bitterness of the dark chocolate. As I cut into my third piece, I wondered why this tart, or just marzipan is not available in almost any bakery in America.

Besides the tart, all other round dessert substances are put into the general category of kage. The most popular type in Denmark is the specialty cream kage, where layers of different types of mousses are stacked on top of each other in impressive numbers. You can buy these layer cakes at almost any Conditori, but the one place you have to go to is La Glace.

La Glace is a Copenhagen Institution. Established in 1870, six generations have been making the most delicious cakes I have ever tried. My host grandmother remembers enjoying a slice in the late 19th century – styled dining room when she was a little girl. Looking at the menu, you have a choice of several different layer cakes named after famous Danes or monuments such as H.C. Andersen, Karen Blixen, or Det Gyldne Tårn (The Golden Tower). While I wanted a slice of everything, for my first visit I had to have what La Glace is know for: the Sportskage.

The Sports Cake is named after the Danish play “Sports Man”, which premiered in November 1891 in Copenhagen. When my slice was placed in front of me, I saw how little it resembled the cakes I am so used to eating at home. On top of a thin, macaroon bottom where the cake should have been was a huge dome of cream full of crushed nougat, topped with an “icing” of delicate whipped cream. Finished with little balls of caramelized choux pastry, - - the pastry used in éclairs - - the kage was rich, sweet, and obviously creamy, yet magically still light and not too filling. The last bite was emotionally on par with my first goldfish dying. La Glace redefined my idea of what a cake should be. Why have essentially sweet vanilla or chocolate bread when you could have nougat and whipped cream? I suppose everyone has their own opinion, but I was ecstatic to learn that my host family gets all their birthday cakes from La Glace. Another slice of heaven, here I come!

Of course I still think it is crazy that hot fudge sundaes are not available on every block, especially in a country that has the highest yearly consumption of ice cream in Europe. Of course I am going to miss my easy access to a slice of homemade pie this year. When you travel, although you might miss the foods from home, you can find acts of culinary genius that you could never dream of. So is it really Denmark that has been living under the dessert rock, or is it us?

Germany: Beyond the Bratwurst and Schnitzel

Some traditional Turkish food from Hasir

quarkinis!

For the past week, I have been traveling in Dresden, Weimar, and Berlin. Hence, no posts. But now I'm back, relatively well-rested and eager to procrastinate midterms by telling you all about my German food adventures!

To my surprise, I had very little traditional German food during the week. Bratwurst, schnitzel (a thin breaded pork/veal cutlet, usually served with a brown sauce) spaetzel, (potato dumplings similar to gnocchi), and cabbages of all preparations was the focus of only one group meal, our last lunch at a traditional German brewery (beer wenches and all!). Perhaps it is different in Munich, home of Oktoberfest, but I found in the cities I visited a certain international food culture, not so different from Copenhagen's.

It is times like these when globalization makes me cringe ever-so-slightly. In Dresden, while the city squares had a number of small cafes where one could sit and enjoy a cafe latte, you cannot help but notice the Starbucks, McDonalds, and an absurdly large amount of Dunkin Donuts wedging theirselves in between. Hurrah for competition, it makes coffee less than the $8USD it costs in Copenhagen, but it seems to be interrupting a more relaxed lifestyle with an American obsession of being on top.

Slightly saddened by seeing the bits of home I do not particularly care for, I was still able to sniff out many tasty, and not so tasty treats - especially from the Dresden street vendors. For instance, Belgium Waffles. But not just any old Belgium waffle - Belgium waffles on a stick. Forget the corndog, the kebab, the waffle has taken over. Long, thin pieces of waffle dipped in your sauce of choice, (chocolate seemed to be the most popular) and handed to you to devour, on a stick. It's genius. Waffles could hardly be street food otherwise, Europeans would need a knife and fork to cut it! Someone needs to start selling these in Manhattan, ASAP.

Another discovery - the quarkini (sp?). Is it German? I have absolutely no idea. All I know is that a few hours before dinner some of my friends were starving, and outside this large bakery a woman had a cart with this large pile of these kind of depressing dark brown fried balls dusted in sugar. Caring more about the price (5 for a euro) than the actually taste, they bought a bag. I preface this by saying that I normally find donuts to be a disapointing waste of calories. However, upon taking a bite, these sad little brown balls instantly turned into warm, perfectly fried and sweet spheres of deliciousness. It was the type of donut that makes you realize why people love them so much in the first place. Needless to say that now every donut back in the US is going to be even more disapointing than ever before. Maybe that is a good thing.

Moving away from the sweets, it was also in Dresden that I had my first Bratwurst encounter. Bratwurst, like the New York hot dog, are sold on almost every corner by small vendors run by some of the nicest people I have ever met. Of course we all know that a large sausage in a bun is delicious, it was at this stand where I had my first not-so-pleasant food encounter. Actually, it was a drink. Called grog. Seeing it on the menu on the side of the cart, my inner foodie/alcoholic kicked in and wanted to see just what street-vendor grog was. For a euro, why not? I did not realize exactly what I was getting myself into. Grog is like a hot cup of tea. Except instead of a tea bag, there is a lot of really, really cheap rum. That is right: hot water and REALLY cheap rum, with milk and sugar to your own liking. I think you can judge how it was by my face. Natural reaction, by the way. I should have known better, but hey, it is all a part of the experience, right?

grog is not pleasant

As we were only in Weimar for less than a day, I can't really comment too much on the food culture. However, Weimar has a beautiful international small cafe atmosphere. German bakeries are aplenty, as well as many French and Italian cafes. Bratwurst carts are also widely available, and many outdoor cafes are full of people enjoying an afternoon cup of coffee or beer. I was reminded of a more traditional European lifestyle than in Dresden or Berlin. Weimar, where the likes of Bach and Goethe studied, still maintains that classical academic culture, and remains largely untouched by America's capitolistic modernity.

So it was quite the shocker the next day when we pulled into Berlin. Driving through the streets on our bus, I immediately thought of New York. Each block seemed to be it's own neighborhood, complete with everything you need: the bodega, the hair salon, the liquor store, a fast food joint of choice, and perhaps a restaurant or two. Our hotel was right in the heart of the city, Times Square, if you will. Of course, like Times Square, this area was probably my least favorite part of the city. Too many people, and lots of mediocre chain food joints. Berlin is a city with so much modern history, and much of that includes adoption of western culture. Besides some Baroque-syle museums and several holocaust memorials - the city looks extremely American.

Like most cities, if you want to find the good food, you have to leave the main touristy place and explore the neighborhoods, espeicially those with a strong cultural foundation. In New York, you have Chinatown and Little Italy. In Berlin, you have Little Istanbul. Turks make up the largest immigrant population in Berlin, as in the 1960's, the German government invited them to come as "guest workers", or essentially to do the work that nobody wanted to do. Germany fully intended on sending the workers home, but of course that never works out, and the Turkish population in Germany flourished. Not only did they bring a new international culture to Berlin, they also brought their fabulous food. One afternoon, we were treated to a four course traditional Turkish lunch at Hasir restaurant in Little Istanbul. By the end, we nearly had to be rolled out of the restaurant.

The Turkish food I sampled was extremely similiar, if not almost identical to Greek food. Turkey and Greece are close with similar geography, so I suppose why not? We started with a bread similar in taste to naan baked in the oven at an extremely high heat so that it puffed up and resembled a disformed football. The bread was served with a variety of spreads including babaganoush, hummus, a tomato chutney, and feta, stuffed grapeleaves, lamb meatballs, haloumi cheese wrapped in phyllo and fried, and my particular favorite, fava beans marinated in tomato and many spices. Thinking this feast was lunch, we promptly stuffed our faces, only to realize that this was course 1 of 4. Then came the salad, then the lamb kebab, the ground lamb and spices, and the grilled vegetables. We ended with a dessert sampler of a custard topped with cinnamon that resembled Spanish flan and a pastry similar to baklava but a grain with the texture of shredded wheat replacing the phyllo. It was all delicious.

Walking around Little Istanbul and some of the other neighborhoods in Berlin made me realize that Germany is not all about the meat and potatoes, like I had previously thought. Bratwurst and schnitzel are delicious, but they are not the dominant foods in Berlin and are not all that Germany has to offer. Berlin is such an international city, partly because of its immigrants, but mostly because of its division after WWII. Not just East and West, but between four other countries: The Soviet Union, the US, France, and Britain. Each country brought their own ideas, influences, and of course food to the city, giving it true multicultural flair.

So what is, if any, traditional German food culture in Berlin? Just find a man carrying the large basket of pretzels, or grab a bratwurst at 1am after a few too many beers! I promise your German food cravings will be satisfied.

The Microbrewery Culture in Copenhagen

Walking through the streets of Copenhagen, it is easy to note that the city has a definite beer culture. Between all the cafes, the drinking in the streets, the Carlsburg ads that are as common as our own Coca Cola, Denmark is all about the beer. However, like leggings, beer is something that has come, gone, and just recently made a comeback.

According to my host father, before the 1980's, almost everyone in Denmark drank beer exclusively. This was due to the fact that it was really the only alcoholic drink readily available (besides schnapps, of course!). By the 80's, Denmark started importing wines from nearby France and Italy, as well as a few from the newly famous California Napa Valley. Thus the rødvin revolution began. Not only did Danes love drinking their imported cabernet, chianti, and burgundy, they began to experiment on their own, either on small vineyards of their own or in the comfort of their home basements. My host mother recalled the time with a smile, remembering how one glass of the rødvin her family made would give them all borderline migranes the following day. Some vineyards are still active in Denmark today, and their products are sold in stores and even at the 2 Michelin star restaurant Noma, but I think most prefer to stick with the foreign stuff.

While red and white wine are readily available in every grocery store in Copenhagen (and I certainly have taken advantage of this many times!) in the 1990's, Denmark began shifting back to beer culture with the introduction of several microbreweries popping up all over the city. The concept of the microbrewery is a place where artisinal beers are created in small batches (thus, micro) and are sold either on the premises or in a few local shops. Microbreweries are also often cafes or restaurants, where the food is not only prepared with the local beer, but also perfectly paired with a large glass of it. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual, but the meal, especially at Norrebro Bryghus, is quite gourmet.

Last weekend my host family treated me and two friends to a spectacular 3 course dinner and beer menu. Three different courses, four different beers. While the food was delicious - garlic soup with chanterelles and wild berries, cockerel (rooster) with a sauce of reduced beer and plum with a side of potatoes in a spinach-cream sauce, and a lovely aebler kage (apple cake!) for dessert - let's not kid ourselves. It was all about the beer.

We sampled four in-house beers, each specifically described by the waitress in her best English (she was a real trooper with us!). The first three went in an order from a light pilsner to a darker ale, and finished with a sweeter ale that tasted strongly of raspberry iced tea (not my favorite). Before each new beer, we all raised our glasses and cried "skol!" toasting the beer, the company, and the overall hygge nature of the evening. I was surprised by how much like wine tasting this was. It wasn't like sipping any old Carlsburg out of a can. Each beer had a distinct smell full of nuances of grains, fruits, honey, and spices. The tastes were extraordinarily complex, and even as I got more and more drunk, I could still feel the level of carbonation, and the different elements of sweet and bitter roll over my tongue, then suddenly change completely as it went down my throat. From all the college and frat parties I have witnessed, who knew that beer could be such an artform?

Needless to say, after 4 large glasses of beer, we were all ready (including my host parents) to head home for the night. As my friend and I began our journey home, I knew exactly why the microbrewery has become such a popular component to Danish beer culture. I felt as though I had a gastronmic experience of a lifetime, yet it had been such a casual and relaxed evening. A simple pleasure, like a good beer with friends, is one of those timeless activities that results in the ultimate feeling of comfort. I felt well-fed and completely content - until I realized we had got on the wrong bus!

Here are descriptions of the beers we sampled from Norrebro Bryghus:

Çeske Böhmer - A very classic 5.0 % ABV Pilsner type beer inspired by the way this is brewed in Bohemia. Brewed exclusively from Bohemian lager malt and Saazer hops this beer is clear, light coloured and crisp. Medium bodied with soft, smooth bitterness, distinctive malty taste, and an elegant spicy, hoppy aroma.

Brugge Blonde – This Blonde Ale is brewed in the Belgian abbey-style. It is a pale golden beer of 6,5 % ABV with a distinct spicy aroma owing to the special yeast strain, the use of honey as well as the spices added - lemon peel and grains of paradise. The taste is full, bittersweet and complex, finishing with a gentle warming sensation that lingers in the mouth.

Ravnsborg Rød - A version of the classic British Amber or Red Ale. Reddish brown, smooth, round and full bodied with 5.5 % ABV. Dense malt character mixed with intense fruity and aromatic aromas. The taste is dominated by the fruitiness supplemented by spicy notes of Amarillo hops. Soft bitterness and a slightly sweet, creamy finish.

Furesø Framboise – a filtered Belgian wheat beer 5.3 % ABV, added raspberry in the last days of maturing. With a low sugar level and fair amounts of acidity it is dry and bubbly fresh. Light pink in colour with a distinct scent and taste of raspberries it is a clear cut winner for the more sensitive mouthes.

pictures are to come, i promise!

Lunch at a Smoresbrod Institution

Smoresbrod (or Danish open-faced sandwiches) can be found at any café on every corner in Copenhagen, oftentimes displayed in the window, inviting you to come and devour. However, one place in particular, or I should say, one woman in particular is known for having the best smoresbrod in all of Denmark. Her name is Ida Davidsen, and the other week I had the pleasure of being placed in her capable hands for a lunch I will never forget.

Ida Davidsen is like the Ina Garten of Denmark. Warm, friendly, and inviting, she has been featured not only on the Food Network, but also the Travel Channel, and Gourmet Magazine, just to name a few. She is known as the “Queen of Smoresbrod”, as she takes the sandwich to a whole new level with her seemingly endless combinations of toppings from the best and freshest ingredients. She takes great pride in what she does, and she wants you to get as excited about food as she is.

So walking into her restaurant with my friend Caroline on a Monday afternoon, I should not have been surprised to her behind the counter, in her trademark crisp, white dress, eagerly pointing out the ingredients on every displayed sandwich (there were about a hundred of them) to a mix of regular and clearly tourist customers. But I was surprised. I have been lucky enough to eat at several celebrity chef restaurants, but not once have I seen any of them presiding over the place that made them so famous. Ida ran back and forth between the kitchen where the sandwiches were prepared fresh, and the counter, making sure that every customer was well taken care of. Perhaps that is the difference. While celebrity chefs cash in on US capitalism by hopping around to their three or four restaurants, keeping to the kitchen to check on the food they no longer prepare themselves, Ida has one restaurant that she continually perfects not only with delicious food, but stellar customer service.

Approaching the counter of never-ending smoresbrod, I certainly felt like the overwhelmed American tourist. There were no signs explaining the ingredients, and EVERYTHING looked absolutely divine. After staring hopelessly for a few seconds, Ida popped over with a huge smile and welcomed us, telling us how we had to order a fish sandwich, then a meat sandwich. We had no qualms with that! She then went on to explain every sandwich in the case, each with a slightly different tone of affection. Sandwiches with everything from herring, salmon, caviar, beef, egg, fried onions – I knew no matter what I chose it would be good. Casually I asked Ida which one was her favorite. She looked at me as though I had asked her to pick her favorite child. Then she responded, “my dear, I love them all!”

In the end I opted for a smoresbrod with small Danish shrimp that were in season, topped with asparagus and a cream sauce that was lightly broiled until the top was brown and nutty. My friend chose a smoked salmon and wasabi cream roulade of sorts, topped with a healthy amount of salmon roe. As we oohed and aahed over our meal, we wondered how we would fit another meat-based sandwich into our bellies. We were feeling pretty satisfied. However, when our second plates were placed down a few minutes later, we knew that we would have no problem.

My second sandwich consisted of the most perfect combination of rugbrod, medium-rare roast beef, house-pickled vegetables, and a perfectly fried egg on top, with the yolk just begging to be poked. The richness of the egg and steak with the acid and slight sweetness of the vegetables, all on top of the perfect base of hearty rugbrod – my mouth was in absolute taste bud heaven. I have never tasted such complexity in a sandwich before. Words were just not good enough to descibe what we were eating, so Caroline, who had a similar sandwich topped with fried onions, and I just stared at each other, seriously nodding our heads with furrowed brow, before tucking into our plates with complete and utter silence.

my second sandwich. yum!

After coming extremely close to licking our plates clean, Ida came over to our table, like she does with everyone, and asked us if we were enjoying our meal. We told her how delicious it was and how much we had been looking forward to coming to her restaurant. She laughed, and hugged us both. Danish Ina Garten hugged me! Needless to say we both floated out of the restaurant on a food-coma cloud. Not only were we ridiculously well fed, we were nourished, body and soul. I believe that is the whole point behind smoresbrod. Not only does it nourish the average Dane everyday of the week, it can also show Danish hospitality at its finest.

me and ida davidsen!

The things they do have . . .

So many posts in one day! Having been here for a month already though, I feel as though there's a lot to catch my possible 2 readers up on! (plus procrastinating art history homework is fun). In my last post, I droned on and on about the things Denmark does not have, and there's a lot more than what I said - but those were the ones most important to me. However, there is so much that Denmark has to offer in terms of food, and of course I'm going to share them with you!

BREAD - In the past 4 weeks, I think I have eaten more bread than I have in the past 4 years. And I mean that in the best possible way. The most common bread eaten here is rugbrod, translated to rye-bread. It's an extremely hearty, help-you-poop kind of bread that comes in a regular bread-like form, as well as a more cake-like consistency with lots of large grains and seeds. It's the base for most smoresbrod, or Danish open faced sandwiches. Most sandwiches are open faced here, because Europeans eat everything with a knife and fork. Everything. In fact, I learned that Europeans consider Americans to be childish because we put our knife down while we eat. Knife and fork should always remain in either hand, thus if you're right-handed, better learn raise your fork with your left, because you'll need your right to cut! Even a cheeseburger is eaten with a knife and fork.
Pardon the tangent. Anyway, rugbrod. I was trying to figure out what it tasted like, because it seemed so familiar. One day I tried it warm with a bit of honey spread on it, and BOOM. It hit me! Boston brown bread! You know, bread in a can. Every kid in Massachusetts grows up eating the stuff. The only difference is that rugbrod is not sweet, as there's no molasses or raisins added to it. But at the end of the day, they're both breads made with rye. No wonder I liked it so much!
In Copenhagen, there are bakeries almost on every corner. You can buy bread at the grocery store, like you do in the US, but why would you? Every bakery is clearly marked with the same golden pretzel topped with a crown (I call it the royal pretzel of goodness). There you can find freshly baked bread of all varieties, baguettes, sourdough, and of course weinerbrod, literally translated to "vienna bread" or in other words, PASTRY. I've never liked American danishes. They were something to be passed by in favor of the donuts at any breakfast buffet. Not here. Not ever. In Denmark, a danish is a delicate pastry where in each bite you can taste every sweet, flaky layer that was carefully crafted with lots of love and butter by each individual baker. Think slightly denser than a crossiant, with the perfect amount of that simple and wonderful confectionary sugar glaze laced across the top. They are exceptional, and with the 12 kr. daily special at the bakery around the corner from my school (DIS), I am officially hooked.

LEVERPOSTEJ: huh? In every butcher or grocery store, you will see multiple aluminum pans filled with this meatloaf looking concoction. In fact, that is originally what I thought it was. And it is - kind of. It's essentially country pate, made with your liver of choice, and Danes go gaga for it. It is a common ingredient found on your basic smoresbrod, smeared with a small amount of butter, and perhaps some cheese or a fruit spread. It's pretty good too, but I would recommend getting it from the local butcher, like my family does, where it's made fresh.

LAKRIDS: When Danes travel, they often wonder why they cannot find this particular candy in any other country. It is because you only love it if you are Danish, or perhaps a very distinct palate. Lakrids is licorice candy. I do not like licorice to begin with, so I was in trouble from the start. Lakrids is not like pull-n-peel, it is the black stuff, often covered in some gummy concoction, bad chocolate, or this very spicy and salty coating (which I think actually tastes the best). Most of the candy aisle in a grocery store is dominated by different sized bags filled with lakrids of every color, size, and shape - but it's all Danish to me!

POTATOES: yeah, I know we have potatoes in the US, and we have all different kinds of potatoes. But we don't have DANISH potatoes, and we're missing out. There small, perfect potaotes are similar to a new potato, something you use for boiling or a potato salad, but they're so much better. They're creamy, they're slightly sweet, and they have made this foodie a potato convert.

BEER: Again, America has beer. But you have to go to New Orleans to drink it legally in the street!! So I was more than pleasantly surprised that I could carry a bottle or can of beer not only through the street, but on public transportation, the royal botanical gardens, or pretty much any damn place I pleased! There are two main types of beer local to Denmark, and they are Carlsburg and Tuborg. I'm a Carlsburg girl personally, and I'm looking forward to visiting the brewery just outside the city in the coming weeks. Beer is everywhere, and it's advirtised like we advirtise Coca Cola. Everything is sponsered by Carlsburg - showing the different attitude that Europeans have towards alcohol. Copenhagen is also known for its microbrewery culture, where artisinal beers are made and enjoyed in small batches.
Alcohol, while still used by some to get drunk, is more something to be enjoyed with friends, or with food. Alcohol is "hygge" essentially the Danish word for what you believe to be "cozy". This attitude is clearly shown through the hundreds of cafes located throughout the city, all with outdoor tables with blankets hung over each chair, in case you get chilly. It is there that at 2 or 3 in the afternoon on any day (let's pick Tuesday) you will see adults of all ages sitting together enjoying a beer after work (they finish much earlier than Americans do). The atmosphere is so relaxed and chill, with so many people enjoying their time with friends or the remaining days of good weather. Life is something to be lived and enjoyed, not something to be constantly stressed over - and beer is a nice component to this!

HERRING: Alright, here we go, the infamous herring. It's not bad. It's actually quite good, depending on how you serve it. Since I have been here, I have had it a few different ways, marinated in a few different sauces, and smoked. Of the marinated variety, I have had it in remoulade, a mayonaisse-based sauce, and in a red wine vinegar sauce, sweetened with sugar. The herring was then served like a smoked salmon platter, with capers, onions, greens, tomato, and of course, rugbrod. While I'm not a huge fan of mayo, I found the remoulade to have a nice kick with the pickling flavor added to it. I definitely preferred the vinegar sauce - spread on the rugbrod with capers and a bit of onion, the bright and fresh flavors and the hearty base of bread played nicely with the fishy taste of the herring. Smoked herring was quite similar to smoked salmon, except that it is white and has a more fishy and salty taste, rather than the slight sweetness that you get from the salmon. Either way, I think this Danish staple is worth trying, and I look forward to having again throughout the school year.

CHEESE: Danish cheese is delicious. Having worked in a small cheese store over the summer, I became familiar with about 60 different types of cheese from all over the world. We didn't; however, carry any Danish cheeses. The typical cheese that I have had is similar to a swiss, with almost the flavor of a gruyere but much softer. Some have been more similar to a gouda, which is a cheese that's very popular here. Something that I have really been enjoying though is Danish feta, which has the flavor of a typical French or Greek feta, but has more the consistency of a mozzarella or softer cheese. It is definitely not crumbly like what we imagine feta to be. I also like how they pronounce it "feeta" here!

More to come in the future - now I really should do that art history. Ohhhh liberal arts. Blargh.

Grocery Shopping in Copenhagen

Living in the US, you become so used to having every single ingredient at your fingertips. We walk into Whole Foods with our latest Bobby Flay or Ina Garten recipe, and fully expect to find every friggin' chili Mr. Flay uses or that $30/pound fish that the Barefoot Contessa made to look so delectable. We completely take our all-access-foodpass for granted, and it takes a trip to a foreign country to make you fully appreciate it.

That is not to say that Copenhagen grocery stores have no variety. I learned from my host family that over the past 5 years, grocery stores have been acquiring more international produce and spices, as well as better quality meats and dry goods. The problem is, of course, the price. Denmark has EXTREMELY high taxes, which includes a 25% sales tax on all groceries. Add that onto an import tax and yeah, that American brand of peanut butter doesn't sound too appetizing anymore. To show you just how lucky we are, here are some ingredients we absolutely take for granted, that you just don't exist in wonderful wonderful Copenhagen.

CHOCOLATE CHIPS - Yeah. I met an American woman at my host brother's softball game (they all play softball here, not baseball - it's hilarious seeing boys seriously pitch underhand). She had made chocolate chip cookies for the team, and it was a BIG DEAL. She told me that she had the chips imported from her family in the states. I was dumbfounded. Chocolate chip cookies are such a staple in the US, not only can you buy chocolate chips in any gas station, you can pick up a box at any store on your way to any event. It's incredible how something so common in one country isn't even considered in another. Needless to say I'll be breaking up a lot of chocolate bars this year!

MEXICAN INGREDIENTS - It would be really funny watching Bobby Flay trying to cook here. In a Danish grocery store throwdown, he would fall flat. The only chili I have seen here are of the thai variety, the small, long and thin ones. Jalepenos, serranos, poblanos, habeneros, forget about it. You want salsa verde? You're out of luck, cause there's no such thing as a tomatillo. Jack cheese? I think cheddar's a nice substitute, don't you? However, I was surprised and delighted to find taco shells and flour tortillas, so I was able to prepare my mom's bastardized burritos from a 1980's Bon Appetit, a recipe from before America began importing the Mexican ingredients we use today. When I told my family I was making burritos for dinner, they looked at me quizzically, until I showed them the tortillas, and they happily exclaimed, "oh! pancakes!" They were amazed by the concept of these rolled concoctions, and even more so when I placed a bowl of quac next to them (they do have avocados, but they use them mainly for slicing on top of a mixed salad). I'll post the recipe at the end of this entry, because they are absolutely delicious!

KEY THANKSGIVING INGREDIENTS: This is understandable, as obviously the Danes don't celebrate Thanksgiving. However, having an American in their home, my family wants a full out, Thanksgiving feast. Of course how can I say no? This means that my mom is going to have to send me quite a few things, as cranberry sauce (let's not kid ourselves, the canned is the best), canned pumpkin, large bags of pecans, corn syrup, and condensed milk are just a few of the things not available in Danish grocery stores. It will be an interesting holiday!

FISH COUNTER: Although inconvient, you have to admit that going to the fishmonger is so much better than the sometimes dismal fish counter at your local grocery.

JARRED ROASTED RED PEPPERS: You do it yourself. Again, just a little inconvient, but not that big of a deal.

GUM: My host mother went to Stockholm for the weekend and came back with a giant package of Wrigley's Doublemint gum. Everyone was psyched, except me. Wrigley's Doublemint? That shit loses it's flavor in like, 2 seconds! In the US, gum is such a huge market, with new brands claiming better and longer flavor coming out monthly. In Denmark, I believe there's Bubblicious, and something with liquorice around it, but that's it. I know what's going to be in my first care package!

STOCK IN A BOX - In the US, we have almost an entire aisle dedicated to those quart-size cardboard boxes containing every animal or veggie stock known to man. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, lobster - you name it, it's there, with every sodium level and your choice of about 20 different brands. Heck, even Rachael Ray sells stock in a box. Not in Denmark! I was sick with a cold last week, and all I wanted was a huge bowl of chicken soup. When I couldn't find my chicken stock, I asked my family if they knew about stock in a box. After several weird looks, a look of recognition crossed over my host mother's face, and she immediately went to the fridge and pulled out a vanila extract sized bottle of this gelatinous brown mush. Liquid bouillon. A few ml per liter and you're all set! . . . *sob.
After immediately emailing my mom to send me as many cartons of stock she could fit in a package, I thought about how I probably shouldn't be judging. I mean, how much different is an organic bouillon from some stock that sits in a cardboard box for months on end? Stock in a box certainly looks better, but flavor wise, is it all that different? I'll have to make soup one day and let you know. However, my contemplation about stock in a box made me realize that perhaps if I am the foodie I claim to be, maybe I should start making chicken stock from scratch. Maybe.

VARIETY IN GENERAL (especially snack foods): In the US, we're used to having 50 brands of potato chips, hundreds of types of the same sugar cookie, juices, soups, pastas - the list goes on. A grocery store is where you can see American capitalism and competition at its finest. In Denmark, there is ONE peanut butter. There is ONE brand of milk. There are maybe 3 different types of potato chips, plus some very pricey Pringles. Without any huge marketing competition, there isn't the same obsession with the high fat and salt content snack foods that we have. As a society we constantly change our eating habits based on what the latest product or diet tells us to consume. 100 calorie snack packs? I think any Dane would laugh at you if you pulled one of those out of your purse. If Danes want a snack, they pull out a piece of rye bread and cheese, or maybe a small ice cream cone on their way home from work. If you're hungry, you eat something until you are happily satisfied, not worrying about how many points or net carbs it was. Snacks are kept to a few simple, but good ingredients that nourish your body, not alleviate it for the next 1/2 hour. We wonder why Europeans aren't fat from all the cream and butter they eat, or the amount of beer they consume - well my friends, that's why.

So yeah, shopping can be a downright pain in the ass if you go in with your heart set on making something specific. The key is to put down that latest food network recipe and check out what's there, what's fresh, and what's going to nourish.

Here's the Deal . . .

Welcome to this foodie's blog that hopefully will not fail due to my own laziness!

My name is Beth, I'm 20 years old and I'm studying abroad for the year in Copenhagen, Denmark. Of course, if you know anything about food, you might wonder, "Why Copenhagen? Why not those European countries known by most only for the delicious plates of food they produce?" Well, as a liberal arts college student, proper training in French, Italian, or Spanish was a must, so with my six years of Latin, my list of options was significantly reduced. Being a liberal arts student also makes any study related to food deemed "pre-professional", so all culinary programs were out of the question. So after reading an article in Food & Wine magazine about Copenhagen being the #3 food city in the world - I decided to give it a go.

I've been in Copenhagen for exactly 4 weeks. I'm living with a host family just north of the city. Perhaps it's because my expectations were so low, or maybe Food & Wine was right, but everything I have eaten here has been absolutely delicious - yes, including the herring. That is not to say that have not hit any bumps in the road, especially on my own excursions to make a meal here. So here's the menu. My way of sharing my abroading experience with you is going to be through the food and drink culture of Europe, my own cooking excursions in a kitchen with celcius instead of fahrenheit, kilos instead of pounds, and a convection oven rather than conventional, and for dessert, perhaps a few things I learn along the way. Sound good? Let's get eating!