NYC Tastes

Monday was our last day in Copenhagen. We packed up our suitcases, checked out of the hotel and walked over to one last place for lunch- Brasserie Degas.  This cute little French cafe had been on my list since day one, more for it's dessert than anything but I was excited to check out their savory dishes as well.  The small  menu had all the classics...Steak Frites, Chevre Chuad and Croque Monsiuer. The Croque was amazing...thin slices of ham and Gruyere sandwiched between two big fluffy slices of bread encrusted with melted cheddar cheese.  The outside had a nice golden char from the broiler and the inside was the perfect balance of cheese and meat.   The Cesar Salad came with big slices of chicken that were so tender I had to take a moment just to marvel at the texture. The only thing I could have done without were the big slices of bacon on top.  I've never understood why the Europeans love slabs of oily bacon on their salads. Finall...

Sunday night in Copenhagen we stuck close to the hotel and had a lovely meal  over in the Meatpacking District. Mother is an Italian hot spot featuring "simple soul food".  The restaurant is centered around a wood burning oven that churns out delicious Neapolitan pizza with chewy sourdough crust and wood fired veggies all night. The Classic Margarita was perfect...thin and sloppy with lots of tangy sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and puffy edges with just the right amount of char. The Burning Love was a little more daring....fried onions, sliced potato and smoked pancetta studded the mozzarella cheese.  It wasn't as crazy as the Kabob  pizza we had in Sweden but it was still awesome.        The vibe was lively but casual with lots of communal tables for meeting your neighbors and friendly efficient service.  With all this great food and beer it's hard to imagine leaving so soon! Mother   

We loved our lunch at Manfred's so much we decided to finish out the week right back where we started with brunch on Sunday. This time we opted against the Chef's tasting and went a la carte starting with one of their signature dishes the Beef Tartare. This was chopped a bit more coarse than the one I just had at Bastard with a sprinkle of sourdough chips on top and a dollop of creamy horseradish sauce on the bottom.  It was salty and rich with a nice satisfying crunch from the chips. Chicken Confit with ramson and rhubarab had a tangy asian flare from the addition of lemongrass and suger. The Roasted Carrots with Swiss Chard, creme friache and cous cous had us a bit confused at first.  I've honestly never eaten a purple carrot before but the sweetness of the veggie really shined alongside the nutty mound of cous cous. We finished up our lunch with one last beer over at Mikkeller and Friends before heading ...

Friday we got up bright and early and took a cab over to Sparta Hallen for the Copenhagen Beer Celebration.  This festival is the brain child of Mikkel Borg Bjergsø of Mikkeller brewing who has organized it since 2010.  Forty brewer's were in attendance from around the world, offering two different beers at each four hour session over the course of two days.  We had tickets to three of the four and let me tell you it was easily the best beer festival any of us have attended.  Besides some serious problems with purchasing the actual tickets months ago (which was the ticketing site Billetlugen's fault) the event was pretty flawless. We showed up right around 9:30 and got in the small line that had formed outside for the 10:00 AM start.  After a quick check of our tickets we were handed our glasses and walked inside to begin the next 8 hours of beer tasting.  The event had been sold out for months, but tickets were so limited that there was...

Thursday in Copenhagen was a big day.  All of my NYC friends had finally arrived, the city was bustling with amazing brewers to kick off the Copenhagen Beer Celebration and we had a fabulous birthday lunch booked at Noma for our friend Steve. Noma is run by René Redzepi, a 36 year old Danish chef who currently has two Michelen stars and has kept Noma ranked as The Best Restaurant in the World four out of the last five years. Rene is all about New Nordic cooking and the tasting menu he unleashed upon us that afternoon was a prime example of foraging at it's finest.  The meal begins with an array of "Snacks"... Red Currant and lavender verbena Nordic Coconut with quince and cabbage soup Moss and Cep- Reindeer Moss seasoned with mushrooms and served with juniper creme fraiche Elm leaves and yeast Surf and Turf Tarts- flowers from the land, seaweed crust from the sea Caramelized Milk and Cod Fish Liver ...