very good food

“Let me know the day you’re ready for Gagnaire… I’ll join too”, this is what Laurent wrote to me months ago and by that the first very good food / Gatros on Tour epicurious date saw light.

Laurent discovered my very good food blog, when he was searching for some information about noma prior to his first visit to the restaurant. Laurent also wrote about his Fat Duck experience on the blog, which made me realise that I had to try Mr. Heston Blumenthal’s innovative and unique cooking. Together with noma, Fat Duck is to date my number one dining experience. Both restaurants have a unique personality and serves distinct and impressive food with an enormous and a smitten enthusiasm and I’m unable to put one above the other.

With our same taste in restaurants, I thought I must try Laurent’s favourite Parisian restaurant Pierre Gagnaire and we set the date to April second - code name PG0204. Each of us have reviewed our lunch and I am grateful that Laurent had the patience to wait with publishing his PG0204 review until I had finished mine. We have shared the photos so you will see identical pictures in both posts.

By the way, Laurent did suggest other less expensive places for our lunch, but I was determined that Pierre Gagnaire would have the unique personality and would be the right place for my very first fancy meal in Paris. I had been to Paris a few times before and looking back, the forgettable meals and gross disappointment at the oldest restaurant in town sort of seeded my idea for this blog - I wanted to share my very good restaurant experiences, so that people would not make the same mistakes as I did. Life is too short for bad meals, you see.

Anyway, early morning on April 2nd I flew in from Copenhagen, taxied to my hotel and changed clothes in the tiny bathroom of the hotel basement, because my room was not yet available. Like any other woman with just a little bit of vanity, I had pondered about what clothes I would wear for such an important occasion. I had concluded that my brown Helen Mirren dress with the matching shoes and black Wolfords would be appropriate for my lunch in one of the world’s finest restaurants. OMG, I could hardly believe that I was just about to really experience a three star Michelin restaurant in Paris - I expected the quintessence of fine dining, no more no less.

I took a taxi from the hotel and tried to calm myself down and enjoy the view of the Tuillerie Gardens, Les Champs Elysées and the other beautiful and historic attractions I passed by on the way to 6 Rue Balzac. The excitement was about to take control of my being.

Our appointment was at 12:15 and I was fashionably 5-10 minutes late when I finally shook hands with Laurent V of Gastros on Tour. He was waiting for me in the lounge that you enter before you reach the dining room.

The Pierre Gagnaire restaurant is actually situated in the Hotel Balzac so the loos for example are part of the hotel building. I’m not 100% sure why it is so, but there’s something about hotels and luxurious restaurants that I do not like so much. I prefer independent restaurants. Sometimes there can be a slight worn-ness about the interior and the bathrooms in such hotel restaurants, which also was the case there.

We got seated at the little plateau at the back end of the exclusive and carpet-flooring accommodation and amused ourselves with a glass of Henry Giraud, cuvée “Esprit”, N.V. offering a nose full of complexity and sophistication reflected also in the rich and balanced taste that was weak on acidity. I loved this champagne and it’s fine tiny bubbles.

We well-conductedly studied the menus but quickly agreed that 255€ tasting menu was the only choice to fully get the sense and impression of Mr. Pierre Gagnaire’s highly esteemed restaurant, which is in the top 5 of most restaurant guides of the world.

The appetizers arrived immediately:

The atmosphere at Pierre Gagnaire is very elegant and fashionable but in a cool way, I would say. There was very much a business feeling to it although some of the other guests surely were not at work, or seemed not to be, that is.

To drink we ordered a 2001 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet which of course was very nice but didn’t really reach the level of what I have encountered with the 2004 ones, ironically because I tend to say that the acidity of 2004 is a bit to racy sometimes (same producer). This 2001 one was delicate in taste and eveolved during our meal. But is never became as powerful and with the character I usually find in them.

About the wine list, for a *** Michelin restaurant I would consider the list shortish and the white Burgundy section only counted about 15 different ones covering village to grand cru - as far as I remember.

Le menu Printemps /01/

Pressé de tourteau, gelée d’agrumes à l’aneth.
Aiguilles de raie, chaud-froid d’huile d’olive foisonnée au miel du désert des Agriates.
Abricots secs et navets croquants déglacés de cidre fermier.

The first dish comprised a really nice, pressed hermit crab and citrus fruit jelly with dill, turnip and dried apricots. I particularly liked the green jelly even though is nearly was too intense for balancing the sweet crab meat. Very good.

Blanc de Saint Pierre raidi dans un beurre mousseux estragon et piment d’Espelette ; coeur de tomate, rouelles croustillantes d’oignon doux. Salade d’encornets en fond d’assiette ; sirop de rhubarbe acidulé.

This is the most delicious John Dory fish I have ever had judged by the quality and the preparation. The dish as such was quite classic though, but balanced in taste with the fried onion rings.

Mousseline de sandre : fèves, petits pois et lard fumé.
Blette en paquet, choux coeur de boeuf, sauce Poulette.
Grenouilles meunière enrobées d’une fine polenta au colombo, ail des ours.

A very interesting, creative and delicious dish, mild in taste but with a earthiness to it. In the cup were delicious peas, and now trying to translate the menu I realise that I was eating frog, but it was very good. It’s actually very difficult to describe what I liked about this dish as I was kind of eating blindfolded not knowing was I was eating. I’m sorry I didn’t have an English menu to my aid.

Homard bleu au gingembre frais ; crème de grenailles de Noirmoutier au Pineau des Charentes, cassée du jus de carcasse.

This was a lovely lobster and lobster-shellfish juice but sadly accompanied by rice that gave a heaviness to the dish that was completely unnecessary and took away some of the delicate characteristics about the lobster. I could see the point in the beautiful look of the dish kept in white and orange/red colours, however.

Glace d’asperge blanche à la cardamome ; velouté clair de concombre, olives vertes de Lucques, mangue du Vietnam. Ventrèche crémeuse de thon blanc.

I loved the look of this serving. It’s brilliantly capturing the grooves of the tuna piece and the golden stripes of the plate like the green colour matched the soup. But the taste of the dish didn’t become me that well. I’m not so fond of cooked tuna and cucumber soup. I prefer raw tuna. But from a quality point of view it was top. I think perhaps the dish as such lacked a bit of sweetness.

At this point we were kindly offered to visit the very small kitchen considering the size of the restaurant. Wow! This was a fantastic experience for me. While Laurent spoke with head chef Michel Nave and I understood nothing, I shot as many photos as I could for the approximately five minutes we were there. I’ll let the images do the talking here.

Head Chef Michel Nave

Poêlée de rouget de roche au vadouvan, huître Gillardeau et coquillages du moment. Artichauts poivrades croquants, dés de lisette et jus de bouillabaisse en assaisonnement.

This oyster dish was the highlight of the meal and it’s a candidate for the meal of my life if I should ever compose one from all my lovely dining adventures. I don’t know how to described to give it full credit for it’s excellency. All the ingredients complemented each other, I wasn’t able to really tell what they were. It was completely complex and completely moving, and I was so amused to hear the sounds of concurrence from across my table.

Red mullet, oysters, Jerusalem artichokes, shellfish, vinaigrette sauce with pepper and bouillabaisse as far as I’m able to translate with a dictionary. Simply so stunning!

Côte de veau de lait rôtie entière au plat.
On vous sert une tranche, badigeonnée de paprika et de curry doux de Madras, puis posée sur un coulis de poivron rouge à l’amarante. Mascarpone et chlorophylle de roquette.

The main course offered a fine slice of exquisite veal of the highest quality which was stressed by the mere presentation of the dish. I greeted the simplicity after extensively complexity of previous courses. The red paprika-curry sauce comprised some grains, which I haven’t found out what was but complimented the softness of the meat.

Trois fromages…

Parfait brebis, bûche du Gers ; mélasse de caroube.

Bourse de Stilton, velouté de laitue.

Brioche de camembert fermier, feuilles de pomme.

Have you ever tried cooked cheeses? I surely hadn’t and what a pleasant surprise completely new to me. Camenbert, Stilton and Basque Brebis are all my favourite cheeses and I think it’s a nice choice of selecting the Stilton to a French blue cheese. I love cheese but I’m no expert so I’m unable to figure out what made that decision.

The essence of these three dishes was that in a cooked way you get more fulfilment of the cheese dish as you add sweetness, sour and bitterness to the cheese which underlines the characteristics of the cheese itself.

2004 Domaine Cauhapé, Noblesse du Temps, Juracon

On an other cyber occasion Laurent encouraged me to try a Juracon and so this wine was an obvious choice. It also proved to be excellently matching the citrus with the bitter tones in the after taste.

Les desserts de Pierre Gagnaire…

Pinapple layer covering a lemon sorbet and lemon confit

Wine granité(?) cassis, meringues… something

Blood orange underneath the yellow papaya(?) cream

Chocolate!

The desserts were fabulous! The citrus based ones were perfectly balanced with a sweetness to them and the chocolate was just delicious. I was so sorry that it was impossible for me to finish them as I was so full.

Chocolates for accompanying my coffee

As far as the service, the staff was remarkably good at adjusting the level of interaction with us as well as the level of formalness. I easily felt good about being there and was also excorted to the door to the hotel where I would find the ladiesroom.

Hungry Hedonist has recently been to Pierre Gagnaire and in comments on her post people applause the service and claim their water glass was never empty. Mine was, but probably my inner is just a dry dessert that suck ups all the water props finding their way to my mouth. I could easily have drunk even more water than the amount that was poured into my glass.

This post is the most difficult one I have ever written. It seems that this is a common thing for Pierre Gagnaire as Chuck has experienced the same thing and speaks of a “roller coaster” curse. I didn’t know how to express the fact that I was a bit disappointed but at the same time had experienced a wonderful lunch. It’s important to me to convey exactly what I feel and what I think. Until I feel that the post is true to my feelings, I am unable to publish my review. So, this is the reason why I took me forever to write up this experience. I’m sorry.

Monsieur Pierre Gagnaire wasn’t in that day, so unfortunately I didn’t get to meet him, but I don’t believe that this is the reason for my disappointment. A tasting menu will always comprise courses that are more appealing than others, that’s the essence. You’ll need the less impressive dishes to balance the level of what to expect and find what your preferences are. If they were all marvellous how would you know that they were marvellous (enough)? Plus people have different taste. One dish that’s heavenly to one person can appear average to another. It’s like a holiday where you visit points of interests and that makes the holiday memorable, but you also need days to digest all the impressions to be ready to gather and comprehend new.

So, how to know whether a dish is moving or or not when taking into consideration that the chef cooks the same dish over and over again to adjust the flavours and textures to perfection? It’s like reviewing your own text where you overlook the details and typos because you know what it’s supposed to say. The few chefs who are able to review their own inventions again and again to reach perfection and excellency are true artists.

The dishes of this Spring 01 tasting menu were flawless and inventive. Some were more innovative than others, and especially the three appetizers were almost only that and without being tasty. The green herb paper thing was clearly the best of them. To me it was like the innovation was the main purpose and it lacked personality and a thin red line in explaining why the dishes were composed that way. This was not clear to me, but it’s probably just me not being able to comprehend and not being experienced enough with Pierre Gagnaire. Again, I must turn to literature to better explain what I mean - some books you have to read them over and over again to really understand the meaning. Not that it always has to be comprehendable, but when a restaurant carries the name of the creator, the signature should be strong, or at least I would expect it to be that.

Would I return to dine at Pierre Gagnaire? Tough question. I would like to, but before that I would like to visit other Parisian restaurants to become more familiar with this scene and what to expect from a *** level. The question is though how long to wait for a revisit? A restaurant named after the inventor - I mean when Mr. Gagnaire retires what will become of this place?

My first Parisian Michelin *** experience remains memorable and not only for the reason of being my first time. What marked it out were the heavenly oyster dish, the fantastic cooked cheeses, the excellent desserts, the tour of the kitchen and, of course, the sharing it with a knowing and true epicurist foodie friend.

Thank you Pierre Gagnaire, Michel Nave, the waiters taking care of us!

Thanks so much to you, Laurent! I look forward to our next fine meal!

According to the The S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2008 noma is now number 10! Noma came in as the 15th best on that list last year.

Happy Congratulations! This is amazing!

Source: Berlingske Tidende

Reading several very positive Danish reviews of Madeleines Madteater I was very much in doubt about how I would like this kind of entertainment comprising both a show as well as a feast of some kind. When I dine out, the food always gets my 100% attention, and I was therefore afraid that I would either be to focussed on the food to miss the performance or that the show would captivate me, so I couldn’t enjoy the meal. Reluctant as I am, I had chosen to postpone the to go or not to go-decision to an undefined future date.

My luck I happened to get the chance to join my colleagues from work to Madeleines Madteater’s Ca. Cirkus show (my photos) on the Friday evening of March 28 and authored by Mette Sia Martinussen and Nikolaj Danielsen.

It was one of those very windy and cold (but few) winter days and it was very cold in the concrete warehouse-type building to have the drink of still water which the kind and attentive staff provided each arriving guest with. Some people were giving blankets to keep them warm.

In the one end of the lounge, there was a big table-high green box decorated with plastic flowers. I wondered what was going to happen. I was actually very excited.

When everyone had arrived, 13 in total that evening, soft, delightful and melodious music quelled peoples voices and our eyes turned to the centre of the box, where a dancer dressed in a white cat-suit came up. By sliding and catty movements she waved herself up from the opening in the middle of the box and finally jumped down and sprinted towards the other end og the biulding.

I was mystified. What was that about?

Group by group the staff invited us to enter the huge round white dining table that resembled a circus ring and that had a hole in the middle covered with a white coating. The room was very dark and by each seat we found only a white serviette, a fork and a knife and some butter in a tube. We brought with us the glass for drinking water.

The music played on and while the staff speedily, but quietly supplied us with a little candle for light, a bread tree, glass for the wine, which they didn’t informed me what was, then a film was projected to the white centre and showed a pair of hands preparing the food for our dinner. Washing potatoes, frying duck breasts and things like that. There were big mirrors suspended to the ceiling and tilted, so that we in there could visualize what was going on in the middle of the ring.

We got the first dish of King crab as far as I remember - I didn’t take notes, and we were only getting little information. In the beginning I was a bit shy to ask away, because I didn’t want to shatter the performance, and I didn’t know what was suppose to happen.

Suddenly the dinner preparation-movie stopped, and the dancer appeared again coming up from the middle of the ring and sort of wearing the white cover like a coat attached to her shoulders.

The gentle and well-suited music continued and she danced through our next three courses, the first two based on fish as far as my lacking memory tells me.

I loved this first act! I enjoyed the piece of it and I felt sucked into some world I had never been before. It was exiting, surprising innovative and entertaining in a was well-paced and harmonious way. The expression of the performance happening in the centre of the ring and the food and wine we were served were a very nice refreshing match.

Then the staff told us to withdraw to the lounge, where we would find candy floss and ice cream. Only I didn’t really get to taste that as I used the break to visit the loos, because of all the water I always swill, and when I returned there was only a nip of candy floss left for me. I believe someone told me the ice cream was made of tomato. Why would one combine candy floss and a good full-bodied beer? I still don’t get this.

We were then escorted to a set of four tables gathered like giant + and the six of us were placed facing each other which was a nice change, because it allowed us to chat. After all, the purpose was to spend time and interact with my colleagues.

The staff served us the ingredients for four dishes, in four sets, and we should prepare them ourselves. That sucked. I’m sorry. This is what I do every day at home. Why should I do that attending a show? If that was something I was looking for, I would have gone to a Korean barbecue. What performance lies there? It was definitely not very original and seemed a bit like they had ran out ideas for what to do with the second part of the play. This set really let me down and justified my fear of whether this was really my kind of entertaining my foodie heart.

All in all the food was nice with some dishes more interesting an tasty than others. I wouldn’t write about Madeleines Madteater here if the food was not okay. For the main course we drank a very nice Cote du Rhône, which they poured very generously.

We moved on again to the very end of the warehouse for tea and coffee Madeleine cakes of course and the avecs, which were not included in the price for the ticket.

I generally liked the service from the staff, because they appeared very concerned about our well-being and conscious about this being a lot of stimulation to the senses. When I asked about the food and wine they were knowledgeable about it. I missed a piece of paper, though, that I could bring home with me listing the food and wine I had consumed.

Oh, one comment about the wine. The third dished offered a Pinot Noir from overseas somewhere, and it had a stiff reek of cork to it, which no one but me had noticed. I complained and they swapped all our glasses with a new clean one. Poor fellows, those 4 four or five people sitting to my other side, they were drinking the bad stuff. The reason is that I got the last bit of the bottle and the staff changed the glasses to the wrong side of me. I did inform them about it, and it seemed they checked the other guets but I didn’t notice any change of glasses.

So, would I pay another visit to Madelaines Madteater? I think I’ll remain reluctant until someone invites me there again. The tile of the show is Ca. Cirkus - I hope the coming performances show more Cirkus and less Ca.

Can you bear another noma post?

Mum and me like to meet for a mother-daughter day once or twice a year, and for our date set to 13 March 2008 I had decided that I would invite my mum to noma for lunch. Not the biggest surprise, I know, but anyway. My first revisit to noma was actually with my baby brother and my mum, where she tried the small menu. The day’s agenda was therefore to spoil my mum, as she really deserved it. I knew that it would be possible at noma. What I didn’t realise though, was that the lunch would turn out much more different from what I expected and from what I had planned.

Grey skies covered Copenhagen, sadly. It was raining several kinds of domestic animals and my mum hadn’t thought of bringing an umbrella, so the two of us clung on to mine and a rough storm made it hard even to hold the umbrella and not to let it slip out of my hands and fly away with the inside out.

We both wanted to see the new Skuespilhuset from the inside, and for some very odd reason or naivety, we insisted on walking the whole way down from Nørreport Station to the canal side.

The Royal Danish Playhouse is built upon a platform and lies half the way into the water. A part from the horrible and inevitable stage tower, I really like the design of it. I believe it’s the repeated theme of the vertical black stripes, which decorates the house both on the inside and on the outside that I find appealing.

Bread crust to dip in Jerusalem artichokes cream with dried cod roes

A very nice and delicate first snack, where the sweetness of the Jerusalem artichokes cream matched the salty granules.

After the sightseeing and on our way to the restaurant my mum told me that my dad had suggested to join the lunch, but that he couldn’t be there until an hour later, and so she thought it was a bad idea and had told him not to come.

Snack of Smoked and pickled quails egg

Anyway, after the tour that was more like an autumn day than spring, we arrived wet and messy to noma and was welcomed by Pontus, the sommelier and one of the owners of the establishment.

Radishes with a cream of… something

It was great to eat fresh, new, crunchy and lovely radishes and to be reminded of the forth coming spring.

Lump fish roes sandwiches

These little sandwiches were a whole new thing to me. The taste was creamy and slightly salty from the lump fish roes and the paper-thin bread slices. I enjoyed the popping and crunchy feeling of this mini packed lunch.

We got seated and my mum marvelled at all the snacks we were spoilt with and that I have described above. We were also offered birch wine. In the early spring the birch trees absorb a lot of water and the birch wine is quite simply the juice extract from the tree. Danish water contains a very high amount of chalk. I don’t usually think about it, until I sense the water from other sources that’s much softer. The birch wine had such a soft feeling to it and drinking it was a like the feeling of velour. I wasn’t able to taste any flavour with it at all.

Amuse of Löjrom, cucumber and grain sticks

I didn’t mind at all that this was the second roe experience, because I love fish roes when they are of the high quality that noma provides. In this amuse the flavour of the little balls were subdued by the white cream. The cucumber added some acidity, which gave the dish more character and balance.

Anyway, back to the story. We had just taken our first bite of this course and then all of a sudden my dad entered the restaurant! Oh my goodness!

The background story is that I have wished to bring him to noma for a very long time, but there hasn’t been a good occasion yet. He’s not able to join for lunch on weekdays (or so I thought) and my weekends have been packed. I therefore didn’t think of offering him to accompany us.

My dad is very food savy (he’s in the fine food business), quality-conscious, and EXTREMELY critical about almost anything and especially about food. He also enjoys to state his opinions without considering what other people may think of it. But he is always honest, and I actually admire him for that.

I had speculated about brining him to noma, and the risk for me would be if he would not appreciate or comprehend the Nordic ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’ that noma serves and is the founder of, in my opinion. I was willing to take that risk though - I would invite him when I would feel that the right moment had come. So, was this the right moment then?

Rene had planned a set menu for me and my mum and hadn’t budget for my dad also. My table was booked and confirmed for two people and that a third person should join us wasn’t at all what I had planned - and certainly not my dad, the master critic!

Now there I was, and in between my parents and felt like a teenager again, grumping over their behaviour and feeling embarrassed, because he jumped in just like that and without providing noma (or me) with an opportunity to be prepared. I like to be on top of things and feeling in control, so I guess that my grumpiness was more about that, and it really tells you a lot more about me than my parents. Of course the staff was surprised too, but they handled it totally professionally.

Okay, that was a digression.

Crudité

Is this really eatable? I am asking because the beauty of it is so evident that it hardly looks like food. What I mean is, it doesn’t get any better for me, when a dish is pleasuring my eye the minute before I get to entertain my palate. Very thin cut and crunchy vegetables and a poached egg in the middle. I liked the taste of this dish a lot, but comparing it to the other courses I got that day, this was the least interesting for me, taste-wise that is.

“Vegetable field” from Lammefjorden

This one, however, is one of my favourites dishes of all time. The mashed potatoes underneath made it gentle, and the malt crumble added salt and a bit of character to the pure taste of the lovely and softly cooked vegetables and herbs like new beautiful rucola flowers. I loved the look of it, which seemed to me a wonderful landscape with hills and valleys I could easily dig into.

Enjoying this dish my dad suddenly said: “Normally art is decorating the walls…” Can you imagine how good that made me feel? He liked it, he was impressed. And I felt happy.

Ramson onion and onions from Læsø, onion-cress and onion bouillon

Another wonderful and new invention of René’s brilliant mind and also one of the highlights that day. An onion bouillon in the centre of the plate with a creamy texture that resembled melted cheese, but without the taste. There was a nip of sweetness to it also. Small and fresh Læsø onions added spice and a crispy texture to it and gave balance to the sweet- and creamy-ness. The small, brown enjoyable balls are grains, but I forgot to note which kind.

At this point we asked for a glass of white wine and Pontus brought us a 2006 Riesling Nahe Spätlese trocken ‘Winninger Uhlen’ which was fantastic. It was intense as nectar, flowery, fruity, acidic, and sophisticated on both the nose and palate. But what I enjoyed the most about the wine was to see how much my parents liked it and was surprised by its excellence.

Sweetbread, cauliflower, seaweed and rose hips

I do like sweetbread a lot. It’s a bit odd that I do, because I’m not too fond of fatty meat and especially not where I need to dissect the fat - because the fat is too jelly-like and gives me nausea.

This piece of sweetbread was quite big, but it was delicious and not too much. The cauliflower purée macerated the delicate meat flavour and bridged the seaweed and the astoundingly flavoured rose hips. I mean, think of a summer day as you pass by a beautiful rose bush in full bloom that emits a refined feminine perfume. Well, that was what this subtle and little leaf smelled and tasted like. The rose hips just took the dish to another level.

Pork and wood sorrel, ramson onion and truffle emulsion

A six years old pig, how about that? The colour is more like that of veal and the taste was like nothing I would ever had guessed of being pork. It was great. I regret not taking note of what my mum thought of this dish and how my truffle-crazed dad liked the truffle emulsion. He got a different dish by the way, for as René said: ‘We didn’t gather any herbs for you today’.

I know that this review is very positive. So to state two things I was less impressed by then it was the champagne and the 1999 Chateauneuf-du-Pape which I think was Le Vieux Donjon (Lucien), but I’m not sure. The red lacked personality and expression. It was either fizzling out or didn’t get time enough to evolve.

Toasted jerusalem artichokes and seabuck-thorn, malt and vinegar

This new dish presented a stunning harmonie of the Jerusalem artichokes (hidden) and the seabuck-thorn. The acidity like sprinted in my mouth and changed the taste of the Jerusalem artichokes. and the white meringue and the malt-brown ones lightly crunched and sparkles with the orange granité. Wonderful.

Dried berries and dried cream, walnuts and dust of walnuts

Yummy. I know this dish looks like it will give you the same dry feeling in your mouth as if you had eaten 10 biscuits with no tea or any kind of liquid. I can assure you, it was not at all like that. The taste of the walnuts was refined and delicate and the dried berries and the berries ice-cream were pure in taste.

So, was this a good day for my dad to discover noma? Yes, indeed. Both for the food and the great service from Kim, Jonas and Pontus.

Please forgive me for repeating myself, but I have to say this… again: Noma is sharp. The picturesque and pretty images which comprise only a few ingredients in a very transparent way and it still interesting and balanced in taste. The beautiful simplicity. That’s remarkable and that’s why I am so hopelessly in love with noma.

Thank you, guys! I can’t wait till my next visit.

By a sudden impulse I had a nice late lunch yesterday at one of my favourite places on the north coast of Zealand about half hour’s drive from Copenhagen. I’ve been coming here on and off for many years - more often obviously after I got a car and after my mum invited my grandma and me for lunch on the occasion of her birthday some years ago.

On the corner of Strandvejen and Mørdrupvej and on the opposite side of Espergærde Havn lies Il Divino, the Italian wine bar that serves not only good Italian wines but also sandwiches, bruschette, pasta dishes and their speciality PIATTO MISTO “DIVINO” composing a wide selection of Italian classics and new delicacies such as pepperoni, mozzarella di bufala (buffalo milk cheese), grilled omelette, marinated mushrooms, fresh white and red cabbage with an acidic vinegar, pork roast and every time the chef varies the content so even though I’ve had this dish for probably more than 15 times, it never bores me. The coffee is excellent, strong and very short, just the right way and to my taste.

Two elements are essential to my love for this place: The warm atmosphere and the high level of the food product’s quality. It’s clear that the people who owns the place and the staff there has a passion for food and for conveying what they think is very good food. At the lunch yesterday, I was served an extra little special something, which was le arancine and I never tried them before neither at Il Divino, nor elsewhere in Italy. Le arancine are fried and crumbled rice balls that kinda looks like an orange, thereby it’s name, and with ham, cheese, peas and other variants inside. It’s served warm and with the cheese inside melted. It’s very delicious! The staff was having them for their (early) dinner, and I was invited to try it too. I’ve found an arancine recipe and with a couple of nice photos at Moscerino’s Italian blog Brodo di Giuggiole to give you an impression of what the ones I got looked like.

Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset: Powerless Structures, Fig. 11 (1997)

The reason for going to Il Divino was the visit to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk and to experience the Giccometti and Cézanne exhibition that comes highly recommendable. It’s lovely in the way that very good works of art can be in satisfying. It affected me totally, and I lack words to describe the feelings I experienced. It’s a wonderful feeling, though, and I always feel very inspired after such a boom of creativity and beautiful input. Excellent food and art pieces go hand-in-hand in the way that both are able to move me. Actually, this goes for music too, by the way.

Anyway, I always make up excuses to justify a nice meal. I think it’s my speciality. The trip to Louisiana is my classic cover of to have coffee at Il Divino, which in the end always turn out to be a lunch or a dinner. There is a café at the museum, but I would always prefer my Italian divinity. Next time I’ll bring my camera and do a proper report!

My recent Geranium experience on 12 March was wonderful. What stroke me this time was the combination of the extreme kindness from the staff in a very down to earth way and, of course, the quality and creativity of the food. It’s my second time at Geranium and this time was even better, than my first back in September last year.

I didn’t take notes this evening but believe it was a N.V. 2005 Roses de Jeanne, Celles-Sur-Ource, a pure Blanc de Noirs from Cédric Bouchard.

Snack of Löjrom as far as I recall

Very thin and very delicious potato crisps

Apple jelly with Geranium appetizer

Scallops and beet roots appetizer

Now writing this review, I remember the repeated question from one of my companions: “Is this the starter?” and this completely made sense, as there were an uncountable numbers of little amusements prior to the first dish of the menu. There were even more than I have shown here.

Lightly smoked lump fish roe
raw Jerusalem artichoke & powdered hazel nut oil

We had a 2005 Nerthus, Bligny-Les-Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet, which I LOVED. Amazing thing. The scent was so seducing and very complex with turpentine notes and minerals. The Meursault I originally asked for was out and Lasse, the sommelier, suggested this Puligny-Montrachet instead. Thank you, Lasse, I don’t think the Meursault would have pleased me as much.

The 2005 Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Burgundy was very delicate and balanced in both fruit and acidity and, too, the expressions of the nose and palate. What the smell promised was rewarded in the taste and I liked that very much.

King crab roast on bread
carrots, sea buckhorn and lemon cress

The portions were nicely small but fulfilling, flawless and deliciously tasty above all. The food elements are beautifully arranged with colours that match each other and that’s very important to me.

Geranium’s dishes are remarkably well compound, and each dish is expressive and distinct with the highest quality products. This is art. It’s clear that Rasmus and Søren know what they’re doing and what they want, and this is admirable. Personality from a restaurant is always more attractive to me.

Scent of rosemary
monk fish, puffed spelt, celeriac
burned leek & herbs from the garden

Now, this dish was an entertaining feature. It arrived with a glass cover, and removing it the scents of rosemary and other herbs surprisingly breezed up and danced into my nostrils, sending me back to my late teens and the (very) few experiences with pot parties.

Foamy potato
cheese from Kristiansminde, rye bread & oxtail

Lasse, has a few times posted a comment on my blog, but we never met in real life before. It was so much fun to put a name to a face. Lasse is a kind and warm person, even more than I had expected. I of course congratulated the team with the new one Michelin star and in turn we got a lovely glass of white wine for a blind taste, which I failed in guessing, unfortunately: A delightful glass of 2006 La Ferme de la Sansonniére, Vielles Vignes Des Blanderies, Chinan Blanc grape and from the Angeli field.

Happy veal
buds & sprouts of wild garlic, salsifies, mushrooms & apple vinegar

Milk

A word on the service. The staff was so easy and relaxed but still very professional, and I so liked that. They were very generous on the champagne, which was wonderful with mineral and a full flavour and vivid sparkles. The thing is, being known to the restaurant doesn’t mean that I get a better treatment than other people do, at least I don’t believe so. It means, however, that the staff possibly know me a little better, they know my preferences and thereby know better how to please me. This is what an excellent service is all about. Not to treat every customer in the same utmost manor, but to make every customer feel special. People have different needs and thus must be served independently.

Pre-dessert of hazelnut ice cream (I think)

Pumpkin seeds
cloud berry juice & white chocolate

Petit Fours

Geranium is warm and lovable. I sensed this my first time there when I talked to Søren, but now this warm feeling is more outspoken. The food, the drink and the atmosphere tickle all my senses. I cannot ask for more.

Congratulations! And thank you all for a wonderful evening!

I must share this with you. If this isn’t gluttony, then I don’t know what is. Four great restaurants in four days, how about that?

A couple of months ago I scheduled a weekend trip to visit a couple of restaurants, I’d never tried, outside Copenhagen. By coincident it happened that I would revisit my city’s two best restaurants during the preceding two days and thus made this my heaviest gastronomical week to date.

Now I feel totally stuffed and sense a slight acidic activity in my belly. Why, oh why, did I have to guzzle that bun sprinkled with poppy seeds after having eaten the scrambled eggs, ham and cheese at breakfast? My goodness, I wish I wasn’t this voracious…

Anyway, I shouldn’t complain, because it’s been a fabulous four days’ adventure. Wednesday evening, I joined three good friends for a farewell dinner at Geranium, which was even more delightful than my first time there. I will do a short revisiting review in a few days. Stay tuned.

On Thursday, I had the day off from work to spend the whole day with my dear mum. I had insisted on taking her out to lunch at noma, but the experience turned out much different from what I had planned. What a pleasant surprise, not to reveal too much yet.

For years now, I have desired to dine at Henrik Pedersen and Vivi Schou’s restaurant Babette in Vordingborg. Finally this past Friday I had the pleasure of being exposed to Henrik’s familial friendliness and great professionalism. No wonder he won the price of best waiter at the Spiseguiden awards for 2007. What a pity that the Michelin Guide doesn’t value restaurants outside Copenhagen. Vivi is a remarkable chef! And yes, I will tell you all about this fantastic night, which also provided me with my first Burgundy Grand Cru experience.

Vordingborg is also famous for The Goose Tower, and there is a nice view to the Faroe Bridge from it.

I have to warn you, though. If you ever dine at Babette and stay the night in Vordingborg, do promise that you’ll make reservations at the Bed & Breakfast, which Henrik recommends. I’ll try and get the name for you. I wasn’t aware of it and from ignorance chose the most horrible hotel.

On Saturday I fancied a bit of historical and un-gastronomical cultural entertainment and went to see the beautiful castle of Gavnø, close to Næstved. Gavnø Castle has a beautiful garden full of flower beds, but unfortunately not in bloom yet. There were, however, a first evidence of spring forthcoming by a funny-looking shelduck taking advantage of one of the white females wandering about the garden. I imagine the beauty of red and yellow tulips and flourishing trees with majestic tree crowns and would like to return in a month or two to enjoy that.

Next destination was the town of Holbæk, west of Zealand, to lodge at the Strandparken Hotel, which has a beautiful view of the Holbæk Fjord. Dinner was booked at the nice restaurant SuRi located at the harbour and offering not only a view to the water but also very good food, lovely oysters and, these days, a very entertaining service.

Full and happy (I must have gained 4 pounds, ugh!) I am enjoying the Sunday afternoon at my weekend cottage and musing at the past days’ epicurean escapade. It’s just lovely to listen to the birds singing and face the first yellow flowers on my forsythia bush.

It’s official! The red Michelin Guide for the Main Cities of Europe 2008 awards following Danish restaurants in this year’s guide. 12 stars in a rather small city like Copenhagen. I think that’s great!!

Two stars:

Noma **

One star:

Ensemble *
Era Ora *
formel B *
Geranium * (New)
Kiin Kiin * (New)
Kong Hans’ Kælder *
MR *
Paustian * (New)
Søllerød Kro *
The Paul *

Congratulations!

Source: Politiken

I took the day off from work to do something for myself. Eating out at an exclusive restaurant is my refuge, my hideaway, especially when my busy life is sucking out my energy. Fine dining is for me like stepping into another world for a short time. Even more so when I’m out on my own and not with someone I know. Well, I’ve visited noma quite a lot lately, so I don’t feel like a complete stranger there anymore. I don’t need to ask where the loos are.

However, the intention of this lunch was not to let myself be lulled into yet another epicurean ego trip. The purpose was to meet up with Zarah - and to enjoy a very good meal. noma seemed the obvious choice. Wouldn’t you say so?

When I arrived at precisely 12:15 on 31.01.2008, Zarah was already sitting at our table and waved to me from the other end of the restaurant. This was the first time Zarah and I met each other and hello-hugged. We laughed at the whole set-up and then put our big cameras on the table. This verygoodfoodthoughts sitting was definitely to be documented.

Frederik, our host of the day, poured champagne into high slim glasses and after a spilt second of consideration we agreed to go for the set of courses cooked especially for the two of us and with accompanying wines selected by him.

Crisps of root crops, egg cream
Jacques Lassaigne, NV Champagne
Brut Blanc de Blanc de Montgueux

Batter balls stuffed with pork
and rolled in vinegar dust

The Jacques Lassaigne champagne was new to me, and I remember thinking that I liked better the Agrapart one, which I’ve got a few times. I didn’t note down why though.

A refreshing change of the snacks soon arrived comprising very nice and very paper thin root crisps of what I could identify as parsnip, scorzonera and Jerusalem artichokes. The yellow yolk cream for dipping the crisps was somehow anonymous to me and not as good as the various dips I’ve had before like for example the smoked cream cheese, the green boiled pig fat or the cep mayonnaise. We were also blessed with the pickled and smoked quails egg, and when Zarah took the lid off, smoke fizzled up, tickled my nose and revealed the two yellow delicacies.

For the first time I got batter balls, a traditional sweet and often eaten at Christmas in Denmark. Zarah actually has a very nice recipe on her blog and a hands-on description for how to make them. Anyway, noma’s were a salty interpretation with pork breast inside and white dust of vinegar on the outside. I liked them and the idea, but must admit that I prefer the traditional sweet ones. Too much pasty for the amount of pork.

Beetroot raisins, pearl sago
Horseradish snow

This was interesting. The small pieces of beet root were soft like when you cook them in the oven for a long time but moist at the same time. At noma horseradish is one of the basic spices that’s often combining the food products like the extensive and lovely use of herbs, and in this picture the horseradish’s job was to provide grit and to stabilise the sweet taste of the vegetable. Good.

Tartar and wood sorrel
Creamed tarragon and juniper
2006 Becker-Landgraf, Riesling Trocken, Rheinhessen

Although, there is already a photo of this dish on by blog, I have only had a tiny taster of it, when I celebrated my birthday at noma. Although the dish wasn’t mine, it was so lovely that I had to show it here. It’s amongst my favourite dishes.

I never imagined, though, my finger nails would be this green after eating this wonderful dish having it all to myself this time. You don’t get fork and knife but clutch the meat by holding the wood sorrel leaves and then lick up the green cream with the tartar. We were instructed to do it this way and got nice wet and warm cloths to clean our fingers when we were done. The quality of this ox tartar, the wood sorrel and the delectable creamed tarragon and juniper is just beyond the highest level, I tell you, this is more than candy to me and as good as …

The colour of the Becker-Landgraf Riesling was very bright and almost transparent. The nose offered crispiness, flowers and sweet fruit. The bitterness and acidity was elegantly balancing the after-taste and the smell from the creamed tarragon and juniper melted with the Riesling scent in a stunning way. Fantastic.

Burnt Scorzonera and milkskin
Rape seed oil and truffle from Gotland
2006 Denis Jeandeau, Pouilly-Fuissé, Burgundy

I had a dish very like this one, when I lunched with my grandmother last autumn, but this time the leek was replaced by a piece of scorzonera, which added more bite and character to it. The fresh truffles had also been swapped with a lavish truffle paste. We had passed the Swedish truffle season. The scent of these truffles were striking and just as powerful as fresh truffles. Wow. If my eyes had been closed, when the plate was placed in front of me, I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. I admire and venerate Rene and his team for their outstanding technique and notion. Excellent.

The Pouilly-Fuissé was dark golden in colour and smelled of pure Chardonnay and the taste was nice. It missed, however, the sophistication I love so much about white Burgundies and sometimes am lucky to find in them.

I do like halibut very much and this was a fine piece, mild in taste with a delicate garniture of green herbs tops and celery with a slight bite to it. I was told the white foam was oysters, but the flavour was weak. I don’t think I would have guessed, if I didn’t know. Good. (Maybe even very good. I have only a fuzzy image of this in my memory).

Zarah has a lot of experience from the restaurant business and I learned from her that the crust turbot was extraordinary. Again, this was the finest fish quality and served with the season’s first fresh ramson onion, mind you.

How do they do this? I mean, to take note what white Burgundies I chose from last time I went to noma, what I selected and then what I had missed out on? This Château de Puligny Montrachet was one of them and now it was accompanying my turbot. Yes, I was in heaven. The scent was dark and powerful with a touch of sour. I found wood too and the nose was a bit closed at the beginning. After a while, it opened and was more recognisable. It evolved smell of turpentine and medicine cupboard, which may sound strange but nevertheless was a hit for me. The taste was dominated by citrous and oak. Very nice indeed.

Bouillion of birch wine and mushrooms
Chickweed and egg yolk
2000 Pierre-Bourré, Justice, Gevrey-Chambertin, Bourgogne

Another repetitive course but one of my favourites, so I didn’t complain. I still the remember the rich flavour of the soup and how well the poached yolk is matched also with the mushrooms. This time Læsø onions (I believe) were sprinkled and made the whole dish more pronounced and more sharp. Stunning.

Yum-yum-yum. These guys really knew how to please me. The colour of the wine had an edge of orange and brown tones and what gorgeous scents of cowshed, smoke, lots of fruit and character. I love it so much, when the wine has a powerful and expressive nose. The taste was great too, balanced and lasting.

I must say that it’s incredible how tender Rene and chefs are able to cook the meat so it’s full of flavour and moist at the same time. The reindeer was very intense in taste with a light game taste to it. The accompanying round and decorative vegetables were a fine match. Very good.

Frederik teased me because I focused on the G-C rather than the Barolo, which was absolutely nice as well, erect and with this characteristic after-taste heavy on tannins. The Gevrey-Chambertin was only more seductive.

The first dessert was, another theme of a traditional Danish dish with variations. It reminded me of an apple charlotte but with pear instead. I love, love apple charlotte. There were hazelnuts at the bottom of the plate, then a layer of yoghurt and on the top thin white slices of pear surrounded and by the meed sauce which had a bit of pear taste to it too. This was a lovely dish, gentle and creamy in taste, not so sweet but with a slight subacidity to balance it. Very good.

We were offered two different Rieslings with the first of two desserts, and there was no doubt that the Georg Breuer was the one I liked most, because it offered a more nuanced palate than just the sweetness of the Knebel one.

‘Yolk’ potato and cumin ice cream
Dried berries and akvavit
2000 Chateau Derezla, Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos
Tokaji

Okay, I think is one of the noma desserts I least like. No matter how sweet and caramel-ish you prepared them, potatoes will always be potatoes and not particularly dessert-like. I very much enjoyed the cumin (which I’m very keen on) ice cream, the caramel and the crisp and sweet string on the top. The Tokaji was excellent with the caramel and the cumin flavours which both had a bitter-sweet feeling to it.

I was really stuffed. I think we both were at this point. We therefore (almost) rolled back to the lounge area for a cup of tea and a coffee a flødebolle and one more glass of the lovely Gevrey-Chambertin for spending the rest of the afternoon chatting girl-ishly about… you know. Girls’ talk.

When it was dark and rainy outside, after almost six hours in the wonderful noma cave we frivolous moved the curtain aside and stepped into the staff’s briefing on tasks and tables for the evenings guests who would soon arrive.

Saying goodbye and thank you for a marvellous experience, it was great to see Rene’s enthusiasm, when he asked if we had taken note of one of the dishes comprising the fresh ramson onions already a month earlier than last year. Of course we had. We had also taken note of the recurring round theme that also characterised this lunch.

A great, great afternoon. Thanks to you, Zarah! And to everyone at noma!

Last year, I announced when the Michelin guide to the Main Cities of Europe 2007 was released. The 2008 one is not out yet. Although the Michelin guides are neither the only guides nor the best on to how to find nice dining places, I am impatient.

I’m sure, also that I am not the only person these days pondering how the Michelin guys have apportioned the stars of Copenhagen in the 2008 guide. Hm. Let’s see. Amongst the places I’ve been to lately, here’s my shot with regard to this year’s star glitter.

In 2007 and for the first time ever, the brave noma folks received their second Michelin star. All my noma posts justifies this. I’m sure that their talent and hard and excellent work will provide them with the third star as well. Some day. But not in 2008.

The meal I had when I last time visited formel B was outstanding, beautiful dishes and very high level as to products and technique. I didn’t fancy the service much, because I found it too stiff and too formal. I think, though, with the new luxuriousness of it is more of the style that Michelin honours. So all in all, I think formel B will get their second star in 2008.

Geranium opened in late March 2007 and has received nothing but praise. I believe every news paper and magazine awarded Geranium with their maximum score. I was lucky to lunch there once in September and had a lovely dining experience.

MR, Søllerød Kro and The Paul were all great and I’m positive that they’ve all maintained their one star. I also dined at Nouveau, which is housed now where the renowned Tyvenkokkenhandkoneoghendeselsker used to be. Nouveau opened officially 3rd September, and I think the place is yet too new to be considered for a star in the 2008 guide.

Conjuring where I have never been or visited only years ago, surely, Era Ora and Kong Hans’ Kælder will keep their one star too, but this I judge only from what I’ve read and heard.

Then the jokers: Paustian and Kiin Kiin (never been there). They each got a rising star, and will get a star in the 2008’s guide, if they keep up their current standard. Why shouldn’t they? I bet they’ve done all they were able to to achieve that.

Comparing with last year’s star rating, I haven’t mentioned Ensemble, where I never went. Probably it’s unfair to say so, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they would have lost their one star. I mean, counting four new stars, the competition in town is tough. We’re only 1,8 million people around here, and although people fly in from all over the world for the only reason to dine in Copenhagen, I think there’s a limit to our excellency. But that’s just my opinion.

What do you think?

Two Stars:
formel B (+1)
noma

One Star:
Era Ora
Geranium (+1)
Kiin Kiin (+1)
Kong Hans’ Kælder
MR
Paustian (+1)
Søllerød Kro
The Paul

Zero:
Ensemble (-1)