Here’s the summary of eats this week.
By necessity we’ve had some hotel and museum meals, none of which were bad. I’ve had those tiny shrimp on toast several times, they are full grown shrimp I discovered, but much the size of young popcorn shrimp we find at home and give to toddlers.This shrimp is super tasty and served with boiled egg, mayo, dill and sometimes roe of some kind. Called Toast Skagen, I also had it as a salad version at a steakhouse called Griffin’s.
The above version was at a lovely cafe at Skansen Open Air Museum.
Taking naf’s tip, we looked up food markets and found Ostermalms Saluhall, a very old food market which as it happened vacated its centuries old building several days before we arrived and moved into very temporary digs a block away for two years, pending improvements to its permanent home. The building they are in now is held together with ply wood and glue. It does the trick, but they better hurry.
Old:
New temporary space:
We decided to eat at a lunch counter there at which turned out to be a 100+ year old restaurant and seafood market and a favorite among many, Lisa Elmqvist. My sauteed perch with mushroom sauce was amazing. That sauce was so mushroomy and the fish served hot and perfectly cooked. The salt cured salmon and herring 3 ways was similarly delicious.
Nearly every meal comes with new potatoes as well.
We also went to Den Gylndene Freden, which opened in 1722. We had a delicious meal there of herring, sausage, bleak roe (a menu staple about town) and gnocchi with soft cheese, sunflower seeds, wild garlic and onions. It was all wonderful.
Also of note was B.A.R behind the Grand Hotel. Here you can pick your seafood or let them choose. We opted for a seafood tower that was just enough for a lighter lunch for two. Excellent food and service.
Then there was SMAK, a tasting menu popular restaurant that has a list of 20 or so “tastes,” i.e. lemon, truffle, yuzu, soy, cinnamon, walnut etc. Choose 3, 5 or 7 tastes and get the chef’s small plate featuring that taste. I’m not sure about this one, it was not my choice and I don’t think I’d go again. The first taste I chose included “oyster,” but the oyster was “oyster flavored mayonnaise.” The walnut taste desert was raspberry sherbet with a couple of blackberries and some cream. I found one piece of walnut under it all. You can opt for tiny pours of wine parings for each taste choice. Kinda gimmicky and not cheap, but the place was full.
Still have a day or so left and on my wish list is the smorgasbord at the Grand Hotel, said to be the best in town, and a hot dog from the kiosks, Bruce mentions. I still can’t speak Swedish though, the language confounds me.
Cheers!
